This is you brain...

Do you remember that old anti-drugs commercial:

"This is your brain (showing an egg). This is your brain on drugs (showing the egg frying)."

It was a very effective visual anti-narcotics campaign in 1987. I remember it...so it must have had some sort of permanent impact on me!

I read a new study today that published 8/25/09 in Human Brain Mapping by Paul Thompson, a professor & lead of the study conducted at UCLA. The study basically determined that (and brace yourself ladies):

"Obese people have 8% less brain tissue than normal-weight individuals. Their brains look 16 years older than the brains of lean individuals. Overweight people have 6% less brain tissue and their brains 8 years older than the brains of lean individuals."

Just in case those numbers seem small, let me put them into perspective. That means, if you're OBESE and 35 years old, you may have a brain that looks and behaves liks a 51 year old! If you're overweight & 40 years old, you may be muddling around with a brain that works like a 48 year old!

According to this study, this severe brain deterioration leads to depletion of cognitive reserves, which greatly increase your chances for developing diseases that attack your brain, such as Alzheimer's disease & dementia. The tissue loss was measured to be greatest in the temporal & frontal lobes (which control memory, organization & planning skills), the anterior cingulate gyrus (which control attention & executive functions), the hippocampus (which stores long-term memory) and basal ganglia (movement).

The short & sweet of this study is:

1. Our brain is a muscle
2. Like any other muscle that is neglected, it deteriorates, loosing potential, and becomes fatty
3. Dormant muscles atrophy and become useless
4. To maintain optimum performance from our muscles they need to stimulated

So, how do we exercise our brains? I'm so glad you asked! In addition to "brain teasers" (sudoku, crossword puzzles, problem solvers, ect.) which are the "physical" exercise our brains need, we need to work and rest our brain just as we would any other muscle. Healthy eating, proper vitamins, healthy balance of rest & exercise, & limiting processed foods all have a direct affect on our brain function. The more healthy you are, the better your brain can work. The more junk you eat and the less active you are, the more difficult it becomes for your brain to operate efficiently.

So, remember....

This is your brain:

This is your brain on Fat:

Until Tomorrow!

Keep healthy, keep safe and keep going!

Have an awesome day!

♥Fit~NOW~Girl♥