The ZOE at-home test analyzes your responses to hundreds of different foods and tells you about the makeup of your gut bacteria, which can influence your food responses. With the ZOE program, you can find the best foods for your body, based on your unique responses to food.

You can take a free quiz to find out what the ZOE program can do for you. Read on for more information about the links between intermittent fasting and brain health, and to learn about the best foods to support your overall health.

Intermittent fasting goes back thousands of years and is a part of many cultures and religions. Researchers have studied its use for weight loss since the early 20th century and have looked at its other potential health benefits more recently. Time-restricted eating : This involves a window of time when you eat as usual and another when you fast.

Consuming any calories will, in theory, break your fast. Alternate-day fasting : With this method, you switch between days with a normal eating routine and days when you eat very little. Some people follow a modified version that allows around calories, either as a small meal or spread throughout the day.

Scientists have conducted only a limited amount of clinical research into how intermittent fasting may affect brain health.

However, large-scale studies based around religious fasting show encouraging results when it comes to brain function during aging and mental health conditions.

There is some evidence that intermittent fasting may help to improve certain aspects of brain function as we get older, such as mild cognitive impairment MCI. MCI is a stage that comes before dementia.

It includes problems with memory or thinking and is known to be reversible. One study involved three groups of people aged 60 and above with mild cognitive impairment. One group followed intermittent fasting twice a week from sunrise to sunset as part of their religious practices.

Another group did so less often, while a third group did not fast at all. People in the group who regularly followed intermittent fasting also performed better at cognitive tasks. However, researchers found that the participants who regularly fasted had higher levels of an enzyme that may protect against cell damage.

They also showed increases in ketones, the fuel that your body burns from fat stores during periods of fasting. Further research is needed to find out whether these substances are involved in the potential link between intermittent fasting and improvements in brain function as we age.

A number of studies have looked at the impact that intermittent fasting might have on mental health issues, including stress, anxiety, and depression. A recent scientific review analyzed 11 of these studies, with a total of over 1, participants. Most studies were based on fasting between dawn and sunset during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The scientists found that fasting during Ramadan was associated with improvements in stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression. However, when poorer quality research was removed, the remaining studies showed that participants had lower levels of anxiety and depression after following intermittent fasting.

This process is important when it comes to certain aspects of memory, so scientists have begun to follow it up with research involving people. In one small study , volunteers aged 35—75 with overweight followed either intermittent fasting or a standard calorie-restricted diet for 4 weeks.

The results showed improvements in both groups for a process called pattern separation, which helps your brain to distinguish between similar memories. However, when it came to recognition memory, people in the intermittent fasting group actually showed worse ability afterward.

The researchers concluded that eating fewer calories might help improve types of memory that are based on hippocampal neurogenesis. However, there was no evidence to suggest that this has to do with the specific way intermittent fasting works.

Intermittent fasting means going for longer than usual without eating, or limiting the calories you consume. Other studies show that anxiety and depression are times higher in patients with type 2 diabetes than the general population.

Having hypertension or pre-hypertension lowers blood flow to the brain. Intermittent fasting helps to burn more fat , which is good for brain health.

Excess fat on your body is not your friend. A growing body of research, including studies in Archives of General Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine , has found that obesity is detrimental to brain health and is associated with a greater risk of depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia fear of going out , and addictions.

With so much research pointing to important brain health benefits, you may want to incorporate intermittent fasting into your lifestyle. One of the most common methods is to do a nightly fast for hours. The easiest way to do it is to begin fasting several hours before bedtime. For example, if you eat dinner at 6 p.

the next day. At Amen Clinics, we take a whole-body approach to helping people overcome debilitating symptoms and achieve peak performance. We perform comprehensive evaluations that include brain SPECT imaging, as well as looking at the many lifestyle factors, such as diet, that can contribute to mental health symptoms or hold you back from reaching your potential.

Our wrap-around services focus on the least toxic, most effective solutions, including brain health nutrition coaching. If you want to join the tens of thousands of people who have already enhanced their brain health, overcome their symptoms, and optimized their performance at Amen Clinics, speak to a specialist today at If all our specialists are busy helping others, you can also schedule a time to talk.

I have done intermittent fasting for several years and love the benefits. Do I correctly understand the part of the first paragraph, that it can cause neurological problems?

What this means is if your brain is not able to perform autophagy properly it can lead to neuropsychiatric disorders. Autophagy is a brain cleansing process needed for good brain health. Keep doing the intermit fasting, it is good for you. Be Well. Dana, In the last paragraph, it says;.

the next day… For me, if I stopped eating for the night at 8 pm, then I would wait until lunchtime to have my first meal. This worked great for me when I had a busy job or could be out all day running errands. The article says that intermittent fasting helps with the autophagy process the detoxing of the brain.

The last sentence infers that research has shown that problems with the autophagy process the proper functioning of can have neurological problems. It has worked for me. My energy levels have increased, as well as getting back down to my ideal weight. Work into it gradually.

I pretty much eat as many calories during the 8 hours of eating that I did before I started the fasting. AWESOME TIPS to Keep us focused on practical tips to RECHARGE our Brain.

I have experienced the cleansing and energizing affects that Elevate our happy hormones, NATURALLY! And, I feel in control of my cravings…. Daniel, Thanks for sharing your wisdom and self — disclosure. backed with FORTY year of research, scans and first hand experience ……you Landed the PLANE!

Thank YOU for being A MAVERICK. We Muslims fast during Ramadan. We fast from the beginning of the morning about 5 in the morning until about sunset about 12 hours and we do not even drink water.

My friend used to get angry early in other months, but interestingly he is calmer this month. Even the amount of kidney stone production in him decreases this month. For a few weeks now, my daughter has been complaining about her fluctuating body weight every time she has her period which makes it really hard for her to stay fit.

Thankfully, you did point out that intermittent fasting is totally influential in keeping our blood sugar level as low and moderate as possible.