Effective Exercise for your Brain.

Effective Exercise for your brain.

Research shows exercise can be a good way to fend off damage from junk food, notes Cassandra Lowe. She works at Western University, where together with Reichelt she has studied kids’ brain and nutrition.

Two important things happen in the brain when we exercise. The first is that the brain’s reward system — the one that feels good when we do something we like — becomes less sensitive to food cues. While scientists don’t quite know why, the outcome is a good thing. “We don’t find high-calorie foods as rewarding,” explains Lowe.

Exercise also triggers the body to make a protein called BDNF. That stands for brain-derived neurotrophic (Neur-oh-TROH-fik) factor. BDNF helps brain cells grow. It also strengthens links between them.

This means exercise can boost strong connections between the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions. When that happens, the prefrontal cortex “can exert control better,” says Lowe. In other words, better connections help us weigh risks, make informed decisions on how to act, and curb our impulses.

What is the take-home message for kids? Many already know that junk food can make people fat and physically unhealthy, says Richardson. Most don’t often understand that it also can lead to unhealthy brains.

Processed and fried foods, such as cold cuts, store-bought baked goods, candy and chips don’t have many of the nutrients our bodies and brains need, Richardson says. Kids need to understand that they tend to be rich both in calories and in “concoctions of chemicals that do not support human health — physical or mental.”

Source: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org