Jakarta (ANTARA) – Recent research conducted in England confirms the hypothesis that simply skipping meals during fasting does not slow down a person’s thinking ability.
On the other hand, research published by the American Psychological Association contradicts the common belief that when the stomach is empty a person becomes irritable.
This phenomenon is known as “hangry”, which is a combination of the words from hungry (hungry) e angry (angry).
“Many people believe that skipping meals causes an immediate decrease in mental acuity, but our analysis of various evidence shows otherwise,” said David Moreau, lead author of the study, reported by the Daily Mail.
The research combined 71 previous studies that compared the cognitive performance of healthy adults who were fasting and those who had just eaten. The length of fasting varies, averaging about 12 hours per day.
The study then examined factors such as memory, decision making, speed and accuracy of responses involving nearly 3,500 participants.
“Individuals who fasted showed very similar results to those who had just eaten, this shows that cognitive function remained stable even in the absence of food intake,” Moreau said.
Even though food intake is decreasing, research explains that the human body has an energy reserve mechanism that keeps the brain fueled.
“Physiologically, fasting triggers major metabolic changes. When glycogen stores are depleted, the body uses ketone bodies produced by adipose tissue as an alternative energy source,” he said.
Emerging evidence suggests that ketone use may provide broad health benefits, such as regulating hormonal systems and activating cellular repair processes associated with longevity.
Research findings show that brain performance can decline after fasting for more than 12 hours, and a brain performance-decreasing effect is observed in fasting children, although the number of children participating in the study was relatively small.
“Children showed a marked decline in performance during fasting, consistent with previous research confirming the stable cognitive benefits of breakfast for younger age groups,” he said.
Additionally, the study found that decreased brain performance often occurs when a person performs food-related tasks, such as looking at pictures of food or processing food-themed words.
“Hunger only appears to skew cognition or cause distraction in food-related contexts, but overall cognitive function remains largely stable,” he said.
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Reporter: Melusa Susthira Khalida
Publisher: Alviansyah Pasaribu
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