Does Weight Loss Lead to Improved Brain Function?

Does Weight Loss Lead to Improved Brain Function?

Why body weight and brain function go hand in hand

Obesity works on a number of different metabolic pathways that can affect the way your brain operates. A growing body of evidence has suggested that obesity is linked to cognitive deficits and that weight loss leads to improved brain function. More so, obesity is a known risk factor for

  • Alzheimer’s disease,
  • Dementia and
  • Stroke

Obesity could cause your brain to severely degenerate

A study performed by UCLA discovered that obese individuals have 8% less brain tissue than people of normal weight. Additionally, individuals that are overweight have 4% less brain tissue. This represents severe brain degeneration, according to a professor of neurology at UCLA. Consequently, it puts obese individuals at a much greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other diseases that attack the brain.

By losing weight, you can reverse most health damages to your body and brain

You can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s, if you eat healthy and keep your weight under control.

According to a study from the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, losing weight will improve your health in many ways.  One of these benefits is improved brain function. Their findings suggest that some of the obesity-associated impairments of the brain can be reversed with weight loss, leading to improved:

  • Memory,
  • Attention,
  • Coordination, and
  • Other executive functions of the brain.

Eating healthy will help to sharpen your brain

A proper diet is also essential not only for losing weight, but also to sharpen your brain.  You may not think it, but the foods that you consume have the ability to affect your brain’s function.

If you are eating the healthy foods that help aid in weight loss, then your diet is suitable for good brain power. You should eat foods that make up a well-balanced diet such as:

  • Fish,
  • Fresh fruits,
  • Vegetables, and
  • Whole grains

These foods contain vital nutrients and ingredients that are necessary for you to have proper brain chemistry.

More so, after weight loss surgery, you should take the proper amounts of vitamins. This is because without adequate amounts of certain vitamins, minerals and other substances in your body, your brain will literally not have the tools that it needs to work as it should.

You should also exercise to boost brain function

When you exercise, you improve your brain’s ability to focus. This is because when you work out, your brain secretes opiates. Opiates control vital roles such as:

  • Hunger,
  • Thirst,
  • Mood and
  • Immune responses.

Furthermore, exercise changes the molecular performance of your brain.

There is increasing evidence indicating the improvement of mental well-being from exercising. Researchers from the Canadian Institute of Health maintain that exercise or working out is a natural remedy that helps improve cognitive abilities as well as physical performance.

Excess weight on the body affects not only your heart, lungs, bones, and joints, but your brain as well. There is nothing more important than having a healthy brain working at its best. The brain operates at its most optimal level when individuals are at a healthy normal weight. Therefore, if an individual is overweight or obese weight loss can help improve cognitive function (memory, attention, coordination) as well as exercise, a proper diet with healthy food choices, and an adequate intake of vitamins.

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