Stress Makes Your Brain Stronger: Try Fasting
A scientist who studies aging describes how going without food for a time can make your brain cells healthier
Low-level exposure to toxic chemicals in plants may provide some of the same mild stresses on brain cells as do fasting and caloric restriction—stresses that actually help protect neurons.
Mark Mattson is a scientist at the National Institute of Aging and a professor at Johns Hopkins Medical who is also has been a practitioner of caloric restriction and intermittent fasting. In the July issue, he explains in his article “What Doesn’t Kill You…” how low-level exposure to toxic chemicals in plants may provide some of the same mild stresses on brain cells as do fasting and caloric restriction—stresses that actually help protect neurons. In a TED talk, he also explains the benefits of fasting on the brain:
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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UkZAwKoCP8]