One of the most-asked questions I got when I was chatting with the folks who came to my recent “State of the Art Anti-Aging” Seminar was “How do I keep my brain young?”
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Everywhere I speak, whether it’s here at my recent “State of the Art Anti-Aging” Seminar or at lectures all over the world, people ask me how to keep their minds sharp. |
During my presentation, I showed our guests how maintaining your telomeres can help. But if you are a regular reader, you know I always recommend food as your best source of nutrients for every part of your body.
So today I want to tell you about the foods I ‘prescribe” to my patients to keep their minds energetic and young, even while they sleep. Because if you feed your brain properly, you can have better recall and better concentration.
Eating well, is a fast, direct and reliable strategy for:
Enhancing your cognitive abilities…
Protecting your brain from damage…
And counteracting the effects of aging.
Beneficial foods include those high in antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E. That`s because oxidation causes an age-related decline in mental functions, and a loss of telomere length. This can lead to everything from your garden-variety “senior moments,” to the more serious (and terrifying) Alzheimer’s disease.
Here are some of the foods that improve your brain’s performance and help give you more energy and focus.
1. The healthy omega-3 fats like you get from fish help build your brain cells. But there’s another kind of fat that’s very rare, and has great benefits for your brain. They’re called medium chain fatty acids (MCTs) – namely, capric acid and lauric acid.
These fats are only found in human breast milk, cow and goat’s milk, and coconut and palm kernel oils (which is not the same as palm oil). MCTs reinforce your skin, and strengthen your immunity to fight infection from bacteria and viruses.
But, MCTs also fight depression and inflammation, two major brain robbing conditions. Scientists are also studying these fats because they may fight Alzheimer’s. And animal studies have shown that these fats can protect neurons from injury and cell death.
Nursing babies get about 1 gram of lauric acid per kilogram of body weight each day. You can get about two grams of lauric acid from one tablespoon of dried coconut. Quality coconut milk will contain about three and a half grams for every two ounces. Coconut oil has almost seven grams per tablespoon.
2. Avocados give you mental might. Besides also having tryptophan, avocadoes have been shown to increase blood flow, which is the most important thing you can do to keep your brain working its best. As it turns out, the increased circulation you get from avocado nutrients is highly prevalent in the brain.
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EAT MORE: 24 Brain-Boosting Foods
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Avocados
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Brussels sprouts
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Eggs
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Romaine lettuce
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Oysters
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Cantaloupe
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Legumes
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Salmon
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Bananas |
Chia seeds
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Raw milk
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Spinach
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Blueberries
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Chicken
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Oranges
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Sweet Potatoes
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Beef
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Cold Water Fish
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Peas
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Tuna
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Broccoli
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Collard greens
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Green tea
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Turkey
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3. Don’t be too quick to pass on that odd-looking potato. Most people think of sweet potatoes as some kind of weird, orange thing your grandmother put on the table during Thanksgiving. But Grandma was on to something.
Sweet potatoes boost your body’s power to defend your brain from the incredible volume of toxins we’re exposed to in the modern world. In fact, the plant nutrients in sweet potatoes called anthocyanins may also help reduce your risks from brain-destroying heavy metals like mercury.
Eating sweet potatoes increases production of your two most powerful antioxidants, SOD and catalase, which I’ll talk more about in a little bit.
For now, let’s just say that brain tissue is extremely sensitive to oxidation and free radical damage, and that sweet potatoes are a great defense. Blueberries, cranberries, mangoes and other deeply colored fruits also have a similar but lesser effect.
4. Cacao can make every day happy and productive. More specifically, the seed the plant produces, the cocoa bean… which is of course, used to make chocolate.
Two studies give us great news about chocolate. The first study found that people who ate one serving of chocolate per week were 22% less likely to have a stroke.1 The second study found that people who ate 50 grams of chocolate (about two ounces) once a week were 46% less likely to die following a stroke than those who didn’t eat chocolate.2
How is this important to your brain? Because about 80% of strokes occur when there isn’t enough blood getting to the brain. During a stroke, the brain is starved of oxygen and nutrients and begins to die immediately.
Chocolate helps to counteract that in two ways. It’s rich in antioxidants and helps to increase circulation.
But remember, it is important to distinguish chocolate from sugary candies. You don’t have to worry about the fat in chocolate, that’s the good part. But you should minimize the added sugar.
Chocolates that have the most cocoa give you the most protection for your brain. Try to find chocolates that are at least 70% cocoa.
5. Foods with tryptophan are essential. Tryptophan is one of the ten amino acids your body can’t make, so you must get it through food. It helps our brains produce serotonin, which makes us feel relaxed and in control.
Tryptophan can help fight depression, insomnia and anxiety. Turkey is famous for having tryptophan, but cashews, sunflower and pumpkin seeds and bananas are also good sources. Chicken, and beef also have tryptophan, but in smaller amounts.
1. “Can Chocolate Lower Your Risk of Stroke?” American Academy of Neurology. aan.com. Retrieved February 2010.
2. The Clinic staff, “Causes of Strokes.” The Clinic. Retrieved 9/27/2012.