Fasting improves memory

Sunday's food magazine in the Observer (UK) had an article on eating yourself happy. There was nothing particularly new in it except one fascinating point. Doris Stangl, at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, who does research on the adult hippocampaus, found that fasting - eating one day and taking no food the next – had a substantial impact on neural growth. And if new neurones grow, memory improves and the chances of getting depression decrease. Double bonus!

Fasting is an integral part of many world religions from Islam to Christianity to Hinduism. Perhaps all the benefits of this practice will only come to light over time. For me, I'm off lunch!