Can Fat Affect Your Intelligence?
 | 7-4-2010 |
Homer, watch those doughnuts (doh!), for a significant inverse association was found between abdominal obesity and total volume of the brain in a computed tomography (CT scan) study of 733 people called the Framingham Offspring cohort published in the Annals of Neurology. The visceral fat (fat around and built up in the organs) is most associated with a smaller brain.
It is postulated that caloric excess increases insulin (the hormone responsible for putting sugar in the cells from the blood), which is a strong factor in depositing body fat. Increases in visceral fat around the organs increase inflammation in the body, which can cause neuronal loss in the brain.
So what’s wrong with having a smaller brain full of inflammation? These factors are associated with a higher risk of dementia, mood disorders, and a host of other cognitive problems. by Drs. Bongiorno and LoGiudice - www.InnerSourceHealth.com.
reference: Jefferson et al. Inflammatory biomarkers are associated with total brain volume: the Framingham Heart Study. reference: Jefferson et al. Neurology. 200768:1032-1038.
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