{"id":2020,"date":"2017-07-19T14:49:14","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T14:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/?p=2020"},"modified":"2017-07-26T13:23:53","modified_gmt":"2017-07-26T13:23:53","slug":"food-and-cognitive-function","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/food-and-cognitive-function\/","title":{"rendered":"Food and brain health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although strictly speaking the brain is an organ, over the years many people make comparisons between the brain and muscles. Like a muscle, the brain needs to be exercised in order to stay healthy. However, that\u2019s not where the comparison ends. Many studies also suggest that in the same way your muscles need the correct fuel to function optimally, so does the brain. No, I\u2019m not talking about super unleaded, this type of fuel also tastes delicious.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no denying that as we age, our physical and mental functioning starts to decline. This is proven time and time again. The brains aging process begins once you hit your late twenties. By sixty years of age your brain starts to rapidly shrink. As scary as this sounds, it is part of life. That being said, it doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t slow this process significantly by making certain lifestyle changes. Changing your diet, increasing exercise levels and lowering alcohol levels can all help to protect your brain (1).<\/p>\n

In this article, we look at some of the foods that will help to keep your brain working at full capacity.<\/p>\n

Blueberries<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Blueberries are not only a delicious treat, they also have some very interesting health benefits. Being chocked full of vitamin c, k and antioxidants is more than just a selling point. Studies have shown that the antioxidants found in berries, especially blueberries, have neuroprotective qualities and can help to keep your mind sharper by combatting age related deficits in brain functioning (2).<\/p>\n

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Antioxidants are important as they stop harmful compounds called free radicals from destroying your nerve cells. Simply put, free radicals are scavenger compounds that, unless kept in check by antioxidants, destroy cells and can even trigger disease (3). In addition to this, blueberries are an excellent source of Gallic acid. A substance thought to have neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties (4).<\/p>\n

Oily fish<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In addition to tasting great, oily fish is one of the most nutritious foods around. High in health promoting omega 3 fatty acids, oily fish should be a staple in everyone\u2019s diet. These are known as essential fatty acids as they can\u2019t be made in the body and must be consumed through diet, making them even more important.<\/p>\n

A recent study measuring the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in 100 65-75-year olds has shown that the adults with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids performed better in problem solving tests and also had larger frontoparietal cortex\u2019s (a specific portion of the brain needed for fluid intelligence) (5).<\/p>\n

In addition to boosting your mental ability, EPA and DHA (two omega-3\u2019s found in oily fish) have been shown to protect the brain from chronic neurodegenerative illnesses like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease, as well as with ischemic stroke (6). If fish doesn\u2019t float your boat (pun intended) then try adding flax seeds, chia seeds or seaweed to your diet to give it a boost of omega 3\u2019s.<\/p>\n

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Eggs<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Despite being one of the most inexpensive sources of protein and being rich in vitamins and minerals, this dietary staple has gotten a bad rap over the last few years. As a direct result of the \u201cdietary cholesterol affects blood cholesterol\u201d myth, people have been quick to shy away from eggs. As this fallacy is starting to perish, more and more research is coming out about the health benefits of eggs. In regard to brain health, the main contributor to healthy functioning is choline. Although not technically a vitamin, the essential nutrient choline has been shown to greatly impact cognitive functioning, with some studies showing that higher choline intake is related to increased cognitive performance (7).<\/p>\n

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In addition to this, there is evidence to suggest that during pregnancy, choline can have various benefits on foetal development. Shaw et al 2004 (8) found that women with the lowest dietary choline intake increased the likelihood of birthing a child with neural tube defects by four times compared to women with the highest intake.<\/p>\n

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Dark chocolate <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Although people may not realise it, their love affair with chocolate isn\u2019t a result of the way it tastes, but the way it makes them feel. It is well known that chocolate releases endorphins, hormones that act on your brain and nervous system and result in feelings of pleasure. In addition to the feelings of happiness associated with dark chocolate, it is also full of flavonoids, a powerful type of antioxidant.<\/p>\n

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Engler et al., 2004 (9) found that flavonoid rich dark chocolate improved the ability of blood vessels to dilate and expand, allowing an increased blood flow to muscles and organs. These flavonoids have also been shown to play a role in protection of neurones (brain cells) and may reduce the risk for developing Alzheimer\u2019s and stroke (10).<\/p>\n

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Avocado <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Over the past five years, the simple avocado has gone from \u201cone of nature\u2019s forbidden fruits\u201d to the king of superfoods. This is largely a result of a population wide confusion regarding fats. We now understand that avocado is chocked full of health promoting monounsaturated fats.<\/p>\n

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In addition to the heart healthy fats, avocado contains a large amount of lutein, a carotenoid with anti-inflammatory properties. Studies have shown that dietary lutein may slow down cognitive decline in older adults (11).<\/p>\n

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Bibliography<\/p>\n

1)Peters, R. (2006). Ageing and the brain. Postgraduate Medical Journal<\/em>, 82(964), pp.84-88.<\/p>\n

2)JOSEPH, J., SHUKITT-HALE, B. and LAU, F. (2007). Fruit Polyphenols and Their Effects on Neuronal Signaling and Behavior in Senescence. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences<\/em>, 1100(1), pp.470-485.<\/p>\n

3)Kumar, H., Lim, H., More, S., Kim, B., Koppula, S., Kim, I. and Choi, D. (2012). The Role of Free Radicals in the Aging Brain and Parkinson\u2019s Disease: Convergence and Parallelism. International Journal of Molecular Sciences<\/em>, 13(12), pp.10478-10504<\/p>\n

4)Sarkaki, A., Farbood, Y., Gharib-Naseri, M., Badavi, M., Mansouri, M., Haghparast, A. and Mirshekar, M. (2015). Gallic acid improved behavior, brain electrophysiology, and inflammation in a rat model of traumatic brain injury. Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology<\/em>, 93(8), pp.687-694.<\/p>\n

5)Zamroziewicz, MK, Paul, EJ, Zwilling, CE & Barbey, AK 2017, ‘Determinants of fluid intelligence in healthy aging: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid status and frontoparietal cortex structure’ Nutritional Neuroscience, pp. 1-10<\/p>\n

6)Eckert, G., Lipka, U. and Muller, W. (2013). Omega-3 fatty acids in neurodegenerative diseases: Focus on mitochondria. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA)<\/em>, 88(1), pp.105-114.<\/p>\n

7)Poly, C., Massaro, J., Seshadri, S., Wolf, P., Cho, E., Krall, E., Jacques, P. and Au, R. (2011). The relation of dietary choline to cognitive performance and white-matter hyperintensity in the Framingham Offspring Cohort1,2. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition<\/em>, 94(6), pp.1584-1591.<\/p>\n

8)Shaw, G., Carmichael, S., Yang, W., Selvin, S. and Schaffer, D. (2004). Periconceptional Dietary Intake of Choline and Betaine and Neural Tube Defects in Offspring. American Journal of Epidemiology<\/em>, 160(2), pp.102-109.<\/p>\n

9)Engler, M., Engler, M., Chen, C., Malloy, M., Browne, A., Chiu, E., Kwak, H., Milbury, P., Paul, S., Blumberg, J. and Mietus-Snyder, M. (2004). Flavonoid-Rich Dark Chocolate Improves Endothelial Function and Increases Plasma Epicatechin Concentrations in Healthy Adults. Journal of the American College of Nutrition<\/em>, 23(3), pp.197-204.<\/p>\n

10)Nehlig, A. (2013). The neuroprotective effects of cocoa flavanol and its influence on cognitive performance. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology<\/em>, 75(3), pp.716-727.<\/p>\n

11)Johnson, E. (2012). A possible role for lutein and zeaxanthin in cognitive function in the elderly. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition<\/em>, 96(5), pp.1161S-1165S.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although strictly speaking the brain is an organ, over the years many people make comparisons between the brain and muscles. Like a muscle, the brain needs to be exercised in order to stay healthy. However, that\u2019s not where the comparison ends. Many studies also suggest that in the same way your muscles need the correct […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":2029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,12],"class_list":["post-2020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conditions","category-research"],"acf":{"post_private":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2020"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2227,"href":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020\/revisions\/2227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lowcarbprogram.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}