Diet and exercise have long been recognized as important components of a healthy lifestyle, as they have a great impact on improving cardiovascular and cerebrovascular functions, lowering the risk of metabolic disorders, and contributing to healthy aging. As a greater proportion of the world’s population is living longer, there has been increased interest in understanding the role of nutrition and exercise in long-term neurological health and cognitive function. Diet and Exercise in Cognitive Function and Neurological Diseases discusses the role and impact that nutrition and activity have on cognitive function and neurological health. The book is divided into two sections. The first section focuses on diet and its impact on neurobiological processes. Chapters focus on the impacts of specific diets, such as the Mediterranean, ketogenic and vegan diets, as well as the role of specific nutrients, fats, fatty acids, and calorie restriction on neurological health and cognitive function. The second section of the book focuses on exercise, and its role in maintaining cognitive function, reducing neuroinflammatory responses, regulating adult neurogenesis, and healthy brain aging. Other chapters look at the impact of exercise in the management of specific neurological disorders such Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease. Diet and Exercise in Cognitive Function and Neurological Diseases is a timely reference on the neurobiological interplay between diet and exercise on long-term brain health and cognitive function.

The role of nutrition in health and disease has been appreciated from time immemorial. Around 400 B.C., Hippocrates wrote “Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” In the 12th century, the great philosopher and physician Moses Maimonides wrote “any disease that can be treated by diet should be treated by no other means.” Now, in the 21st century, we are bombarded by claims in the media of “superfoods,” wondrous nutritional supplements, and special diets that promise to cure or prevent disease, improve health and restore functioning. Much of the focus has been on neurological disease, brain health and psychological functioning (behavior, cognition, and emotion). The hyperbole aside, there has been considerable progress in the past decade in our understanding of the contribution of specific nutrients and dietary patterns to brain development, physiology, and functioning. This Special Issue of Brain Sciences is devoted to the latest research on the role of nutritional deficiencies and excesses in the genesis of brain dysfunction, and use of diet for the prevention and treatment of brain and mental disorders. Basic laboratory and clinical research studies of the immature, adult, and aged nervous system are all welcome.

As the field of nutritional neuroscience has grown, both the scientific community and the general population have expressed a heightened interest in the effect of nutrients on behavior. Diet, Brain, Behavior: Practical Implications presents the work of a diverse group of scientists who collectively explore the broad scope of research in the field. The subject matter of each chapter in this volume was chosen to ensure the current or potential for further applicability to practical, applied issues. Topics discussed include: Concepts of mental energy and fatigue The dangers of obesity and its effect on behavior Exercise, dietary restriction, and supplements for weight loss The effects of caffeine, creatine, theanine, B vitamins, and other dietary supplements on brain functioning and behavior The reward deficiency hypothesis and eating disorders The importance of maintaining proper fluid intake The effects of eating breakfast on performance The role of diet in pain sensitivity During the past decade, there has been an explosion in research and publications in this field. This collection of contributions represents the cutting edge of current research and new advancements in this area. The book provides essential information to those working in a diverse range of fields, including nutrition, neuroscience, psychology, and exercise physiology as well as medicine, dietetics, and occupational therapy.

Public awareness of the role diet plays in brain function has been steadily increasing. This has led to significant development of new products, dietary supplements, functional foods, nutraceuticals and public health recommendations for maintaining brain function. Nutrition for Brain Health and Cognitive Performance presents a detailed and innovati

This book focuses on the benefits of exercise for prevention and treatment of chronic brain disorders. It is a guide for finding the right exercise routine for each individual. The goal is to show the reader why everyone needs to exercise, especially as we get older. The brain needs physical exercise both for normal health and for preventing and treating diseases common with aging. How much exercise is needed? As we see throughout the book there is no one fits all rule with regard to the amount of exercise required. The key is to make exercise a part of one’s daily routine. The beneficial effect of exercise is transient, lasting days to weeks, so it must be a lifelong pursuit. Can we exercise too much? Anything done in excess can potentially be dangerous but with the common sense approach outlined in this book anyone, regardless of underlying health condition, can find some type of exercise that is safe and effective.

Changes in food composition and availability have contributed to the dramatic increase in obesity over the past 30-40 years in developed and, increasingly, in developing countries. The modern diet now contains many foods that are rich in saturated fat and refined sugar. People who eat excessive amounts of this diet are not only likely to become overweight, even obese, develop metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, some forms of cancer, but also undergo a more rapid rate of normal age-related cognitive decline and more rapid progression of neurological diseases such as dementia. A central problem is why people persist in consuming this diet in spite of its adverse health effects and when alternative food choices are available. As high fat / high sugar foods are inherently rewarding, eating for pleasure, like taking psychoactive drugs, can modulate reward neurocircuitry, causing changes in responsiveness to reward-predicting stimuli and incentive motivation. Indeed, the excessive ingestion in modern societies and the resulting obesity epidemic may be viewed as a form of food addiction. Thus, a diet high in palatable foods is proposed to impact upon reward systems in the brain, modulating appetitive learning and altering reward thresholds. Impairments in other forms of cognition have been associated with obesity, and these have a rapid onset. The hippocampus appears to be particularly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of high fat and high sugar diets. Recent research has shown that as little as one week of exposure to a high fat, high sugar diet leads to impairments in place but not object recognition memory in the rat. Excess sugar alone had similar effects, and the detrimental effects of diet consumption was linked to increased inflammatory markers in the hippocampus, a critical region involved in memory. Furthermore, obesity-related inflammatory changes have also been described in the human brain that may lead to memory impairments. These memory deficits may contribute to pathological eating behaviour through changes in the amount consumed and timing of eating. The aim of this eBook is to present up-to-date information about the impact of diet and diet-induced obesity on reward driven learning, memory and cognition, encompassing both animal and human literature, and also potential therapeutic targets to attenuate such deficits.

Improve your brain health and lower your risk of mental decline by following the breakthrough Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. Enjoying a high quality of life as you get older means taking care of your brain as much as your body. And research suggests that what you eat today will help (or hurt) your cognitive abilities later. The MIND Diet explains the science behind mental fitness in an approachable and understandable way. More importantly, this helpful guide presents an easy-to-follow program for keeping your mind sharp by eating the right foods and avoiding brain-harming ones. Packed with dishes that are not only delicious but also help improve memory, concentration and mental acuity, The MIND Diet’s healthy recipes include: Brussels Sprouts Frittata Sweet Potato Lentil Soup Pistachio Mint Couscous Guacamole-Stuffed Tomatoes Apricot-Glazed Salmon Tango Fish Tacos Banana Chocolate Cookies Roasted Chicken with Fennel