We often talk about the physical symptoms of poor metabolic health, but many don’t realize how much metabolic health affects the brain — particularly our ability to think, learn, and memorize new information.
Unless you get your health under control, you may be risking a lot more than just brain fog.
More than 600 million people report symptoms of cognitive dysfunction every year, and a whopping 12.5% to 31.4% live with metabolic syndrome. It’s impossible to not see a connection between the two, and a host of studies have brought this to light.
If you’re experiencing the symptoms of poor cognitive function due to metabolic health, I want you to know there is hope. The earlier you catch metabolic syndrome, the earlier you can prevent cognitive decline — and the more likely you are to live a long and fulfilling life.
Here’s everything you need to know about the science, symptoms, and prevention of metabolic syndrome and its effects on executive function.
The impact of poor metabolic health on the brain
One of the first ways the body expresses its poor metabolic health is through cognitive function. And for many of us in the US, this largely equates to sluggishness, brain fog, and unfocused activity.
Even if it lasts for just a short period of time, slow cognitive function can throw your usual schedule into chaos. You may feel slow, dull, or ineffective at work, or find it hard to stay engaged with tasks you usually love.
You may experience metabolic brain fog for just a few days a week. Perhaps it only occurs when you eat certain foods or ingredients.
But if you’re very metabolically unhealthy and struggle with additional cofactors, cognitive dysfunction could be a round-the-clock problem.
There’s been a wealth of research over the years measuring the impact of metabolic health on learning, recall, and cognition. Today, we know metabolic syndrome is associated with:
- Reductions in recall (poor memory)
- Lower overall intellectual functioning
- Slower or lower learning capabilities
- Sluggish executive functioning
We also know long-term metabolic dysfunction may put you at risk for more serious illnesses. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, dementia, and major depressive disorder all have major ties to poor metabolic health.
But don’t let this information scare you. Removing contributing factors from your diet and improving your metabolic health can help you regain clear mental function and excellent cognitive performance.
Improving metabolic health for better cognition
We know poor metabolic health causes brain fog. We also know metabolic health can be protected and restored.
If you’re serious about sharpening your mind, you should prioritize lifestyle changes in multiple areas. You may want to start with:
- Daily exercise. Just 30 minutes a day is all you need to make a difference on your metabolic health. Apart from building metabolically active tissue, you’re also enhancing the plasticity of your brain for better learning and memory functions. You may want to start with resistance training first, and then branch out to other activities you love (like hiking or bicycling).
- Whole, real foods. We know cognitive capacity is influenced by what we eat, so it’s no wonder sugar, carbohydrates, and high-palatable processed foods have a negative impact on inflammation and insulin. We also know habitual sugar intake is regularly associated with cognitive impairment, creating lasting impact on memory storage and learning pathways. Start weaning your body off highly processed foods, and instead turn to foods that help the body utilize ketones rather than glucose. The consumption of animal products is highly important to this process, especially ruminant animal protein like beef or lamb.
- Good sleep and less stress. Sleep and stress play a major role in metabolic health. We also know they can severely impact your ability to think and recall information. There’s certainly no way to completely avoid stress or lack of sleep, but setting some guardrails around your lifestyle could help. Set a cutoff time for activities at night, and dedicate at least a few hours a week to your favorite hobbies or activities. If you feel there may be deeper issues causing stress and lack of sleep, consider scheduling a therapeutic appointment with a trusted professional.
It’s hard to know what clarity feels like when you’ve been living with brain fog for so long. But once you get your first taste of a clearer, sharper mind, you’ll never want to go back to what you had before.
If you’re serious about staying the course and ready to take back your mind, I encourage you to start with education and explore some resources that can help.
My seven principles of metabolic health course covers everything you need to get started. In 25 videos, I walk through each metabolic component in greater detail and provide strategies for implementing each principle into your life.