In this solo presentation, Dr. David Perlmutter explains how physical exercise benefits brain health by up‑regulating the production of brain‑derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). He highlights a May 2017 systematic review and meta‑analysis of 39 studies ("Exercise Interventions for Cognitive Function in Adults Older Than 50") that found exercise—whether aerobic, resistance, multicomponent training, or tai chi—significantly improves cognitive function in adults over 50. The analysis identified a 45‑ to 60‑minute moderate‑intensity session as the most effective dose. Dr. Perlmutter interprets these findings as strong evidence for clinicians to recommend regular aerobic and resistance activity, aligned with current exercise guidelines, to support cognition. He also notes that other agents such as turmeric, whole coffee‑fruit concentrate, and DHA (omega‑3) can stimulate BDNF production, further supporting brain health. The talk concludes with a call to emphasize exercise as a “magic bullet” for the brain.
Chapters
Hello everyone, I'm Dr. David Perlmutter. Welcome to the program. I've done a lot of blogging and interviewed quite a few guests recently about the importance of exercise as it relates to the brain. And basically, one of the issues related to exercise, and not just the reduction in inflammatory markers and cardiovascular fitness, is that we know exercise turns on the genes in the body, actually targets the DNA to make a growth hormone for the brain called BDNF. We've seen research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association correlating higher levels of BDNF with lower risk of dementia. The real question would be then, what is the benefit for individuals age 50 or older, or even younger for that matter, on cognitive function of gaining an aerobic program or getting involved in some form of exercise. I want to look at what's called a meta-analysis study, a study that looked at actually 39 other studies, evaluated them to determine is there a relationship between exercise and activity and cognitive function in, in this case, individuals 50 years or greater. Let's have a look. The study is called Exercise Interventions for Cognitive Function in Adults Older Than 50: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis, and the objective of the study is to determine if physical exercise is effective in improving cognitive function in adults over 50 years of age. You know, a lot of us talk about this, but is there really Any data out there? Well, this report, May of 2017, was, as I mentioned, a meta-analysis of 39 other studies. Reviewed these studies and they found that indeed physical exercise did dramatically— was rather dramatically associated, however, with improved cognitive function. And what was so interesting is that various types of exercise, whether aerobic, resistive, multicomponent training, even tai chi, all were found to be effective with respect to cognitive function. These researchers found that you're— they were looking for about a 45 to 60 minute exercise session of at least moderate intensity. That was what was found to be most associated with benefits to cognition. So, you know, many of us have been saying 20 to 25 minutes a day. Based upon this newer study, it does look like it's going to be more. Their conclusions: physical exercise improved cognitive function in the over-50s— that's people like me— regardless of the cognitive function or status of the participants. To improve cognitive function, this meta-analysis provides clinicians with evidence to recommend that patients obtain both aerobic and resistance exercise of at least moderate intensity on as many days of the week as feasible in line with current exercise guidelines. So again, this is a meta-analysis study looking at other studies, but it was, you know, a really robust study. They had a lot of data to deal with, and I think it's very clear that there are brain benefits for engaging in activity. And, you know, as you'll recall from the study, There were a lot of different things that they talked about. You mean you can do tai chi, you could run, jog, swim, whatever. It's just being active that seems to be so important. And again, mechanistically, it looks like the real benefit here may be that exercise in general allows your DNA to express more of this really important chemical for your brain called BDNF. Other things turn on BDNF as well, like the herb turmeric, like whole coffee fruit concentrate. DHA, the omega-3, also stimulates these genes to make more BDNF, and that's really good for the brain. So hope you enjoyed this information. I think it's really important to emphasize exercise for the brain. I'm Dr. David Perlmutter. Thanks for joining us.
