Consuming a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet may boost your brain health and make you live longer, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Cell Reports. Low-protein high-carbohydrate diets may //be the key to longevity, and healthy brain aging in particular, according to a new mice study from the University of Sydney.
‘Eating a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet may promote healthy brain aging and make you live longer.’
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The research from the University's Charles Perkins Centre shows improvements in overall health and brain health, as well as learning and memory in mice that were fed an unrestricted low protein high carbohydrate diet.Read More..
"There are currently no effective pharmaceutical treatments for dementia - we can slow these diseases, but we can't stop them - so it's exciting that we are starting to identify diets that are impacting how the brain ages," said lead author and Ph.D. candidate Devin Wahl.
The research shows for the first time that unrestricted low-protein, high-carbohydrate diets have similar protective benefits for the brain as calorie restriction, which is well known for its longevity benefits although not sustainable in humans.
"We have close to 100 years of quality research extolling the benefits of calorie restriction as the most powerful diet to improve brain health and delay the onset of neurodegenerative disease in rodents," said Mr. Wahl.
"However, the majority of people have a hard time restricting calories, especially in Western societies where food is so freely available.
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Low-protein high-carbohydrate diets are by no means a new fad.
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For the current study, researchers fed the mice complex carbohydrates derived from starch, and casein protein which is found in cheese and milk.
To assess the brain benefits of the diet, the researchers focused on the hippocampus, the region of the brain responsible for learning and memory.
"The hippocampus is usually the first part of the brain to deteriorate with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. However, the low-protein high-carbohydrate diet appeared to promote hippocampus health and biology in the mice, on some measures to an even greater degree than those on the low-calorie diet," said Professor Couteur.
Learning and memory was assessed via a series of spatial awareness and memory tests, with researchers noting modest improvements in male and female mice at both young and old ages.
This research follows a landmark 2015 study from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre that showed low protein, high carbohydrate diets could be just as effective as low-calorie diets in promoting a long life in mice through good heart and digestive health.
Source-Eurekalert