Exploratory study lays groundwork for larger trials to evaluate brain health

Intermittent calorie restriction improved executive function and memory measures in cognitively intact older adults, an exploratory pilot study suggested.

The 8-week randomized clinical trial of 40 overweight, cognitively normal older adults with insulin resistance examined the effect of two interventions – a 5:2 intermittent fasting plan versus a “healthy living” diet based on portion control and calorie reduction guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – on brain health. The 5:2 intermittent fasting group had 2 days of food intake of 480 calories/day (two meal replacement shakes), and 5 days of a healthy living diet.

Both interventions improved executive function and memory, with intermittent fasting showing better results on certain cognitive measures, said Dimitrios Kapogiannis, MD, of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, in a poster presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

  • jet@hackertalks.comEnglish
    1·
    1 day ago

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1550413124002250

    I can’t find the full paper in the normal places.

    It’s interesting, the IF they studied was 5 normal days, and 2 days at 25% of normal calorie load.

    HL emphasizes healthy dietary choices (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy), limiting added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium.

    participants randomized to IF to follow HL for 5 days but consume only two shakes (providing 480 Kcal/day) for 2 consecutive days each week.

    So not a low carb diet. They compared the 5:2 “25%” diet to the HL diet.

    It’s interesting that HL and HL + IF had about similar results. One critique would be this intervention was short, did not reach a state of ketosis (they did not measure ketone bodies). The IF days were still fed days.