DR MICHAEL MOSLEY: My brain would zap if it had helped me quit my chocolate addiction –

Are you addicted to smoking, gambling, alcohol or painkillers? Or maybe you’re a chocoholic like me, sometimes looking for a secret stash of chocolate at home, or looking for the next solution late at night, even though you know how damaging fat and sugar can do to the body and brain.

The NHS defines addiction as “not having control over doing, taking or using something to the point where it can harm you”.

Based on that, I would definitely describe myself as a chocolate addict.

So I’m fascinated by a new study by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the United States that has managed to identify a specific circuit in the brain that appears to cause addiction, which can be turned off (or at least rejected) by something called transcranial. magnetic stimulation (TMS).

TMS is the application of a device such as a ping pong racket to different parts of your head. It creates highly focused magnetic pulses that produce an electrical current that changes the activity of the parts of the brain closest to the device.

It may sound scary, but I did it a few years ago when I was shooting a documentary about the brain. When they opened, it felt like someone was hitting my head with a stuffed animal.

They hindered my ability to move my fingers using the TMS device (which was weird), then my ability to count to ten, and eventually made it nearly impossible for me to speak or sing using TMS.

Fortunately it was temporary, and the researchers assured me it was safe, and they’ve used it dozens of times to disable everything from sight to facial recognition.

TMS has long been used in the United States to treat smoking cravings, with good results, and a recent study shows that it also helps people get rid of marijuana.

Even if they had a good idea of ​​which parts of the brain are involved in addiction, it would be much more effective if doctors knew exactly which parts of the brain to target. And that’s where this new study comes in.

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital first studied the brain scans of dozens of people who suddenly lost their appetite for cigarettes after a stroke or other brain injury.

They then compared the damaged areas in these people’s brains with a group that had had a stroke but had not lost the desire to smoke. They were able to identify three regions of the brain—the dorsal cingulate, the lateral prefrontal cortex, and the insula, which are linked together to form what they call the “addictive circuit”—that were damaged only in those who suppressed their craving for cigarettes.

And it turns out this addiction circuit isn’t just about cigarette craving, because when they looked at brain scans of alcoholics who had lost the desire to drink, they found damage to the same parts of the brain.

This is potentially very exciting as there are millions of people addicted to drugs, alcohol or cigarettes in the UK and the treatments available are both expensive and limited in effectiveness.

There is still a long way to go before TMS devices become more widely available, but if anyone is willing to voluntarily see if they can reduce their addiction to chocolate, they know where to find me.

If you have a serious problem, you should consult a specialist. But if you want to quit or reduce your intake, whether it’s alcohol, cigarettes or chocolate, these five steps will help:

1. Set a quit date and stick to it.

2. Eliminate temptation. I have found that the best way to cut down on sugary foods is to avoid having them at home.

3. Distract yourself. Go for a walk, call a friend, have a cup of tea. Anything to distract you from your impulses.

4. Think about your past attempts to give up. What worked and what didn’t?

5. Seek support from friends and family. The worst thing you can do is hide your addiction from your loved ones or continue alone.

Benefits of increasing speed

I’ve been a big fan of HIIT (high-intensity interval training – short-duration high-intensity exercise) since I made a TV show ten years ago, and I’ve discovered that it not only significantly improves my aerobic fitness (like my strong heart and heart). lungs), but also my insulin sensitivity (how well my body controls my blood sugar).

Now there’s a new reason to adopt HIIT: it suppresses appetite.

In a recent study published in the journal Nature, a group of teenagers were asked to do 90 minutes of slow-paced pedaling or 30-second intense sprints (a type of HIIT).

When American researchers analyzed cyclists’ blood, they found that HIIT stimulated the production of N-lactoyl-phenylalanine, a chemical in the blood that travels to the brain and suppresses the desire to eat.

In a recent study published in the journal Nature, a group of teenagers was asked to do 90 minutes of slow-paced cycling or 30-second intense sprints (i.e. a type of HIIT) (archive photo)

How do you get HIIT in your life? I get my HIIT flares on my bike ride home (we live on top of a steep hill).

When I reach the base of the hill, I pedal like crazy for about 20 seconds, then gently push for about another minute, then push for another 20 seconds before climbing back up. Sometimes I get a third blast. And that’s all.

If you don’t like cycling, you can sprint while running or accelerate for short bursts when going uphill.

You need to push yourself more. But it won’t take long.

Do not ignore this hearing loss

One of the things I find most frustrating about aging is worsening of my hearing. When I eat in bars or restaurants with a lot of music or screaming, I have trouble hearing what is being said.

I recently had a hearing test that confirmed what I was afraid of: I can no longer hear high-frequency tones and have trouble distinguishing certain sentences when there are many other sounds.

I wouldn’t be surprised because more than 40 percent of people over 50 have some degree of hearing loss; It rises to 70 percent in people over 70. Many people try to ignore that they have a hearing problem, which is a big mistake. Ignoring hearing loss has serious consequences.

For example, a 2020 report in The Lancet showed that hearing loss is a major risk factor for dementia.

They think it’s because hearing loss shrinks your brain or isolates you from the world around you and all the stimulus it provides.

How do you know if your hearing is bad? The Royal National Institute for Deaf People charity, for example, if you turn on the TV louder than your family would like (mine); if you have difficulty hearing on the phone (still not a problem I’m having); or if you often ask people to repeat what they have said (all very true).

If you think your hearing is not working properly, talk to your GP, who may refer you for a hearing test or even a hearing aid.

This week I conducted interviews and discussed a study that found that people who could not stand on one leg for ten seconds had a much higher risk of premature death.

The reason this test is an important indicator of future health is because when you stand on one leg, you’re not only testing the health of your muscles, but also the health of your brain, which has to work hard to get you back. your foot.

Give it a try: The test ends when you move your standing foot or put your lifted foot on the ground.

Try the best of the three. If you are 60 or younger, you should be able to hold on for 30 seconds; 70 to 80 then 20 seconds is a good result.

You can improve your balance; I work on myself by standing on one leg while brushing my teeth