There's no such thing as the right time to go on a healthy diet: it should be all the time. Based on the different researches, the type of food you eat affects the health of your brain from the time you're in the womb until you're old.
During the recent annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, researchers from different fields, organizations, and universities presented their findings, all pointing out one growing fact: what you eat tells the condition of your brain.
Two separate experiments conducted on animals such as monkeys and lab mice show that pregnant mothers with a poor diet-that is, high in fat-can unknowingly affect the brain development of their unborn child.
In the case of pregnant monkeys in Oregon National Primate Research Center, the babies were born with fewer fibers of dopamine. Dopamine, on the other hand, is incredibly important in regulating the food reward activity of the brain. A person with less of it can feel hungry quicker and more likely to choose savory, high-fat food to be satisfied. Because of such brain issue, baby monkeys build up fatty tissues early, and these can be hard to shed.
Meanwhile, a study analyzing the effects of a high-fructose diet to teens shows that it can worsen the feeling of depression among the young ones. Using mice, the Emory University team behind the research discovered that too much fructose, which can be obtained from many sweetened beverages and processed food, changes the genetic makeup of the hormones.
Another research suggests that there might be a correlation between obesity and dementia. A team from the Australian National University conducted a long-running study spanning more than 5 years among over 400 men and women. During the start of their study, these participants were still in their sixties and perceived to be healthy. Along the way, their hippocampus, the area of the brain that is related long-term memory, and weight were measured. Researchers then found out that the more weight they gained, the smaller the hippocampus became.
