Our parents told us not to do it, but perhaps they were wrong: according to a study published on Frontiers in System Neuroscience Boving the bottom of a pencil (or, more simply, a piece of wood) would increase the levels of a natural antioxidant present in the brain, improving memory. Previous searches had shown that chewing chewing gum improves concentration, but this is the first time that one Research investigates the relationship between chewing, brain antioxidants and cognitive functions.
Glutathione and chewing. When the balance between antioxidant agents and oxidizing substances such as free radicals (or reactive species of oxygen), the brain suffers from oxidative stress. To investigate theTo relation between glutathione, one of the main natural antioxidants agents, and chewingthe scholars involved 52 students from a South Korean university, dividing them into two groups: in 27 they chewed a paraffin rubber and in 25 a low -drops in wood (that, similar to the stick of an ice cream, used by dentists to keep the tongue stopped).
Better the wood. From the results it emerged that chewing significantly increases glutathione levels in the front cingolate cortex (a part of the cerebral cortex) and that this increase was higher in those who had nibbled the lower scales, which also obtained better performance in memory tests.
Future studies. What has been discovered must be confirmed by further studies that analyze other regions of the brain and are conducted on a more heterogeneous and full -bodied group of participants, as well as testing different substances (not only wood and paraffin) and investigate the changes related to the duration of chewing. How the authors are currently noticeable There are no drugs or practices that allow to increase glutathione levels in the brain: If the results are confirmed, nibbling a moderately hard material can be a valid method to do it.
