The Nutrient: Grip strength and brain health, Earth's health, Multivitamins, Maybe mind

Research

Associations between grip strength, brain structure, and mental health

Handgrip strength is a proxy for overall muscle strength, which is now a proxy for mental strength.

Researchers are hard at work trying to identify "modifiable risk factors and the neurobiological underpinnings that preserve cognitive functioning."

Simply put: What do we need to do to preserve brain function as we age?

In this study, researchers from Yale and Georgia State investigated the behavioral and neural correlates of handgrip strength in over 40,000 participants.

Here's what they found:

• Stronger grip strength was associated with better mental health, including cognitive functioning, anxiety/depression symptoms, subjective well-being, and life satisfaction.
• Widespread associations between stronger grip strength and increased grey matter volume, especially in subcortical regions and temporal cortices. These are the areas of the brain that allows you to control movement, memory, and emotions.
• Improved reaction time is associate with increased grip strength, which reflects your brain's processing speed.

Takeaway

"...grip strength may serve as a complementary measure of cognitive ability in aging adults."

Conventional wisdom says that those who can do some sort of math test would be more likely to be mentally fit as they age. This research suggests that physical fitness is actually a legitimate way to measure brain function and overall well-being. No, you don't need one of those grip-strength tools at your desk, but it's looking like a good idea to incorporate resistance training into your weekly routine if you want to avoid dementia.

News

Yvon Chouinard donates Patagonia to fight climate change

"Despite its immensity, the Earth’s resources are not infinite, and it’s clear we’ve exceeded its limits. But it’s also resilient. We can save our planet if we commit to it."

There's no healthy humans without a healthy Earth.

Article

Should you take a multivitamin?

"When I say that “most people aren’t getting enough micronutrients”, I’m not talking about full-blown nutrient deficiencies that cause acute diseases like rickets, pellagra, and scurvy. Those are relatively rare in the modern world. I’m speaking of what scientists refer to as “nutrient inadequacies”, which means not getting the amount of a nutrient that we need to support optimal health and function."

Words of the week

“The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity, and it’s really impossible to tell whether anything that happens in it is good or bad — because you never know what will be the consequence of the misfortune; or, you never know what will be the consequences of good fortune.”
– Alan Watts

Enjoy your weekend.

Dr. Rondo