Monthly Archives: December 2016

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What are the best brain foods? (Part 2)

Dietary manipulations is a viable strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities.  Researchers have uncovered some of the basic principles that are involved in the actions of certain foods and nutrients on the brain. Incorporating this knowledge into your daily meal planning will improve your cognitive ability or thinking power, now and in the future. Following are a list of nutrients and foods essential for brainpower for this holiday season and beyond.

  • Chlorine – helps maintain a healthy memory function – this nutrient is available in egg yolks, soy beef, chicken, veal, turkey liver, and lettuce.
  • The combination of vitamins C, E, and carotene – taken in an antioxidant vitamin form delays cognitive decline in the elderly available in citrus fruits, several plants and vegetables, calf and beef liver.
  • Calcium, zinc, selenium and high serum calcium – the lack of these nutrients are associated with lower cognitive function- calcium is found in milk. Zinc is available in oysters, in smaller amounts in beans, nuts, almonds, whole grains, and sunflower seeds. Selenium is available in nuts, cereals, meat, fish, and eggs.
  • Copper – low levels of this nutrient is associated with cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Copper is available from oysters, beef/lamb liver, Brazil nuts, blackstrap molasses, cocoa, and black pepper.
  • Iron – treatments of this nutrient normalizes cognitive function in young women. It is found in red meat, fish, poultry, lentils, and beans.
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What are the best brain foods?

Blogs constantly bombard us with ways to lose weight over the holidays. Some of those suggestions include news you will see is the same old basic list of second hand tips. For instance do not show up starving to a party, choose your indulgences wisely, and be mindful that alcohol has calories. Most of these tips you could have guessed on your own. The rest of them you only needed to hear once. If it really did work, holiday weight gain would not be such an issue! Instead of dressing up the same information with a new picture, this post looks at what the research actually says about how brain food can make you smarter.

Getting to the point. Scientists have often suspected that specific nutrients from food can affect cognitive processes and emotions. These effects of food on cognition help us to determine how best to manipulate our diet in order to promote mental fitness. Diet and other aspects of our daily routine, such as exercise, improve mental function. We now know that particular nutrients found in foods influence cognition by acting on cellular processes that are vital for maintaining cognitive function.

Therefore dietary manipulations is a viable strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities.  Researchers have uncovered some of the basic principles that are involved in the actions of certain foods and nutrients on the brain. Incorporating this knowledge into your daily meal planning will improve your cognitive ability or thinking power. Following are a list of nutrients and foods essential for brainpower for this holiday season and beyond.

  • Omega-3 fatty acids – amelioration of cognitive decline and useful in the treatment of patients with mood disorders. This nutrient is available in salmon, flax seeds, krill, chia, kiwi fruit, butternuts, and walnuts.
  • Flavonoids – improvement of cognitive function. This nutrient is found in cocoa, green tea, Ginkgo tree, citrus fruits, wine (higher in red wine), and dark chocolate.
  • B vitamins – Supplementation with vitamin B6, vitamin B12 or folate has positive effects on memory performance in women. There are various natural sources for this nutrient.
  • Vitamin D – Important for preserving cognition. Fish liver, fatty fish, mushrooms, milk, soymilk, and cereal grains all provide this nutrient.
  • Vitamin E – reduces cognitive decay. Asparagus, avocado, nuts, peanuts, olives, red palm oil, seeds, spinach, vegetable oils, and wheat germ all are viable sources for this vitamin E.