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Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

scientificamerican.com

71–80 of 138 posts

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#72
I'd love to know if there's an above average tendency for those interested or working in the technology field also have a history with endurance related sports. I know a lot of really talented developers that are into biking/hiking/running.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#73
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you consider anabolism/catabolism a binary classification? All living cells, and especially terminally differentiated ones like neurons will have a mixture of anabolic and catabolic metabolic processes taking place constantly, and there's not a straightforward reason to think that physical exercise is flipping some binary master switch that is "good" (by some arbitrary definition) for all cells.

>and there's not a straightforward reason to think that physical exercise is flipping some binary master switch that is "good" (by some arbitrary definition) for all cells. Its not about a "master switch" turning on/off good/bad. The systems must work together to promote healthy metabolism of the cells/energy production. Catabolism and anabolism have separate metabolic pathways controlled by a distinct set of hormone…

[deleted]

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#74
post #50

>Less clear has been why physical activity affects the brain in the first place. I think the studies are looking at this backwards. Physical activity should probably be looked at as the natural state of humans and ask why lack of physical activity affects the brain. Then it probably makes a lot more sense, the brain is comprised of cells, just like muscles, that are either anabolic or catabolic. A lack of physical ex…

> I think the studies are looking at this backwards. Physical activity should probably be looked at as the natural state of humans and ask why lack of physical activity affects the brain. I wonder if there's a selfless gene in humans that reduces the reproductive fitness/longevity of humans that aren't pulling their weight for the group. I could imagine that a gene that shortens the life of a member in a group could…

Somewhat related: "How Immune Systems Can Influence Social Behavior" [1]

So yeah, maybe there's actually some subsystem that controls social behavior, to get rid of someone from the group, or out them to the group by having them unintentionally sabotage themselves, etc.

Maybe people who can't self-terminate are turned into some threat to society that would get them targeted, but their minds present it as some kind of game.

[1] https://psychcentral.com/blog/how-immune-systems-can-influen...

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#75
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you consider anabolism/catabolism a binary classification? All living cells, and especially terminally differentiated ones like neurons will have a mixture of anabolic and catabolic metabolic processes taking place constantly, and there's not a straightforward reason to think that physical exercise is flipping some binary master switch that is "good" (by some arbitrary definition) for all cells.

>and there's not a straightforward reason to think that physical exercise is flipping some binary master switch that is "good" (by some arbitrary definition) for all cells. Its not about a "master switch" turning on/off good/bad. The systems must work together to promote healthy metabolism of the cells/energy production. Catabolism and anabolism have separate metabolic pathways controlled by a distinct set of hormone…

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10838463

I'll take my billion dollars in twenties please.

Anabolism and catabolism are constant and simultaneous processes, even on a cellular level.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#76

This is something I've observed personally, especially with running and mountain biking. It had me pondering if perhaps humans evolved to become smarter in response to these frequent physical stressors. Like if we find ourselves regularly having to outrun predators and/or chasing prey to survive, it would probably be advantageous to grow smarter and depend less on endurance and speed. So I've been taking an attitude…

> regularly having to outrun predators and/or chasing prey to survive

"regularly" never happened. We are not cheetahs nor gazelles. Most popular ideas around "hunters gatherers" are false.

Australian aboriginals are a good example of how most of humans lived.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#77

Is there a scientific way to distinguish evolutionary biology from bourgeois ideology?

I'm not sure about what you mean but a lot of completely made up "popular science" seems to be easily sold as evolutionary science.

"Some people have longer ears than others. Maybe they were better able to hear predators and avoid them and therefore theirs genes spread further..."

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#78
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>and there's not a straightforward reason to think that physical exercise is flipping some binary master switch that is "good" (by some arbitrary definition) for all cells. Its not about a "master switch" turning on/off good/bad. The systems must work together to promote healthy metabolism of the cells/energy production. Catabolism and anabolism have separate metabolic pathways controlled by a distinct set of hormone…

I like your reference to catabolic/anabolic processes. Alas, you then made some incorrect claims. >you can't lift weights and gain muscle (i.e. grow) without also gaining fat Of course you can. I'd be happy to share my Google sheet of daily weight, losing about 0.06lb/day, and my BodPod measurements showing going from 28% to 20% body fat while gaining 2.5lbs of muscle mass. Sarcopenia would have taken another 0.5lbs…

>Of course you can. I'd be happy to share my Google sheet of daily weight, losing about 0.06lb/day, and my BodPod measurements showing going from 28% to 20% body fat while gaining 2.5lbs of muscle mass.

Sure your muscle/fat percentages changes over time. But you didn't simultaneously grow muscle and lose fat, that is not possible.

>Drew Baye has several articles on losing fat while gaining muscle

Again its done over time. There is never a point you are "losing fat while gaining muscle" simultaneously, you gain both or lose both...you can certainly gain more of one than the other, or lose more of one than the other.

Just as an example:

1. You lift putting yourself into a catabolic state, you will lose both fat and muscle in this state (your body if burning more fat than muscle...but its is breaking down both, it is not burning fat and growing muscle);

2. You refuel after your lifting with protein like Whey and some glucose to spike your insulin to force the protein into your muscles, you are now anabolic (your muscle cells and fat cells are both growing and storing this new fuel you consumed, and the protein is rebuilding the muscle, as a result your muscle growth slowly outpaces the fat cell storage and growth)

3. rise and repeat over time and yes you will lose fat and gain muscle (like you did), but the growth/losses never happened simultaneously. Your body was always either catabolic or anabolic...never both.

It is over time you achieve net loss of fat and gain in muscle, but physiologically it is impossible for those processes to occur at the same time.

Re: Evolutionary history and why physical activity is important for brain health

#79
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>and there's not a straightforward reason to think that physical exercise is flipping some binary master switch that is "good" (by some arbitrary definition) for all cells. Its not about a "master switch" turning on/off good/bad. The systems must work together to promote healthy metabolism of the cells/energy production. Catabolism and anabolism have separate metabolic pathways controlled by a distinct set of hormone…

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10838463 I'll take my billion dollars in twenties please. Anabolism and catabolism are constant and simultaneous processes, even on a cellular level.

Where does it say anything about people growing muscle when catabolic or losing fat when anabolic?

Just because the processes don't happen simltaniously, doesn't mean you can't gain more muscle than fat (or gain more fat than muscle) or lose more muscle than fate (or lose more fat then muscle), I never said the two were done at the same rate, just the body will gain simultaneously or lose simultaneously...but the body can't both gain and lose simultaneously.

Link a study showing simultaneous anabolism of muscle and catabolism of fat, or vice-versa...I'll wait.

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