#1 Neuroscientist: "Stop Decline Before It's Too Late!" - Diet & Lifestyle Hacks To Heal Your Brain
Rangan Chatterjee
Jul 24, 2024
Mindsip insights from this episode:
Maintain cognitive engagement to prevent decline after retirement
Retiring early from a cognitively stimulating job is linked to earlier cognitive decline and dementia, likely because the daily mental stimulus is removed and not replaced.
Manage expectations to prevent blood sugar spikes from monitoring
The expectation of a blood sugar spike, often caused by watching a continuous glucose monitor, can psychologically drive a bigger blood sugar spike than the food alone.
Reintegrate whole foods to restore natural hunger signals
Modern food processing separates calories from their natural context, like fiber and water, which alters the body's physiological response and hunger signals compared to whole foods.
Leverage grandmother hypothesis to enhance longevity
Evolutionary forces may select for a long and healthy life because grandparents who can help raise grandchildren increase the survival of their own genes.
Understand sugar's role as energy source within caloric needs
For a healthy person eating within their caloric needs, some sugar is not detrimental because it's simply a source of energy and our metabolism is equipped to handle it.
Challenge the 'bad gene' nocebo effect to enhance performance
Being told you have a 'bad' gene for aerobic performance can cause your performance to worsen, even if you don't actually have that gene.
Release guilt to mitigate stress from unhealthy food choices
The stress and guilt from worrying about eating an 'unhealthy' food can be more physiologically harmful than the occasional consumption of the food itself.
Stimulate brain health by embracing amateurism in music
Amateur musicians have younger-looking brains than professional musicians because the challenge of learning a skill you are not good at is more stimulating for the brain.
Maximize exercise benefits by balancing intensity and duration
The health benefit of exercise is a product of intensity multiplied by time, meaning five minutes of sprinting can be metabolically equivalent to an hour of less intense gardening.
Avoid low-protein foods to prevent overeating
We may overeat low-protein, ultra-processed foods because the body continues to drive eating until it meets a certain protein threshold.
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