Exercise can prevent cognitive decline even when energy lags, researchers discover
Even on days when you're lagging in energy, exercise can give your brain a boost.
That's according to researchers at the University of Missouri (Mizzou), who made a specific discovery about physical activity's brain benefits.
The study, published in the journal Physiology, examined what happens to the brains of individuals who have limited ketone production in the liver.
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When the body is low on glucose, its usual fuel, the liver produces ketones, which help generate energy and power the brain, according to the study's press release.
These molecules support cognitive memory, learning and overall brain health.
Even when the liver cannot produce enough ketones, exercise helps compensate for this loss, potentially reversing some cognitive decline, the researchers found.
This is especially prevalent as people age and face a higher risk of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
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These findings are also promising for those who have liver conditions that prevent the body from producing ketones.
Lead study co-researcher R. Scott Rector, Ph.D., a professor in the School of Medicine and director of the NextGen Precision Health Building, commented on the study in an interview with Fox News Digital, noting that the body's natural production of ketones is important for keeping the brain healthy.
"It helps maintain memory, learning abilities, and the health of the brain’s energy factories (mitochondria)," he said.
"Exercise can still protect the brain even when the liver isn’t making ketones, which might be relevant to individuals with liver disease, which causes reduced ketone production."
These findings were surprising to the researchers, according to Rector, who expected that exercise might not improve brain health when ketone production was limited.
"However, it seems exercise has backup pathways that enhance brain health, even when ketone production is compromised," he said.
Another lead researcher, Taylor Kelty, a postdoctoral fellow in Rector’s lab, noted that previous research has begun to show the link between severe liver dysfunction and a high risk of dementia.
"If ketone production in the liver is disrupted, it could be a potential cause of cognitive decline, ultimately leading to conditions like dementia," Kelty said in the press release.
These findings reinforce exercise's role in keeping people "mentally sharp," as well as being a "key piece of the puzzle in preserving brain health as we age," according to the researcher.
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Rector noted that exercise activates "many other pathways" in the liver that could also help the brain, although that wasn't a focus of this study.
"In the future, we need to study these other molecules and backup systems that still boost brain health," he said to Fox News Digital.
"Exercise's brain health benefits are particularly important for those who have liver conditions like MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease)," Rector added.
"Scientists are finding more and more evidence that liver health affects brain diseases like Alzheimer’s disease," he said.
"Our findings suggest that taking care of the liver and understanding ketone metabolism could be a new way to help prevent or slow down brain diseases."
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The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health as part of the NIH Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium.