Can Intermittent Fasting Change Your Brain?
A group of researchers in China put 25 people through 62 days of intermittent energy restriction, IER for short, a fancy term for fasting. They dropped an average of 16.8 pounds, and their gut bacteria and brain activity underwent some dramatic changes in the process.
Using brain scans and poop samples, researchers found that the IER diet tweaked parts of the brain involved in appetite, addiction, and that little voice that says “yes” to a third helping of junk food. Specifically, the left inferior frontal orbital gyrus, a part of the brain that regulates appetite and plays a key role in addiction.
It showed changes tied to two bacteria: Coprococcus and Eubacterium hallii. These microbes seem to fend off food cravings.
Excerpted from Vice
