As we get older we gradually experience a certain degree of brain atrophy. The rate of which the brain volume is changing is, however, not the same for everyone. The good news is that there is something you can do to slow down this process.

An Austrian study of 201 participants evaluated brain volume changes over 6 years. Using MRI scans, it was documented that the participants with higher Hemoglobin A1c levels also had a higher rate of brain atrophy (Enzinger C, et al. 2005).
Hemoglobin A1c is a measurement of long term glucose control.

The participants with high alcohol intake also lost brain volume faster, and so did the ones with a high body mass index.

As you can see, these are things you can do something about. If you get into the habit of eating low glycemic index meals it will help to make you more insulin sensitive and lower Hemoglobin A1c. If you also add some exercise to that, it will help even more.

If you find this interesting I believe you will find the information in “The Learn to Eat Plan” very interesting also.

 

 

Enzinger C1, Fazekas F, Matthews PM, Ropele S, Schmidt H, Smith S, Schmidt R. Risk factors for progression of brain atrophy in aging: six-year follow-up of normal subjects. Neurology. 2005 May 24;64(10):1704-11.
  • Category: Exercise
  • Author: Didrik Sopler
  • Published: 2020-03-28
  • Comments: 0
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