Healthy Brain Foods

Learn which foods are best for your brain health.

To learn which foods are best for your brain health, Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a UCLA professor of neurosurgery and physiological science, analyzed over 160 research studies concerning brain foods.

His conclusion focused on 3 ingredients of food that have the greatest impact on improving your brain health. They are

1. Omega-3 fatty acids
2. Folic Acid
3. And curcumin

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Research makes one thing crystal clear concerning brain health. "Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for normal brain function."

Diets deficient in omega-3 fatty acids are associated with an increase risk of developing

1. Attention deficit disorder
2. dyslexia
3. dementia
4. depression
5. bipolar disorder
6. and schizophrenia

Children are especially affected with diets deficient in omega-3 fatty acids. Studies in England and Australia showed that children with sufficient omega-3 fatty acids in their diet had higher test scores on

1. Verbal intelligence
2. Learning abilities
3. and Memory ability

The type of omega-3 fatty acid that is essential for brain health and function is DHA or docosahexaenoic acid. This type of fat most come from our food, and is found mostly in cold water fish, such as salmon and sardines.

An interesting fact is that people who live on the Japanese island of Okinawa have the world's longest lifespans. They also have a very low mental disorder rate in their population. It probably is no coincidence that they also eat a lot of fish and stay physically active all their life.

Foods that are highest in omega-3 fatty acids are

1. Flaxseed
2. Wild Salmon
3. Chia Seeds
4. Sardines
5. And Walnuts

Folic Acid

It has also been found that folate supplements are effective in preventing cognitive decline and dementia.

Foods highest in folate are

1. Calf liver
2. Lentils
3. Pinto Beans
4. Garbanzo beans
5. Spinach
6. Black Beans
7. Navy beans
8. Kidney beans
9. Collard greens
10. And Turnip greens

Curcumin - Turmeric Spice

Curcumin, which is found in the spice turmeric, is associated with reducing memory deficits in animal models of Alzheimer's Disease. Turmeric, by the way, is the spice that makes yellow mustard yellow.

In India, where there is a high curcumin consumption in their diet, there is a very low incidence of Alzheimer's Disease.

One way to increase your consumption of curcumin is Turmeric Tea.

The evidence is clear. For improved brain health and fitness, make sure that your diet has adequate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids (especially DHA), folic acid and curcumin. To give your brain an added boost in healthy habits,

1. Stay away from foods high in saturated fats
2. Get adequate amounts of sleep
3. And stay physically and socially active

Charles

References:

UCLA Newsroom: "Scientists learn how what you eat affects your brain - and those of your kids"
Linus Pauling Institute: Curcumin
Whole Foods: Folate
Self Nutrition Data: Foods Highest in Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids

My Sardines Recipe

When I was younger, I couldn't understand how my dad could eat sardines. I just couldn't stomach those little critters. But now that I am older, I have developed a taste for these little and nutritional fish.

This is how I eat them.

Sardines Recipe

1 3.75 oz can King Oscar Brisling Sardines Mediterranean Style
1 Town House Italian Herb Flatbread Crisps for each sardine
Mustard - your choice of the type of mustard

I place 1 sardine on a flatbread crisp and top with a dash of mustard. I do this for each sardine in the can. That's it. I eat each sardine crisp one at a time and savor the flavor. I find that these sardines are actually fairly mild. However, it may also be that since I'm older now, my tasting ability may have subdued. But I like this nutritional snack.

Sardines Nutrition

According to Whole Foods, this snack will give you your daily requirements of vitamins B12 and D. In addition, you also get:

• 87% of Omega-3 fatty acids
• 78% of tryptophan
• 45% of excellent quality protein
• 30% of phosphorus
• 20% of vitamin B3
• and 17% of vitamin B2

The back of the can also states that you get

• 20% of your calcium needs
• 8% vitamin A
• and 4% of iron

Sardines are also very low in mercury, and they are not an endangered species. Since the larger fish like tuna are being over fished, the herring (sardine) population is actually increasing in the ocean.

Charles

Prostate Cancer And Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Last year the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial reported a surprising result. The authors reported that higher levels of DHA, which is one of the two omega-3 fatty acids found in cold water fish, were statistically correlated with the risk of high-grade prostate cancer in US men.

An article published by the DHA-EPA Omega-3 Institute titled " Blood Serum Levels of Omega-3 and Prostate Cancer " makes some interesting observations of this result.

• The high levels of DHA in US men that participated in the study actually are very low levels on a global standard. This is because US men typically eat very little fish, especially cold water fish like sardines and salmon. Compared to Japanese men who eat much more fish in their diet, the high DHA levels in the US study are very low.
  
• The intakes of fish or the intake of fish derived omega-3 fatty acids, which is DHA and EPA were not directly measured during the study.
• Many other studies that were designed to find any relationship between a fish diet and prostate cancer have found little relationship between the two. Other studies have found that a cold water fish diet actually had protective effects for total prostate cancer risks.
• The men in this study actually had very low levels of EPA. One conclusion might be that moderately elevated levels of DHA with low levels of EPA may be a risk of advanced prostate cancer. Moderate elevated levels of DHA with low levels of EPA is one result of low fish consumption. Cold water fish and fish oil supplements contain both DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids.
  

Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen in their article " Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Prostate Cancer " make the point that this study shows only a statistical link between moderately elevated levels of DHA and prostate cancer and not a cause. This is not a cause-and-effect study. Both use an omega-3 supplement from marine algae.

The conclusion at the Harvard Health Publications in their article " Surprising findings on omega-3, trans fats, and prostate cancer risk don't warrant a change in diet " is that men should continue eating the recommended servings of cold water fish, which is at least two servings per week. Further they state that "Eating moderate amounts of wild salmon, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and other foods rich in omega-3s is a healthy strategy, Kennedy told me. The best “medicine” for men who are worried about their risk of prostate cancer is to maintain a healthy weight, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly, and control stress. The good news is that taking these steps will promote heart health, too."

If you are worried about mercury in cold water fish, wild salmon, herring, sardines and shrimp are low in mercury. Canned chunk light tuna and cod have moderate amounts of mercury, but also have less omega-3 fatty acids. The cold water fish are also high in vitamin B-12 vitamin D and selenium, which promote good cardiovascular and prostate health. For further information see " Consumer Guide to Mercury in Fish ." If you are concerned about mercury, you can take an omega-3 supplement from marine algae.

It is also interesting that Alaska being a state that consumes more fish than other states also is one of the states that has the lowest prostate cancer rates in the US. And China and Japan also have some of the lowest rates for prostate cancer in the world while also consuming more fish than other nations, especially the US.

The net conclusion for men is to continue eating at least two servings each week of cold water fish or a high quality fish oil supplement as part of your health and fitness routine. The fish, however, gives you added nutrition as an excellent source or protein, vitamins B-12 and D and cancer fighting selenium.

Charles

Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), Dairy Products and Safflower Oil

Here is a review of some articles on conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), health aspects of dairy consumption and safflower oil benefits.

What is conjugated linoleic acid(CLA)?

Conjugated linoleic acids or CLA is a family of linoleic acids or unsaturated n-6 fatty acids. Fatty acids are acids that come from fats that are broken down, and are considered "good fats." They are used for energy by the cells in our bodies, and are water soluble. These fatty acids help the body process cholesterol, clean up our veins and arteries of cholesterol build up, and help regulate weight.

The primary source of CLA are dairy products and beef.

CLA Side Effects

Some of the CLA Side Effects are:

• Stomach upset
• diarrhea
• nausea
• fatigue
• May worsen diabetes
• May cause diabetes if you have metabolic syndrome

CLA: The Modern Food Chain's Weak Link by Lynnette Harris

This article from USU states that some of the benefits of CLA are to "slow the process of some types of cancer and heart disease, and appears to actually help reduce body fat and increase lean muscle mass."

Interestingly, the researchers at USU have found that "CLA content of milk is as much as five times higher when cows graze green, growing pastures than when they eat diets consisting of 50 percent conserved forage, such as alfalfa and corn silage and 50 percent grain." Basically, we have engineered out the healthy benefits of dairy by feeding our cows the wrong diet. More emphasis needs to be placed on how our dairy food supply can be made healthier by increasing the CLA content.

Is Milk From Grass-Fed Cows More Heart-Healthy? by Lynne Peeples

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health have determined that people with the highest levels of CLA have a 36% lower risk of heart attack compared with people with the lowest levels of CLA. This may be more evidence that CLA more than offsets the risks of saturated fat in milk.

Study: Dairy Consumption Does Not Elevate Heart Attack Risk from Brown University

Researchers from Brown University analyzed health data from 3,630 middle aged Costa Rican men and women from an epidemiological study between 1994 and 2004.

"What they found is that the dairy intake of people who had heart attacks was not statistically different than the intake of people who did not. After breaking people into quintiles, based on their dairy consumption amount, there was no significant linear relationship between consumption and heart risk, even among the most voracious consumers."

Two Dietary Oils, Two Sets of Benefits For Older Women With Diabetes by Martha Belury of OSU

This study compared the health effects of safflower oil with CLA.

A result of the 16-week study showed that a small amount of safflower oil, which was a little less than two teaspoons each day, reduced fat in the trunk area (visceral fat), lowered blood sugar and increased muscle tissue.

The same amount of CLA supplements reduced total body fat and lowered the participant's body mass index.

"Among the most surprising findings: that in 16 weeks, these women could lose between about two pounds and four pounds of trunk fat simply by taking safflower oil supplements.

'I never would have imagined such a finding. This study is the first to show that such a modest amount of a linoleic acid-rich oil may have a profound effect on body composition in women,' Belury said. The dose of either oil taken each day was approximately 1 2/3 teaspoons."

A good article by Dr. Russell H. Greenfield titled "Safflower Oil: Use a Fat to Lose Fat?", however, questions the results of this study. Dr. Greenfield's recommendation for now is to not use Safflower Oil.

Organic Dairies and Milk Products Ratings

Here are two organic dairy scorecards and ratings:

The Cornucopia Institute

OnlyGrassFed.com

According to the above organic milk rankings, the best organic milk brands are Whole Foods Markets, Organic Valley and Stonyfield. The lowest ranked brands are Aurora and Horizon.

Charles