Reduced glucose metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction correlate with increased neuronal death and brain damage during cerebral ischemia and neurodegeneration. Ketone bodies (KBs), such as acetoacetate and β-hydroxybutyrate, serve as crucial alternative energy sources during glucose deficiency. Both KBs and the ketogenic diet (KD) demonstrate neuroprotective effects by orchestrating various cellular processes through metabolic and signaling functions.

The study suggests the Zanclean Megaflood ended the Messinian Salinity Crisis, which lasted between 5.97 and 5.33 million years ago.

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/15336685

Intermittent calorie restriction improved executive function and memory measures in cognitively intact older adults, an exploratory pilot study suggested.

The 8-week randomized clinical trial of 40 overweight, cognitively normal older adults with insulin resistance examined the effect of two interventions -- a 5:2 intermittent fasting plan versus a "healthy living" diet based on portion control and calorie reduction guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- on brain health. The 5:2 intermittent fasting group had 2 days of food intake of 480 calories/day (two meal replacement shakes), and 5 days of a healthy living diet.

Both interventions improved executive function and memory, with intermittent fasting showing better results on certain cognitive measures, said Dimitrios Kapogiannis, MD, of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, in a poster presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference.

Diet has long been hypothesized as a driver of change among hominins, especially with regard to the increase in brain size. Dietary niches reconstructed based on these fossils showed that the Australopithecus individuals had diets very similar to both contemporaneous and modern herbivores but different from carnivores.

A new study looking at the evolutionary history of the human oral microbiome shows that Neanderthals and ancient humans adapted to eating starch-rich foods as far back as 100,000 years ago, which is much earlier than previously thought.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/24943429

Human ancestors like Australopithecus – which lived around 3.5 million years ago in southern Africa – ate very little to no meat, according to new research published in the scientific journal Science. This conclusion comes from an analysis of nitrogen isotope isotopes in the fossilized tooth enamel of seven Australopithecus individuals. The data revealed that these early hominins primarily relied on plant-based diets, with little to no evidence of meat consumption.