How to Protect Your Mind With Brain Foods

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How to Protect Your Mind WithBrain Foods Edited by Garshepp, Teresa, DifuWu, bbyrd009 and 11 others

Do you ever suffer from memory lapses (such as losing the main point of what

you were just saying or misplacing your keys a lot) or from decreased

awareness? Brain health is an important part of ensuring your entire well-

being because thinking straight, and feeling in charge of you remotions , are a

large part of what makes you feel happier, more fulfilled, and more able to

cope with life. A brain impacted heavily by stress will cause all of your bodily

systems to suffer in one way or other and too many free radicals (oxygen

fragments or oxidants) damage the communication pathways in your brain,

damaging brain cells one by one until you experience decreased alertness,

slower reaction times, memory loss, and ultimately dementia or Alzheimer's

disease .[1]

Start young to protect your mind. Individuals are living longer now and while

mental decline is common in aging, it may be slowed and reversed somewhat

by enjoying a range of "brain foods". At the forefront of what is good for your

brain are antioxidants, which are found in all fruits and vegetables, legumes,

tea, low use of: coffee (if you can use caffeine), chocolate (1/4 oz works) and

wine (1 small serving, 4 days per week) .[2] So, put aside the worries and start

proactively feeding your brain with foods that science has shown will protect it

and will go a long way to helping you enjoy both longevity and quality of life.

EditSteps

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1.

1Consider how important better brain functioning is! Better brain

functioning is about improving your memory and clear thinking, helping you to

better manage and express your emotions, and maintaining your generalhealth. In addition, good brain health helps you to maintain your relationships

at their highest level as you'll be thinking clearly and feeling great, as well as

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2Use certain supplements and foods as preventive measures to slowaging of the brain. Slowing aging and keeping your mental faculties sharp

enough so that you can perform as well as someone who's up to 10 years

younger can be done using brain foods .[6] The brain foods need to slow

oxidation by mopping up the free radicals in your body as well as being

targeted to specific needs within your brain. Try to get a good variety of brain

foods in your diet so that you enjoy the different tastes and can eat with the

seasons (which lessens costs and ensures freshness).

Always see your doctor before changing your diet, or to discuss what nutrients

might be missing from your diet and the ways in which you can improve your

brain health.

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3.

3Eat selenium rich foods. Selenium is a trace mineral that has an essential

role in ensuring good brain health, particularly as an anti-oxidant .[7] Studies

have found that depleted levels of selenium result in poor memory, badmoods, and decreased cognitive function, while increasing selenium improves

mood, clarity of thinking, and energy levels .[8]Eat selenium rich foods to get at

least 55 micrograms (mcg) daily, as good for the brain :[9]

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Eat whole-grain bread it has 10 mcg of selenium per slice. Tuna has 63 micrograms of selenium per 3-ounces. Brazil nuts have 270 micrograms of selenium per half ounce.

Try making your own easy wheat and rye bread.

4.

4Eat fish and fish oil. Fish contains selenium, vitamins A and D,

phosphorous ,magnesium and iodine (if marine fish) .[10]Fish oil is the richest

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source of fat vital to brain development in unborn babies and infants .[11] Eat

about 14 ounces (396g) of fish a week, three servings (each about the size of

your fist). Fish oil is also available in foods fortified with DHA supplements .[12]

Try one 320g can of fish with 1tsp. of wasabi this week.

5.

5Eat vitamin B packed foods. B vitamins help to maintain the protective

coating on nerves and are also responsible for helping the production of

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chemicals the nerves use to communicate .[13] Vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid

help your neurotransmitters work efficiently, but it's not proven that B

supplements directly benefits thinking (folic acid, 400 mcg; B12, 800 mcg, and

B6, 40 mg). However, it has been noticed that mental performance candecline with lower levels of vitamin B and research continues into the

usefulness of the B vitamins for fighting Alzheimer's .[14] Good food sources of

vitamin B include: pork, sunflower seeds, enriched grain products, meats

(turkey, lamb, etc.), seafood (steamed clams, bluefin tuna, sardines, etc.),

enriched flour, chickpeas, potatoes, chicken, and bananas .[15]

Try New England clam chowder.

6.

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6Eat foods with luteolin (LOOT-ee-oh-lin). Luteolin calms overactive immunecells (microglia), which can damage the brain and helps to lower plaque-

forming proteins in the brain .[16][17] Eat celery stalks, especially celery hearts,

as a top source of luteolin. You can also get mind-pampering luteolin from

spinach, carrots, and olive oil.

Try celery and apple salad.

7.

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7Eat foods containing carotenoids and flavonoids, which can slow mentaldecline due to aging .[18] Eat dark, leafy greens, spinach, kale, collard or

mustard greens; have three or more servings per day.

Try a spinach potato grilled sandwich.

8.

8

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Enjoy blueberries. These remarkable little fruits can do wonders for your

brain and are reputed to protect against inflammation and oxidation, two

processes that age your brain cells and that are associated with Alzheimer'sdisease .[19] These berries are thought to be so good that they've even been

termed "brain berries" .[20]They are thought to improve short term memory, so

fill up on them ![21]

Try blueberries raw or thawed.

9.

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9Eat foods rich in vitamin E. Vitamin E is another antioxidant that isconsidered able to lessen the chances of getting dementia or

Alzheimer's .[22] Eating just 1 ounce (30 mg) of nuts or seeds a day, or taking a

supplement of 200 to 400 IU daily along with vitamin C, can help improve your

vitamin E levels; note that it works most effectively when taken with

with vitamin C .[23] Vitamin E is found in such foods as sunflower seeds, sweet

potato, kale, wheatgerm, and vegetable cooking oils .[24]

Try making sunflower seed muesli bars.

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10.

10Try adding more turmeric (curcumin a root of the ginger family) into

your diet. Turmeric helps to activate genes that keep your brain clear of

waste build-up that causes inflammation that weakens or destroys braincells .[25] Population studies have revealed a lower incidence of Alzheimer's in

the Indian population where turmeric is much used .[26] Use turmeric (17

milligrams daily of the spice) found in "yellow mustard" (about a teaspoon of

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mustard). The yellow colored mustard has turmeric added. Mustard without

turmeric is light brown or gray.

Learn how to include more turmeric in your diet.

11.

11Improve your omega-3 intake. Omega 3 is excellent brain food, providing

the high DHA fatty acid that is needed to improve mental clarity and halt

memory loss and dementia .[27] Oily fish (salmon, whitefish, tilapia, catfish,

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flounder, mahi mahi, trout), fish oil, walnuts, and flax seeds (linseed) are all

good sources of omega-3 .[28] Look for wild-caught saltwater fish.

Try a flaxseed smoothie.

12.

12Try food supplements and vitamins that may make your memory

stronger (but do talk to your doctor if you're taking a statin drug, such

as Lipitor or drugs for nerves and brain) : [29]

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Aspirin improves circulation and decreases in arterial aging a major cause ofmemory loss for people who take 162 milligrams (mg) of aspirin a day.

Acetyl L-carnitine and alpha-lipoic acid are thought to have a role in

enhancing brain health by improving mitochondrial activity, reducing decay,and enabling higher neurotransmitter function, as a result of animal research,

but it's not proven in humans. Ginkgo biloba, antioxidant supplement, 120 mg daily thins blood can help with

blood vessel disease (but stop taking it before surgery), and may help to

improve cognition. Huperzine A increases levels of acetylcholine to transmit information between

nerve cells, 200 mcg twice daily; your doctor should adjust the dose with otherdrugs.

Phosphatidylserine seems to strengthen cell membranes and nerve

sheathing, protecting nerve transmissions; making up 70 percent of cell

membranes, levels with age drop causing brittleness, 200 mg daily. Coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant, lessens inflammatory damage, protects

against Parkinson's (neural disease from trauma, viruses and genetics), 100

mg twice a day (some research says 300 mg four times a day is even better).

13. 13

Try these generally recommended brain foods : [30]

Nuts containing monounsaturated fats keep your arteries clear, and as

precursors of serotonin boosts mood, one ounce of nuts a day is just right

(more is calorie overload.) An ounce is about 12 walnuts or 24 almonds.

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Unsweetened cherry fruit, blueberries, raspberries, and other produce with

red, blue, or purple hues for phenolics, anthocyanins , which appear to protect

brain cells from neuro damaging oxidation and the risk of cardiovascular

disease.

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Caution : some seeds and pits, such as cherry, apple and plum (seeds/pits)

are poisonous. Soybeans contain heart- and artery-healthy protein, fiber, and fats, 1 cup of

soybeans a day.

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Caution : Do not eat raw or undercooked "kidney and lima beans" (soak and

discard the water and you must boil and simmer at a boil -- Caution : oddly

low-heat cooking may increase the poison), as they contain cyanides .[31]

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Tomato juice and spaghetti sauce contain folate, lycopene, and other nutrients

to keep arteries young, 8 ounces of juice or 2 tablespoons of spaghetti sauce

a day .[32]

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Caution : Tomato leaves and stems are poisonous (so, do not make tea of

these) :[31]

Caution : Raw-green tomatoes are also, poisonous (avoid the green fruit). Olive oil, canola oil, nut oils, fish oils, flax seed, avocados contain heart-

healthy monounsaturated fats. Twenty-five percent of daily calories should be

healthy fats. Plant oils are far healthier for the brain than saturated fats, so

prefer peanut, sunflower, peanut butter, and other polyunsaturated oil sources

too .[33]

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Real chocolate (at least 70 percent cocoa) increases the release of dopamine

and provides flavonoids, which keep arteries young, 1/4 to one ounce a day

(to replace milk chocolate).

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Grapes and tea contain resveratrol which has both anti-inflammatory and

antioxidant properties that can ward off dementia and protect brain

cells .[34] The catechins in tea may also work in tandem with resveratrol for

boosted protection .[35]

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Pomegranate juice has been shown in laboratory studies to improve mental

functioning .[36] The fruit is just as good too.

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Garlic and ginger work as antioxidants and are easy to slip into lots of your

favorite dishes .[37]

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14.

14Avoid processed foods. Just as there are "brain foods", there are "brain

drain foods" that are best avoided except as special treats. These foods

include fatty and processed meats; cakes, cookies, and pastries; trans-saturated fats (cookies, baked goods, etc.); and saturated fats such as

butter .[38][39] High sugar diets are not good for brain health research hasshown that a lot of sugar decreases the brain-derived neurotrophic factor

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(BDNF) that develops new brain tissue, and very low BDNF levels have been

linked with depression and schizophrenia .[40]

Alcohol can impact cognitive health and cause dementia, so keep yourconsumption of alcohol moderate .[41]

15.

15Adjust your eating habits as you age. As you go through the different

stages of life, your need for antioxidants and other nutrients changes as the

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years do. Changes in taste, appetite, and things such as having less stomach

acid and less saliva as you grow older mean that you will experience food

differently, and your nutrient needs will also change .[42] And the amount of

antioxidants you need as you age increases dramatically with each passingdecade, to counteract the actions of the free radicals, so you need to build up

the antioxidants in your body to protect the brain, and this supply must be

replenished daily .[43]

If you remember one thing out of all this, it is eat less and healthier as you

age. That way, you can't go wrong!

16.

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16Drink a blend of herbs, raw protein powders, with something like"almond milk", with berries s u c h a s a " s m o o t h i e" (use a blender to

crush or try to chew "edible" seeds (avoid toxic ones) in your drink,

resveratrol (red wine extract), astragalus (milk vetch),. ..

Caution : Toxic seeds and pits include apple, cherry, plum; so, do not eat

ones that are not "food seeds" as they may be poisonous, containing various

kinds of cyanide, as an example. [31]