By Dr. Shannon Pearce
Exercise is not only good for your waistline but it is also good for your brain. The University of Colorado Boulder recently discovered that even a minimal amount of exercise can help to protect against brain damage and memory loss . Microglial cells are the immune defense cells of the brain, these cells are known to become more reactive to infection with age resulting in excess damage to the brain including the memory centers. The researchers at University of Colorado Boulder wanted to know if there was any way to prevent or even eliminate this process in order to preserve memory with age. Their conclusion was very simple, exercise is good for the brain!The study showed that even small amounts of exercise profoundly reduced the amount of inflammation in the brain and it’s residual memory impairments. Research has previously shown that dementia often follows bacterial infections, such as pneumonia or E.coli, due to the release of inflammatory cytokines. It would stand to reason that if one could reduce brain inflammation and cytokine release they would also reduce the damage associated with memory loss. (more)
