This protein is involved in the process of creating new neurons and is crucial for their protection and survival. It is involved in brain plasticity and regulates inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters.
BDNF is very much involved in maintaining mood.
Without sufficient BDNF, you are at risk of, among others, major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder. The lower the BDNF level, the more severe the symptoms.
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There is a reason why most people have little or no appetite on waking: the human body clock and the production of cortisol. Cortisol is an adrenal hormone produced cyclically: levels start to rise between 3 am and 6 am, and within thirty to forty minutes after waking, most people experience a two- to three-fold surge in circulating levels. In what is termed the ‘awakening cortisol response,’ cortisol mobilizes glucose and promotes gluconeogenesis, the manufacture of glucose from fat and protein.
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In June 1965, a 27-year-old Scottish man weighing 456lb (207kg) decided to stop eating until he reached his desired weight of 180lb (82kg). Angus Barbieri ate nothing whatsoever for 382 days, achieved his goal, and lived to tell the tale.
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Sometimes described as “cellular housekeeping”, autophagy — meaning “self-eating” in Greek – is a process that takes place in all mammalian cells and tissues. It was in the 1960s that researchers first became aware that each cell can destroy its own components. These components include damaged proteins and organelles, considered to be “common features of neurodegenerative diseases”, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease.
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Exercise, as you know, has many positive benefits. Aside from raising your buff rating, it improves all aspects of health, from pulmonary and musculoskeletal fitness, from immunity to metabolism. It is celebrated for its heart health benefits, and because cardiovascular fitness is considered a predictor of long-term health exercise can extend your life expectancy.
However, there’s another area of exercise research that is proving to be just as positive, and that’s brain health. It’s becoming clear that the right kind of exercise can help prevent the onset of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
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As you sleep, your body clock orchestrates the secretion of important metabolic hormones that influence the way you gain and lose weight. These hormones — which include growth hormone, insulin, ghrelin and leptin — are produced in a cyclical manner. Obey your biology, as outlined in the following three steps, and you’ll find that losing weight is much easier when you work with your body, not against it.
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Most people practise intermittent fasting in order to lose weight, and it is indeed an effective strategy. Less well known are the neurological benefits, which include improved mood and memory, and reduced risk of stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
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