[리얼푸드=육성연 기자] There are many people who cannot eat on time due to work or diet. Skipping meals may seem simple, but it can have negative consequences for our body. Food supplies our body with energy, so everything is affected, including our physical and mental health.
If you don’t eat, your brain cells will change too … cognitive decline
A study on the effect of changes in the brain if repeated and long-term meals are skipped has been published in an international scientific journal with world authority in the field of psychiatry. According to a study published in Biological Psychiatry last May, the brains of 685 female patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), aka anorexia nervosa, and the brains of healthy female controls, who showed significant cortical thickness, were compared and analyzed. reduced.
This could mean the loss of brain cells or a lack of connections between brain regions, which could affect our cognitive functions, such as thinking, making decisions and planning. The researchers said: “When nutrients are insufficient, our body can use the water and fat, muscle and bone already stored in the body, as well as reduce the size and quantity of nerve cells in the brain.” Of course, these changes can be reversed by consuming enough nutrients.
Annoyed and Stressed … Changes in Mental Health
Mental health and cognitive function are affected. A study from the University of Alicante, Spain, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2018) of 527 Spanish teenagers, found that students who skipped breakfast had a relatively high level of stress, with feelings of higher depression. If we don’t eat for too long, our body’s blood sugar drops and the body sends a signal to start producing the hormone cortisol (stress hormone).
Eat more refined carbohydrates like sugar … binge
If you don’t eat for a long time, your appetite for sugary foods or refined carbohydrates also increases along with physical symptoms like constipation, nausea, and lack of energy. If the appetite increases, it is easy to lead to eating disorders such as bulimia.
It also interferes with weight management. Park Cho-rong, a nutritionist from Busan 365mc, said: “If you eat irregularly, such as one meal a day after starving all day, the hormone balance of insulin is disturbed, making it difficult to suppress food. appetite and fat is easily stored. ” It can increase your chances of gaining weight and experiencing the yo-yo phenomenon.
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