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The Wrong Eating Habits Can Hurt Your Brain, Not Just Your Waistline

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Re: The Wrong Eating Habits Can Hurt Your Brain, Not Just Your Waistline

#11

Post by treehau5 »

cossatot wrote: post #8

I notice a moderate effect on my cognitive ability due to weekly or monthly alcohol consumption (longer term than the hangover cycle). There have been a few times in my life (such as when studying for my PhD comprehensive exams) that I quit drinking completely for over a month and I was quite surprised at how much more clarity of thought and memory I had. Not enough to make me abstain from drinking altogether, but en…

People reeeeally overestimate just how many drinks and with what frequency it takes to cross into that "it's negatively affecting my health" threshold.

The mayo clinic recommends these standards

Up to one drink a day for women of all ages.

Up to one drink a day for men older than age 65.

Up to two drinks a day for men age 65 and younger.

The limit for men is higher because men generally weigh more and have more of an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol than women do.

A drink is defined as:

12 ounces (355 milliliters, or mL) of beer

5 ounces (148 mL) of wine

1.5 ounces (44 mL) of 80-proof distilled spirits

Most people from my experience:

- Pour a glass of wine way over 5 ounces - Drink pints of beer at the bar, which are 16 oz, not 12, and drink at least 2 or 3.

The moderate part is the key, both in frequency, and amount. Not drinking all week, then binge drinking is worse than simply drinking one drink every day of the week.

Re: The Wrong Eating Habits Can Hurt Your Brain, Not Just Your Waistline

#13

Post by zeroer »

costcopizza wrote: post #2

This falls into the category of "things I didn't know, but I assumed anyway." I don't know why the brain and body are still presented as being so distant-- it's all one system! If you're treating your body poorly, how is that not going to negatively effect the most important and complex organ of said body?

> the most important

The most important organ, eh? Consider the source of that information. ;)

Re: The Wrong Eating Habits Can Hurt Your Brain, Not Just Your Waistline

#14

Post by kenjackson »

costcopizza wrote: post #2

This falls into the category of "things I didn't know, but I assumed anyway." I don't know why the brain and body are still presented as being so distant-- it's all one system! If you're treating your body poorly, how is that not going to negatively effect the most important and complex organ of said body?

This assumes that overeating is bad for the body. We know it is because did is readily available, always. But in a world where did may go away for weeks at a time this overeating may be optimal and hence good for the brain too.

Re: The Wrong Eating Habits Can Hurt Your Brain, Not Just Your Waistline

#15

Post by mtberatwork »

tmikaeld wrote: post #4
costcopizza wrote: post #2

This falls into the category of "things I didn't know, but I assumed anyway." I don't know why the brain and body are still presented as being so distant-- it's all one system! If you're treating your body poorly, how is that not going to negatively effect the most important and complex organ of said body?

I think this has much to do with commercial interests.. if there where a higher stigma around the actual cognitive effects of junk-food and sugar it could generate fewer sales. A fitting Terrance McKenna quote: We do not think of ourselves as a meat/sugar/alcohol culture. People do not walk around saying "Oh wow, I'm so high on meat, alcohol and sugar!" but they ARE!

My takeaway from Michael Pollan's books was that we are essentially a corn culture, but a "meat/sugar/alcohol culture" works too I suppose.

Re: The Wrong Eating Habits Can Hurt Your Brain, Not Just Your Waistline

#16

Post by mi100hael »

> He says something similar may happen in human brains when people eat a diet high in fat and sugar. Davidson says there's a vicious cycle of bad diets and brain changes. He points to a 2015 study in the Journal of Pediatrics that found obese children performed more poorly on memory tasks that test the hippocampus compared with kids who weren't overweight.

These assertions raise doubts in my mind regarding the study as a whole. Fat and sugar (a carbohydrate) account for two of the three most common macronutrients, the third being protein. Eating a diet that's low in both fat and carbs would imply a mostly-protein diet which can lead to illness[0].

The further implication that a particular macronutrient ratio could cause obesity is particularly concerning. Weight gain/loss is determined strictly by whether someone consumes more or fewer calories than their body burns in a day. The ratio of macronutrients may effect other health indicators like lean body mass, but a diet of 100% sugar and fat will still lead to weight loss if the total caloric intake is lower than what the body requires thereby requiring the body to burn muscle/fat for energy[1].

While the researchers have found a correlation between memory function and obesity, they appear to be making spurious claims that the foods the obese people eat are a contributing factor. There's no indication they made any attempt to control for the fact that healthy people also regularly enjoy ice cream and bacon, just at a lesser rate than those who are chronic over-eaters and therefore obese.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_poisoning [1] http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/06/health/la-he-fitness...

Re: The Wrong Eating Habits Can Hurt Your Brain, Not Just Your Waistline

#17

Post by treehau5 »

coldcode wrote: post #12

Assuming sugars and all saturated fats are both equally to blame is not in tune with modern research, though of course a lot of competing voices exist.

Saturated fat in itself is not the problem. Caloric excess in the form of saturated fat is. Athletes consume more saturated fat because it increases testosterone production (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9029197?dopt=Abstract)

A hamburger won't kill you. A hamburger if you live a sedentary lifestyle will.

Re: The Wrong Eating Habits Can Hurt Your Brain, Not Just Your Waistline

#18

Post by mtberatwork »

treehau5 wrote: post #11
cossatot wrote: post #8

I notice a moderate effect on my cognitive ability due to weekly or monthly alcohol consumption (longer term than the hangover cycle). There have been a few times in my life (such as when studying for my PhD comprehensive exams) that I quit drinking completely for over a month and I was quite surprised at how much more clarity of thought and memory I had. Not enough to make me abstain from drinking altogether, but en…

People reeeeally overestimate just how many drinks and with what frequency it takes to cross into that "it's negatively affecting my health" threshold. The mayo clinic recommends these standards Up to one drink a day for women of all ages. Up to one drink a day for men older than age 65. Up to two drinks a day for men age 65 and younger. The limit for men is higher because men generally weigh more and have more of an…

Indeed...furthermore, people severely overestimate the amount of calories they burn through exercise and vastly underestimate the amount of calories they consume.

Re: The Wrong Eating Habits Can Hurt Your Brain, Not Just Your Waistline

#19

Post by emodendroket »

mi100hael wrote: post #16

> He says something similar may happen in human brains when people eat a diet high in fat and sugar. Davidson says there's a vicious cycle of bad diets and brain changes. He points to a 2015 study in the Journal of Pediatrics that found obese children performed more poorly on memory tasks that test the hippocampus compared with kids who weren't overweight. These assertions raise doubts in my mind regarding the study…

> The further implication that a particular macronutrient ratio could cause obesity is particularly concerning. Weight gain/loss is determined strictly by whether someone consumes more or fewer calories than their body burns in a day. The ratio of macronutrients may effect other health indicators like lean body mass, but a diet of 100% sugar and fat will still lead to weight loss if the total caloric intake is lower than what the body requires thereby requiring the body to burn muscle/fat for energy[1].

Perhaps, but people in the real world don't usually carefully measure out a portion based on calories before consuming; they eat until they're not hungry anymore. So any food that is calorically dense but doesn't satisfy hunger is likely to contribute to obesity.

The government warns against fats and sugars for similar reasons here https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2010/dietaryguidelin...

Re: The Wrong Eating Habits Can Hurt Your Brain, Not Just Your Waistline

#20

Post by heptathorp »

treehau5 wrote: post #11
cossatot wrote: post #8

I notice a moderate effect on my cognitive ability due to weekly or monthly alcohol consumption (longer term than the hangover cycle). There have been a few times in my life (such as when studying for my PhD comprehensive exams) that I quit drinking completely for over a month and I was quite surprised at how much more clarity of thought and memory I had. Not enough to make me abstain from drinking altogether, but en…

People reeeeally overestimate just how many drinks and with what frequency it takes to cross into that "it's negatively affecting my health" threshold. The mayo clinic recommends these standards Up to one drink a day for women of all ages. Up to one drink a day for men older than age 65. Up to two drinks a day for men age 65 and younger. The limit for men is higher because men generally weigh more and have more of an…

> 12 ounces (355 milliliters, or mL) of beer

Specifically, at 5% ABV. Big difference between 12oz of light lager and 12oz of barleywine.

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