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Posted on December 19, 2019December 20, 2019

Belly fat may reduce mental agility from midlife onward

A study of thousands of middle-aged and older people has linked having more body fat and less muscle mass to changes in mental flexibility with age. The research also suggests that changes to the immune system may play a role.

Researchers from Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames analyzed data on 4,431 males and females with an average age of 64.5 years and no cognitive impairments.

They report their findings in a recent Brain, Behavior, and Immunity paper.

The data came from the U.K. Biobank, which is tracking the health and well-being of 0.5 million volunteers around the United Kingdom. The volunteers were between 40 and 69 years of age when they enrolled during 2006–2010.

The researchers examined the relationship that variations in abdominal subcutaneous fat and lean muscle mass had with changes in fluid intelligence over a 6 year period.

Fluid intelligence refers to reasoning, thinking abstractly, and solving problems in novel situations, regardless of how much knowledge the person has acquired.

The analysis showed that fluid intelligence tended to reduce with age in those participants who carried more abdominal fat.

In contrast, having more muscle mass appeared to protect against this decline. The team also found that the effect of muscle mass was greater than that of having more body fat.

These links remained even after the researchers adjusted the results to remove the effects of potential influencers, such as chronological age, socioeconomic status, and educational level.

Biological, not chronological, age has effect

“Chronological age doesn’t seem to be a factor in fluid intelligence decreasing over time,” says Auriel A. Willette, Ph.D., assistant professor of food science and human nutrition at ISU. “It appears to be biological age, which, here, is the amount of fat and muscle.”

He and his colleagues also investigated the role of the immune system in the links between fluid intelligence, fat, and muscle.

Other studies have found that having a higher body mass index (BMI) is often associated with increased immune activity in the blood. This activity can trigger immune reactions in the brain that disrupt memory and thinking.

Those studies have not been able to pinpoint whether higher fat, muscle mass, or both trigger the immune activity because BMI does not distinguish between them.

When Willette and colleagues looked at what was happening in the immune systems of their U.K. Biobank participants, they found differences between males and females.

In the females, they found that changes in two types of white blood cell — lymphocytes and eosinophils — accounted for all of the link between increased abdominal fat and reduced fluid intelligence.

The explanation for males, however, was very different. For these participants, about half of the link between body fat and fluid intelligence involved basophils, another type of white blood cell.

The importance of resistance training

With advancing middle age, there is a tendency for the body to reduce lean muscle and increase fat.

This trend continues into older age. First study author Brandon S. Klinedinst, a Ph.D. student in neuroscience at ISU, says that it is especially important for people as they approach middle age to continue to exercise to maintain muscle mass.

Resistance training, he suggests, is particularly important for females in their middle years because they have a greater tendency toward reduced muscle mass than males.

The team believes that the findings could pave the way to new treatments that help aging adults maintain mental flexibility, particularly if they have obesity, are not physically active, or experience the loss of lean muscle that usually accompanies aging.

Posted on December 19, 2019December 20, 2019

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

Many of you were enthusiastic about the lentil soup recipe I posted a few weeks back. Today’s split pea soup recipe is similar in spirit. It’s a delicious, healthy, textured soup made from an impossibly short list of ingredients. Seriously, just five! No ham hocks in this version, simply green split peas and onions cooked until tender, partially pureed, seasoned and flared out with toppings.

A Really Great Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

Like many lentil soups, this one delivers many of the same nutritional benefits – a good amount of vegetable protein and plenty of staying power. It is hearty and filling, and even better reheated later in the day. You can find dried split green peas in many natural foods stores, I picked these up in the bin section at Whole Foods Market.

A Really Great Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

Split Pea Soup: Finishing Touches

Split Pea Soup: Finishing Touches

I like to finish each bowl with a generous drizzle of golden olive oil, a few flecks of lemon zest, and a dusting of smoked paprika to give the soup some smoky depth. If you have scallions or toasted nuts on hand (pictured), great! Toss some on as well.

Hope you enjoy the soup, and for those of you who have never tried split peas, this might be the time to give them a go! 

Variations

A number of you had great suggestions for tweaks and variations in the comments. Here are a couple that stood out.

Renae took the soup in a more herb-forward direction. “This soup is divine. I added fennel and sage to give it a warmer texture. Used almond milk to thin it out while blending.”

Jesper noted, “Great looking soup. Instead of using cubed bouillon, I use the water left over from cooking chick peas. Usually I cook them with an onion, a garlic clove or two, black pepper corns and a bay leaf. The result is a lightly flavored vegetable stock, and it freezes well, too.”

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
  • 2 cups dried split green peas, picked over and rinsed
  • 5 cups water, plus more to finish
  • juice of 1 lemon (reserve the zest)
  • To finish: a few pinches of smoked paprika, olive oil, toasted almonds, and/or, scallions

Instructions

  1. Add olive oil to a big pot over med-high heat. Stir in onions and salt and cook until the onions soften, just a minute or two. Add the split peas and water. Bring to a boil, dial down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the peas are cooked through (but still a touch al dente). 
  2. Using a large cup or mug ladle half of the soup into a bowl and set aside. Using a hand blender (or regular blender) puree the soup that is still remaining in the pot. Stir the reserved (still chunky) soup back into the puree – you should have a soup that is nicely textured. If you need to thin the soup out with more water (or stock) do so a bit at a time – there are times I need to add up to 3 1/2 cups extra.
  3. Stir in the lemon juice and taste. If the soup needs more salt (likely), add more a bit at a time until the flavor of the soup really pops.
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