Intermittent fasting protects and improves brain health, but you won't hear that from Big Pharma or the food industry

Tuesday, February 09, 2016 by: Harold Shaw
Tags: intermittent fasting, brain health, food industry

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(NaturalNews) Dr. Mark Mattson, PhD, is currently the Chief of the Laboratory of Neuroscience at the National Institute of Aging, as well as a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University. He is also known for his foremost research into neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Recently, Dr. Mattson and his colleagues have been working on several papers that analyze how fasting could help reduce the risk of developing these two diseases. His results have been significant.

Dr. Mattson's research about the positive impact of fasting on brain health only adds to a rich history of other demonstrated health benefits. Why, then, don't we hear about the importance of fasting more often?

This is the way our ancestors did it

Going back to the early times of our ancestors, food was difficult to come by. With no grocery stores around the corner, the human body would regularly cycle through periods of feast and times of famine. As recent studies show, however, this cycle played an essential part in their well-being by jump-starting the natural repair and rejuvenation process.

When the human body starves, it enters a state of energy conservation. In this state, it first attempts to recycle immune cells that are damaged or no longer needed. Stem cells are shifted from a dormant state to a state of self-renewal. When we eat again, new, healthier cells take the place of recycled ones.

Of course, our ancestors would go through severe calorie restriction before they would find food again, but it turns out that we can achieve almost the same effect by practicing a form of intermittent fasting.

Intermittent fasting, brain health and more

Intermittent fasting can refer to a wide range of fasting schedules. Perhaps the most popular one was created by Dr. Michael Mosley, who recommended fasting for two days of the week and eating normally otherwise.

What Dr. Mark Mattson discovered in his research was that fasting is perceived by the brain as a challenge. In response, the brain adapts stress-response pathways that can help the body cope with stress and lower disease risk. The production of protein in the brain is increased, and this promotes the growth of neurons, as well as the creation and strength of synapses. In addition, mitochondria are also increasingly produced in nerve cells, which enhances the ability of neurons to form and maintain connections with each other. At the end of the day, this translates into a significantly reduced risk of developing Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease.

But the health benefits of intermittent fasting go well beyond the brain. As previous scientific studies conclude, fasting can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Research has also produced promising results for treating diabetes.

Big Pharma and the food industry won't hear of it

Dr. Mark Mattson discussed his findings, as well as the previously discovered health benefits of fasting during a TED talk in 2014. Although his research is promising, he is forced to conclude his lecture on a troubled note, because he wonders how the food and pharmaceutical industries will react to an eating pattern that involves less food and fewer diseases.

There's a reason why don't hear about the benefits of fasting more often from the mainstream media, and it's the same reason why we're told to eat at least three meals a day with snacks. The food industry loses money when people fast. Big Pharma loses money when people stay healthy.

It's no longer a secret that much of the scientific literature published today is manipulated precisely by these industries and, unfortunately, the well-being of the consumer is not what they have at heart.

Sources include:

Collective-Evolution.com

USC.edu

AJCN.Nutrition.org

Science.NaturalNews.com