Related Episodes for The Science of Blueberries for Brain and Vascular Health

“In a six-month trial of adults with peripheral artery disease, a flavanol-rich cocoa beverage improved six-minute walking distance measured 2.5 hours after dosing. In older adults with mild cognitive impairment, higher-flavanol cocoa improved selected verbal-fluency and executive-function tests over eight weeks.”

“Other hormetic responses to cold exposure include increased production of PGC1-alpha, a protein that promotes mitochondrial biogenesis, the production of new, healthy mitochondria, and the activation of brown fat – a phenomenon once thought to occur only in newborns, but now known to occur in adults, especially after cold exposure.”

“Perhaps the most clear-cut examples of cryotherapy’s beneficial effects are observed in the brain, where levels of the hormone and neurotransmitter norepinephrine – responsible for vigilance, attention, focus, and positive mood – increase markedly when the body is exposed to extreme cold.”

“However, the term "fasting" can comprise a variety of subtypes. Intermittent fasting, a term lacking specificity, usually refers to interventions such as alternate-day fasting, fasting one day per week, or a five:two eating pattern (fasting for two days per week).”

“A perplexing aspect of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, is that people respond to it in disparate ways — some exhibiting no symptoms at all, and others experiencing life-threatening complications.”

“The most compelling human signal appears when the brain is under acute strain. In a randomized crossover study, a single dose of 0.35 grams per kilogram during 21 hours of sleep deprivation changed cerebral energy metabolites and preserved selected measures of cognitive performance.”

“Acute stress may create a different context. In a double-blind crossover study of 15 adults undergoing 21 hours of sleep deprivation, a single 0.35-gram-per-kilogram dose changed brain high-energy phosphate measures and improved selected cognitive outcomes.”

“Healthy, well-nourished adults can usually synthesize enough, and athlete trials have not found consistent improvements in immune measures, aerobic performance, body composition, or intestinal permeability from routine supplementation.”

Dan Pardi: Ph.D. candidate studying sleep neurobiology at Stanford and University of Leiden, co-founder of Dan’s Plan online wellness company.

“However, vegans and vegetarians frequently have higher levels of other micronutrients, such as vitamins C and E. Getting the required micronutrients is essential for maintaining optimal health when following a vegan diet.”