Diet and Exercise Might Reverse Aging in The Brain Time

Diet and Exercise Might Reverse Aging in the Brain
BY ALICE PARK DECEMBER 19, 2018
It’s no secret that a healthy diet and plenty of exercise are key to good
health, as study after study continues to show. But the latest analysis puts
some hard numbers on just how big a benefit they can have on the brain, by
possibly reversing some of the effects of aging.
In a study published in the journal Neurology, researchers led by James

Blumenthal, professor in psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center, found
that even among a group of older people who already show signs of thinking
problems, exercising regularly over six months and eating more healthfully
can improve their performance on cognitive tests.
The 160 people in the study, who were all over 55, began the study showing
thinking skills that were similar to people in their 90s: 28 years older, on
average, than they actually were. The volunteers were divided into four
groups. One group participated in an aerobic exercise program, another was
assigned a low-sodium diet, a third was asked to exercise and change their
diet at the same time, and a fourth control group was provided educational
sessions about how to improve their brain health.
The group that exercised and changed its diet at the same time showed the
greatest improvements in cognitive tests after six months. They improved
their test scores by nine years, to resemble those of people 84 years old. The
control group showed a continued decline in their brain test scores, and the
researchers did not see a significant benefit from either exercise or change in
http://time.com/5484017/diet-exercise-reverse-aging/?utm_…%22%3a%22%22%2c%22COUNTRY%22%3a%22EUR%22%7d 07/04/2019, 16N25

Page 1 of 10
diet alone.
“The bottom line is that it’s not too late to derive benefits from exercise,
even in this group of people who have evidence of cognitive impairments,”
says Blumenthal.
All of the men and women in the study were sedentary when they started the
study, and while they showed signs of cognitive decline, they did not have
dementia. They also had at least one heart-disease related risk factor.
Researchers know that heart health, and how well blood circulates
throughout the body and brain, is important to maintaining cognitive skills,
since the brain relies on oxygen–rich blood to fuel its activities.
Blumenthal was impressed that improving diet and exercise was helpful even
in this group that was at risk of developing cognitive problems and
potentially even dementia. “This is not necessarily a cure, but there is
currently no pharmaceutical intervention for preventing dementia,” he says.
“So a starting point of improving lifestyle with exercise and perhaps diet in
this group of people can have important implications down the road for their
overall wellbeing.”
The exercise program included three months of supervised physical activity

at the research facility, in which the people exercised to about 70% of their
peak heart rates on a treadmill or stationary bike three times a week. For the
last three months of the study, people exercised at home using a regimen
created by the researchers around convenience, whether it was joining a gym,
using their own exercise equipment at home or walking vigorously in their
neighborhood. The diet group adhered to the Dietary Approaches to Stop
Hypertension (DASH) which emphasizes reducing salt and increasing fiber to
control blood pressure and improve heart health.

Page 2 of 10
While the groups that changed their diet or exercise alone did not show
significant improvements in their cognitive functioning, Blumenthal says
that may be because the study was too small to record a change.
The fact that the group following both the exercise and diet programs
showed the greatest benefit suggests that the two interventions may work
together to improve brain health, Blumenthal says. “We saw evidence that
exercise and the diet together are better than nothing,” he says. “We showed
you can get improvements in function that can reduce and certainly improve
neurocognitive function, and possibly even postpone development of
dementia late in life.”
Contact us at editors@time.com.

Page 3 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Did You Know?
1 2
Sponsored
If your eyes are blue, you share a A kiss is h
single, common ancestor with every as more g
blue-eyed person in the world. the hand t
?u viruses
through on
___
Sponsored

Page 10 of 10

Diet and Exercise Might Reverse Aging in The Brain Time

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Diet and Exercise Might Reverse Aging in The Brain Time

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Diet and Exercise Might Reverse Aging in the Brain

BY ALICE PARK DECEMBER 19, 2018

In a study published in the journal Neurology, researchers led by James

http://time.com/5484017/diet-exercise-reverse-aging/?utm_…%22%3a%22%22%2c%22COUNTRY%22%3a%22EUR%22%7d 07/04/2019, 16N25

The exercise program included three months of supervised physical activity

http://time.com/5484017/diet-exercise-reverse-aging/?utm_…%22%3a%22%22%2c%22COUNTRY%22%3a%22EUR%22%7d 07/04/2019, 16N25

http://time.com/5484017/diet-exercise-reverse-aging/?utm_…%22%3a%22%22%2c%22COUNTRY%22%3a%22EUR%22%7d 07/04/2019, 16N25

http://time.com/5484017/diet-exercise-reverse-aging/?utm_…%22%3a%22%22%2c%22COUNTRY%22%3a%22EUR%22%7d 07/04/2019, 16N25

You might also like