Good Nutrition And Intensive Exercise May Improve Mental Abilities

[Julieanne]

James Kingsland
November 3 2020

A study suggests an intensive exercise program boosts cognitive performance and physical fitness in United States Air Force personnel. A nutritional supplement may also have some additional benefits.

While exercise is known to improve health and cognition, combining it with a nutritional supplement that mimics a Mediterranean diet may provide further advantages.
Scientists at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Abbott, and the U.S. Air Force Research Lab found that volunteers who consumed the supplement before and after training sessions had an edge in some measures of fitness and cognition 3 months later.


Read more: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/art...830&utm_term=A

[Islander]

I am enthusiastic about the exercise arm of this article. I have to admit I'm skeptical about any kind of nutritional beverage actually mimicking, much less replacing, a Mediterranean diet. Why not just recommend embracing the Mediterranean diet?

[Julieanne]

This is mentioned at the bottom of the article:

'They also believe there may have been further benefits by using whole foods to deliver the nutrients, rather than supplements.

However, this would have presented several challenges in designing the study, for example, how to deliver exact quantities of several different nutrients. '

[Islander]

Right you are, Julie. I read that and then got distracted. I'm sure it's hard to design nutritional trials that are scalable.