Fasting: A Tool to Regrow Your Brain?

Monkeys in a zoo become sick. Why, we ask? Because it is unnatural for them to live this way. Because it does not match their evolutionary history.

The same is true for us humans. There is a disconnect between how we live now, and how we lived for the overwhelming majority of our evolution. We can see this in many things, most clearly, perhaps, in how we eat. So, what are we doing wrong?

The six meals per day advice:

We have all heard it is healthy to eat smaller, more frequent meals. It is proclaimed on the tv and given as advice by well-meaning strangers. But there is only one problem: your brain is dying.

Neuronal Autophagy is not just a bummer to memorize, it is also the process by which our brain trims away old and dead neurons, the same way a tree will shed old leaves. Our brain does this for the same reason a tree does- to break down old cells into fertilizer for new ones. This is Neuronal Autophagy: the constant process of neuron death, recycling, and regrowth that is essential for our brain. Inhibit this process, and your brain does the dying part, minus the recycling and regrowing part. It’s kind of a big deal.

Hunger triggers Autophagy?

Yes, you read that correctly. Ghrelin is a hormone that is mainly produced by the stomach- the higher your Ghrelin levels, the hungrier you feel. Ghrelin induces autophagy. If you don’t believe me, then feel free to literally google “Ghrelin induces autophagy” and see for yourself.

The implications of this are staggering.

Not only are they staggering, but this has been supported by solid science since 2009, and since then this Stomach-Brain link has only grown more intriguing. We now know also, that around 90% of our Neuromodulators and Neurotransmitters — Dopamine and Serotonin — are produced by the microbiome in our gut. And there is also evidence that periods of fasting are fantastic the microbiome, that it increases the diversity of this gut bacteria. Feel free to google that and go down another rabbit-hole.

An older wisdom?

The world's largest religions, separated by Oceans and Cultures and Time, all prescribe periods of fasting. Why? Because they knew intuitively that it was important. They just didn’t know how to explain it using scientific terms. And now we do.

Save your brain. Stay Hungry.

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