Summary The Crazy Brain Benefits of Vigorous Exercise | Dr. Rhonda Patrick (Youtube) www.youtube.com
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Dr. Rhonda Patrick Exercise intensity like high intensity interval training has been shown to have unique benefits for brain health. Obviously, all types of exercise are beneficial for the brain, but high intensity exercise may have additional neuroprotective and cognitive benefits. And 1 of the mechanisms that's thought to underlie this is, you know, the the unique effects of, you know, Vigorous intensity exercise or hit on the brain because of the lactate production. So during high intensity size. Lactate is produced in large amounts as we've talked about, largely as a byproduct of the metabolic stress.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick You're you're kind of pushing that anaerobic threshold. And when you produce lactate, it's getting into circulation and it can cross the blood brain barrier. There are lactate transporters, MCT transporters on the blood brain barrier, and it can, you know, cross the blood brain barrier and get into the brain where it then acts as a signal and it triggers a variety of beneficial adaptations. So, let's talk about some of those. 1st, you know, lactate can be used by neurons as a preferential energy source.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick So it's it's actually energetically favorable. It takes less energy for mitochondria to to mitochondria to use lactate versus glucose. So, in fact, neurons are are used to using lactate because astrocytes in the brain, which are a supporting cell for neurons are mostly glycolytic. That means they're mostly using glucose as energy, they're not using mitochondria, and they're producing lactate as a byproduct. So astrocytes are churning out tons of lactate in the brain and that lactate is be being taken up, you know, bind neurons through the the MCT transporters and use this energy.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick So, there's actually even been studies showing that the brain is working harder during exercise, much like the muscles are working harder, your heart's working harder. And it's been shown that lactate actually fuels the brain during exercise. So that that lactate that's being translate, that's being transported into Circulation is being just soaked up by the brain and it's fueling the brain brain activity during exercise. Now another benefit of of neurons in the brain using lactate as an energy source instead of glucose is it spares glucose. It's freeing up glucose to be used by another biochemical pathway, known as the pentose phosphate pathway.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick And this pathway uses glucose to make precursors called NADPH that's needed for the production of 1 of the most powerful antioxidant systems in the brain called glutathione. So the less glucose is being taken up by neurons To be used as energy, the more it can be spared to be used in this pentose phosphate pathway to make glutathione. And this has really important relevance not only for just, you know, normal brain aging. Right? I mean, if you're if you're able to use more of the lactate as energy and spare glucose and make more glutathione in the brain.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick Generally speaking, that's gonna be more beneficial for just normal brain aging, But it has special relevance also for traumatic brain injury, TBI, because, you know, that when there's that, you know, Bullous of damage that's that's been been done, that that traumatic, brain injury, then glutathione is needed the most. But you're also needing, you know, glucose for neurons as well. And so and and it's and it's it's it's also awful because, you know, astrocytes which are usually making lactate for the neurons also become damaged during a TBI, and so there's a lactate shortage for neurons. And there's been a few studies showing that a few infusion, when there's TBI, patients with TBI that Get infused with sodium lactate. This actually improves TBI outcomes and this is, you know, measured by the the Glasgow scores.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick So, you know, generally speaking, I think that this glucose sparing effect also, you know, there's some evidence again, obviously, direct evidence with TBI outcomes that's shown to have, you know, improvements in TBI TBI outcomes. I'm proposing a mechanism here with glucose sparing, with respect to the with respect to lactate. Lactate again also stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis. Animal studies have shown this in the brain and neurons as well. We don't have direct human evidence of that, but, there's no reason to think that wouldn't be a conserved mechanism.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick So I think, you know, we covered the importance of brain lactate energetically speaking. It's energetically favorable. Right? Neurons neurons preferentially, they prefer to use it. We talked about the glucose sparing, but let's go back to the signaling molecule aspect.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick As we talked about earlier in the muscles, we talked about it increasing GLUT 4 transporters. It's also a signaling molecule in the brain. You know, it's it's acting as a messenger. It's a way for the muscles to communicate with the brain directly. And, when neurons in the brain are using more lactate, they're they're releasing a variety of neurotransmitters, they release more norepinephrine, for example, so to help the brain working better to to have more focus and attention.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick It also signals to the brain to make more brain drive neurotrophic factor, BDNF. And, I mean, this is a very powerful neurotrophic factor. It promotes the survival, the growth, and the function of neurons. It plays a crucial role in neuroplasticity. So this is the the ability of the brain to adapt, to form new connections.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick Higher levels of BDNF have been linked to improved cognitive function, enhanced memory, protection against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease. If you wanna put this in a sensational words, to explain it, BDNF is the youth elixir for the brain, And exercising muscles produce lactate to help you bathe your brain in it. So, that's a little a sort of a simplistic and more sensational way of thinking about it, but essentially, that's what's happening when the lactate's increasing BDNF in the brain. Lactate is also a messenger not only in the brain, but at the blood brain barrier. You know, this is made up of tiny blood vessels.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick We covered this in a podcast with doctor Axel Montaigne. So Tate signals to increase another growth factor at the blood brain barrier called VEGF, and, this is vascular endothelial growth factor. This helps grow new tiny bus vessels. It's called this is called angiogenesis, the growth of new tiny blood vessels. It helps them grow at the blood brain barrier.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick It also helps repair damaged blood vessels. I mean, these are these are these are things that are, you know, important for preventing the breakdown of the blood brain barrier. So essentially, VEGF is increasing the vascular density. And breakdown of the blood brain barrier is a major cause of blood of brain aging. It's a major cause of of neuroinflammation.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick It contributes to the vicious cycle of neuroinflammation. And there's also emerging evidence that now suggests breakdown down to the blood brain barrier is 1 of the earliest signs of dementia. So again, another reason why Vigorous intensity exercise through that just generation of a lot of lactate, then getting to the brain, getting to the blood brain barrier has unique benefits on overall brain health. It's important to know, I guess, this is you know, there there are benefits to high intensity exercise on the brain that are not just exclusive to lactate. Right?
Dr. Rhonda Patrick So there's increased blood flow. There's the improved cardiovascular fitness, the release of neurotransmitters, the release of endorphins, you know, all all of these things contribute to the positive effects of physical activity on the brain. But vigorous intensity exercise, I do think has some unique and very robust effects on brain health because of that k. And so I really wanted to kind of dive deep into that so that you guys understand that. You know, your muscles are being pushed to work extra hard and this is then now causing adaptations in the brain that are pretty substantial.