The
Daily
Fix
5 rounds for time:
Breakfast Enchiladas
Carbohydrate Restriction, Exercise, and Brain Function
10 bodyweight bench presses
Run 400 meters
Soft egg wraps filled with sausage, scrambled eggs, and cheese, baked in a creamy green chili sauce and finished with fresh herbs.
A low-carbohydrate diet and HIIT improve BDNF and cognitive function
Additionally, stretch for 20 minutes.
Post time to comments.
Ingredients
For the Egg Wraps:
6 large eggs
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 Tbsp butter
Pinch salt
For the Filling:
6 oz breakfast sausage
4 large eggs
1 Tbsp butter
½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 Tbsp green onions, sliced
Salt & pepper
For the Green Chili Cream Sauce:
½ cup full-fat sour cream
¼ cup diced green chiles
¼ cup chicken broth
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt, to taste
Macronutrients
(per serving, makes 3)
Protein: 31g
Fat: 50g
Carbs: 5g
Preparation
Whisk 6 eggs with heavy cream and salt. Heat butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Pour a thin layer of egg mixture into the pan and swirl to form a crepe-like round. Cook 1–2 minutes per side until set. Repeat to create 3 thin egg wraps. Set aside.
Cook sausage in a skillet over medium heat until browned and fully cooked. If links, chop into small pieces. Remove and set aside. In the same skillet, melt butter and scramble the remaining 4 eggs gently until soft. Season with salt and pepper.
In a bowl, stir together sour cream, green chiles, chicken broth, garlic powder, olive oil, and salt until smooth.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Lay egg wraps flat and divide scrambled eggs, sausage, cheddar, and green onions evenly down the center. Roll tightly and place seam-side down in a small greased baking dish.
Pour green chili cream sauce over the top. Bake 15–20 minutes until warmed through and slightly set.
Serve hot with extra green onions and a light drizzle of olive oil if desired.
This randomized crossover trial examined whether carbohydrate restriction and exercise have additive effects on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that supports learning, memory, and neuronal plasticity. Twelve adults with metabolic syndrome completed two four-week interventions: a carbohydrate-restricted Paleolithic diet alone and the same diet combined with high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Both interventions significantly increased circulating BDNF and improved measures of cognitive performance, with the combination of diet and exercise producing the greatest benefits.
Participants also experienced improvements in body composition, fasting glucose, triglycerides, and insulin sensitivity. Higher BDNF levels were associated with better metabolic health, suggesting that improvements in cognition and brain function may be linked to improvements in underlying metabolism rather than exercise or diet alone. While subjects spontaneously consumed fewer calories during the study, making it impossible to separate the effects of carbohydrate restriction from calorie restriction, the results are consistent with previous research showing that both dietary carbohydrate restriction and high-intensity exercise support brain health.
Taken together, these findings support the idea that diet and exercise produce complementary improvements in metabolic and cognitive health. Although the study was small and short in duration, it adds to evidence showing that restoring metabolic health through carbohydrate restriction and exercise may improve brain function alongside more traditional markers of metabolic disease.
50lb DBs