SCIENCE

For many, the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced just how important mental health is for overall wellness. Rather than some intangible aside, it’s a critical element of physical health. You might even call it fitness. Referring to mental-health care as mental fitness creates a powerful mindset shift. It puts us in a proactive state and gives us the autonomy to improve it. And just as we build and preserve muscle with physical training, we can develop and sustain mental fitness by regularly training our brains. Start with these 12 steps.

When it comes to diet, most people’s concerns involve weight loss, fitness, cardiac health, and longevity. But what we eat affects more than our bodies; it also affects our brains. Recent studies have shown that diet can have a profound impact on mental health conditions ranging from ADHD to depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, OCD, dementia, and beyond. In This Is Your Brain on Food, Dr. Uma Naidoo draws on cutting-edge research to explain the many ways in which food contributes to our mental health and shows how a sound diet can help treat and prevent a wide range of psychological and cognitive health issues.

Over his more than 40-year career, pediatric neuroendocrinologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Robert Lustig has been dedicated to treating and preventing childhood obesity and diabetes. In his new book, Dr. Lustig exposes the truth, both scientifically and politically, underlying the current global pandemic of diet-related diseases. In this excerpt from chapter 8, he describes the two pathways that fuel energy metabolism and explains how different food sources affect the body at the cellular level.

Over his more than 40-year career, pediatric neuroendocrinologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Robert Lustig has been dedicated to treating and preventing childhood obesity and diabetes. In his new book, Dr. Lustig exposes the truth, both scientifically and politically, underlying the current global pandemic of diet-related diseases. In this excerpt, he explains how the precepts of cell biology discussed earlier in chapter 8 (excerpts 1 and 2) present a new way to think about the role of diet and nutrition in the development of non-communicable diseases.

Over his more than 40-year career, pediatric neuroendocrinologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Robert Lustig has been dedicated to treating and preventing childhood obesity and diabetes. In his new book, Dr. Lustig exposes the truth, both scientifically and politically, underlying the current global pandemic of diet-related diseases.

A superager, Barrett explains, is someone older than 60 who “has a memory that functions indistinguishably from (that of) a 25-year-old.”

A survey of economic data across 42 European countries found no relationship between heart disease risk and eating animal protein and animal fat.

Frederick Allen, Elliott Joslin, Louis “Harry” Newburgh, and Phil Marsh were pioneers in the treatment of diabetes before the discovery of insulin. This 2006 review of their methods and outcomes found that all four successfully treated diabetic patients with a diet that closely resembles modern high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets.

"Today, most doctors, dietitians, and even diabetes specialists consider type 2 diabetes to be a chronic and progressive disease — a life sentence with no possibility of parole. But the truth, as Dr. Fung reveals in this paradigm-shifting book, is that type 2 diabetes is reversible."

This 2007 study found increased pancreatic fat is strongly associated with diabetes, independent of overall BMI or waist circumference. These results support the hypothesis that organ-specific fat accumulation, due to its effect on insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, directly predicts and may play a causal role in the development of metabolic distress.

A 2011 article takes a historical look at the use of extremely low-calorie diets in diabetic patients prior to the discovery of insulin.

A brief summary of Frederick Allen’s work to treat diabetes through fasting

This 2016 review finds that low LDL cholesterol levels either have no association with mortality or predict increased mortality in the elderly.

A 2019 in vitro study found chronic fructose exposure increases insulin release by pancreatic β-cells, which may contribute to obesity and insulin resistance over time.

This 2016 debate features arguments for and against the use of statins in primary prevention.

This 2011 review surveys biological markers of depression and its comorbidities. Directly addressing these biomarkers — which often can be done through changes to diet, exercise, and lifestyle alone — may be an effective means to manage depression and reduce its associated disease burden.

A 2020 study by the team at Boston Children’s Hospital found a low-carbohydrate diet increases post-meal circulating energy levels and may support reduced calorie intake over time.

This 2019 review summarizes the mechanisms that regulate ketogenesis and analyzes the impact of ketones on specific disease states.

A 2017 review summarizes mechanisms by which obesity may contribute to age-related diseases, including arthritis and dementia.

A low-carbohydrate, low-calorie diet significantly improved HbA1c in diabetics over 12 weeks.