Lose weight - and get smarter

If you cut calories from your diet it could be good for your brain as well as your waistline and your general health.

German researchers working with a group of people aged about 60 on a diet which cut their calorie intake by up to 30 per cent.

A second, control group had a diet which was high in unsaturated fatty acids. Their diet included foods such as olive oil and fish which had been assumed were beneficial to memory - while a third control group was on a normal diet.

In some previous experiments using rats, a diet low in calories and high in unsaturated fatty acids had shown an ability to boost results on memory tests.

According to the research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the group on the restricted-calorie diet showed an increase in verbal memory scores whereas the other two groups failed to do so.

As the researchers claim: 'A restricted-calorie diet increased the memory in a group of elderly men and women, confirming benefits previously shown in animal testing.'

This University of Munster research also found decreased levels of insulin in those on low calorie diets, along with reduced levels of inflammation markers in their blood.

This could have significant effects in other aspects of health in older people.