Eating less keeps your brain young

A team of Italian researchers from the University of the Sacred Heart in Rome (Italy) has discovereda molecule called CREB1 that is activated in the brains of mice on a low-calorie diet. As published today by Giovambattista Pani and his colleagues in the magazineProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the molecule in turn activatesgenes linked to longevity and proper brain function. ? Our hope is to find a way to put CREB1 into operation, for example through drugs, to keep the brain young without having to eat as strict a diet as rodents ,? explains Pani.

And it is that the caloric restriction of the animals subjected to the experiments implies that they can onlyeat 70% of what they normally eat. Under these conditions, the mice do not suffer from obesity or diabetes, have better cognitive performance and better memory, increase their learning capacity and are less aggressive. They also do not develop Alzheimer’s at advanced ages or do so with less severe symptoms than those who eat normally. “There is a relationship between metabolic diseases and the decline in cognitive abilities,” the scientists conclude.

And all thanks to CREB1, which, among other things, activates proteins called sirtuins, which seems to have part of the secret of the “eternal youth” formula. By eliminating the CREB1 molecule, however, all the benefits of caloric restriction are wiped out. “We have identified thekey mediator of the effects of diet on the brain“Pain adds.