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Are Caloric Restriction & Intermittent Fasting Two Potential Diets for Successful Brain Aging?

Not only do the foods you eat influence the way your brain ages, but the amount of energy you take in also plays a role. While scientists are still searching for a fountain of youth, they are also exploring ways that restricting energy intake can protect your brain from age-related damage. Calorie restriction and intermittent fasting are two potential diets to improve brain aging and increase life span. Human clinical trials are lacking, but animal research shows promise.

  1. Intermittent Fasting Basics

    • Intermittent fasting, or IF, is the practice of alternating periods of eating normally with periods of either fasting or restricted calorie consumption. A common method of intermittent fasting is the 5:2 method. This method involves eating normally for five days during the week, then restricting your calories for two days. Women following this diet typically restrict their calories to 500 for the two fasting days and men restrict to 600 calories.

    Neuronal Damage

    • As your brain ages it becomes more vulnerable to oxidative stress and excitotoxins, both of which can result in cell death. Bronwen Martin and her colleagues at the National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program reviewed clinical studies to determine the effect of a calorie restricted diet or an IF diet on brain aging. The team found several studies that demonstrated feeding animals a calorie-restricted diet, or an IF diet, triggered physiological changes that protected the brain against oxidative stress and excitotoxins, according to the review published in the August 2006 issue of the journal "Aging Research Reviews." Oxidative stress occurs when the body is unable to keep up with the constant demand to neutralize free radicals and excitotoxins are substances that can overstimulate brain cells, causing damage and cell death.

    Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor

    • Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is a protein involved in neuronal transmission, growth and plasticity. Brain neurons need BDNF to survive. Martin and her colleagues assert that clinical data indicate both calorie restriction and IF stimulate BDNF protein in animal models, which protects against neuronal damage and improves brain function. The team adds that in mouse models, IF protected against neurological damage associated with stroke.

    Neurodegeneration

    • Scientists have long identified a lifespan-regulating enzyme known as Sirtuin 1, or SIRT1. In an animal model, researchers found that calorie restriction activated the expression of SIRT1, which delayed the onset of neurodegeneration and synaptic loss, according to a study published in "The Journal of Neuroscience." The expression of SIRT1 preserved cognitive capacities in test mice. Martin and her colleagues reviewed other clinical studies that replicated these results using intermittent fasting, showing that both calorie restriction and IF may be capable of delaying neurodegeneration.

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