Boost Your Brain Power in 60 Seconds
Page 10
Additionally, research conducted by a medical team at a graduate school at Kanazawa University, Japan, demonstrated that curcumin prevents the development of a substance called beta amyloid in the brain. This substance is considered to be a causative factor for Alzheimer’s disease.17
Additional studies are reaching similar positive results. In an animal study published in the Journal of Neuroscience Research, scientists found that curcumin improved spatial learning and memory.18
In another study, three Alzheimer’s patients with severe symptoms that included dementia, irritability, agitation, anxiety, and apathy were given turmeric supplements. After taking 764 milligrams (mg) of turmeric with 100 mg per day of curcumin for 12 weeks, they “started recovering from these symptoms without any adverse reaction in the clinical symptom and laboratory data.” After 3 months of treatment, the patients’ symptoms and their reliance on caregivers significantly decreased. After 1 year of treatment, two of the patients recognized their family members, though they were unable to do so at the outset of the study. In one of the cases, the person had a 17 percent improvement on their mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score.19 The MMSE is a 30-point questionnaire that is used extensively in clinical studies and research to measure cognitive impairment.
How to Benefit
The easiest way to enjoy the benefits of curcumin is to add turmeric to your favorite curry soup or stew. For best results treating or preventing brain diseases, you may need more of the active ingredient than is typically present in most foods. In that case, take a standardized extract with at least 1,200 mg of curcumin content per day. There are currently no known undesirable effects, even with large doses. Most of my clients report tremendous memory improvements simply by taking curcumin supplements and eating more turmeric as part of their daily diets.
Super Health Bonus
One of turmeric’s many properties is its ability to suppress pain through the same mechanism as the pain-killing COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitor drugs primarily used for pain. Turmeric also has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Recent research indicates that ingesting 1,200 mg of curcumin, the main therapeutic constituent of the spice turmeric, had the same effect as taking 300 mg of the potent anti-inflammatory drug phenylbutazone.20 Unlike phenylbutazone, which is highly toxic and has been removed from the marketplace, turmeric is safe for use.
Turmeric’s potent pain-fighting and anti-inflammatory properties work throughout your body, without the worry of the harmful side effects linked to drugs. Because research also shows that turmeric depletes nerve endings of substance P, a pain neurotransmitter, thereby reducing pain, you are likely to experience less pain and inflammation throughout your body while taking this supplement and/or using turmeric in your cooking.
60-SECOND BRAIN HEALTH TIP #17:
Drink Tea for Two Hemispheres
Catechins found in tea prevent damage to and destruction of brain cells.
Perhaps the Queen of England’s afternoon tea break has helped to keep her mind sharp as she has aged? Black, green, and white tea all have significant amounts of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds called catechins, which makes them a great choice for a healthy brain. These natural phytochemicals have shown great promise as brain protectors in recent studies.21
In other research, scientists found that people who drank two or more cups of tea each day were less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.22 Green tea extract reduced neuron loss in the area of the brain that is damaged in Parkinson’s disease.23
Still further research found that green tea contains potent antioxidants that fight free radicals with 20 times the power of vitamin E. Free radicals react with healthy cells in the brain, causing damage, so lessening their numbers helps reduce damage to brain cells. Green tea also lowers the risk of blood clots and clumping linked to stroke. But it’s not just its antioxidant effects that help reduce your risk of stroke. Green tea also prevents cholesterol buildup in arteries and helps prevent cardiovascular disease. According to research in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate, a special type of plant nutrient found in black, green, and white tea) helps prevent fat buildup in arteries.24 If you’ve heard about the many health benefits of green tea, these benefits are primarily due to its EGCG. White and black tea also contain this substance; however, black tea typically contains less than white or green tea.
Another study suggests that regular caffeine exposure may counteract the age-related degenerative process in the brain that leads to a loss of the brain chemical dopamine, a key factor in Parkinson’s.25
There’s still more great news about tea-drinking’s ability to improve your brain health: EGCG improves insulin use in your body to prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes that can result in fatigue, irritability, and cravings for unhealthy foods. And you may recall from our earlier discussions that stable blood sugar levels are imperative to ensure that your brain has a steady flow of energy that lets it function properly. Stable blood sugar also reduces the likelihood that inflammation will form in your brain.
How to Benefit
Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of green tea leaves to a cup of boiled water, preferably in a tea strainer. Let steep for 5 minutes. Pour over ice, if you prefer a cold beverage. Most experts recommend 3 cups daily. And don’t worry: Green tea contains a lot less caffeine than coffee or black tea.
If you’re not wild about the flavor, try a few different kinds. Try it iced or hot. Add some of the natural herb stevia to sweeten it, if you want a sweeter drink. I wasn’t crazy about green tea the first few times I tried it, but now I love it over ice with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a few drops of stevia. Voilà—green tea lemonade! Mmmmm. Even green tea haters love this drink.
Super Health Bonus
Because tea (especially green and white tea) contains potent antioxidants that kill free radicals, drinking it may help reduce the incidence of many serious chronic illnesses, including arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.
60-SECOND BRAIN HEALTH TIP #18:
Eat More Fiber for Fabulous Mental Functions
Fiber works in four different ways to boost brain health.
Okay, I know you’re probably wondering how fiber boosts your mental functions. After all, doesn’t fiber just work on the bowels? While fiber certainly helps keep your bowels regular, it is also critical to the health of your brain in multiple ways.
First, it helps prevent the backup of waste materials in your intestines, which would otherwise lead to toxins moving through your intestinal walls and into your blood, and ultimately to your brain. That’s because the intestinal walls are where nutrients are absorbed into your bloodstream. If your gut walls are compacted with waste matter, this toxic waste is absorbed instead. Fiber helps to eliminate these toxic waste materials before they can do damage.
Second, fiber also helps your intestines eliminate bacterial or yeast overgrowth, the by-products of which can transfer into your blood. Fiber helps to push these harmful infections out of your body.
Third, fiber binds to specific toxins in your body to escort them out. Different types of fiber bind to different toxins. For example, rice bran and spinach fiber bind to toxic polychlorinated biphenyls; pectin from apples and oranges, as well as carrot and cabbage fibers, bind to the heavy metal lead. These fibers help eliminate these toxins from your body so they are less capable of accessing your brain.26
Fourth, fiber also helps to regulate the release of glucose by preventing rapid blood sugar spikes. This helps to ensure that your brain has a steady supply of energy, rather than the energy surges and crashes common to people consuming the Standard American Diet.
How to Benefit
Legumes are some of the greatest sources of fiber. It is easy to add chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, navy beans, or other beans to your diet to reap the nutritional benefits they offer. Whole grains are also excellent sources of fiber. Most fruits and vegetables contain beneficial amounts of fiber, giving you one more reason to consume them
.
To help you get enough fiber, I’ve compiled a list of my top whole food, gluten-free sources of fiber. Most other lists include different types of bran, but bran is still fairly processed, and I always prefer whole food options over processed foods. Here are my preferred readily available, gluten-free, fiber-rich whole foods.
Beans, Beans the Magical Fruit. Few foods can compare with beans when it comes to fiber. If you’re not already striving to get a cup of beans into your daily diet, now might be a good time to start. Here are the fiber grams per cup of some good choices:
Adzuki beans 17 g
Black beans 15 g
Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) 12 g
Kidney beans 16 g
Lentils 16 g
Navy beans 19 g
Pinto beans 15 g
Go Nuts for Nuts. Nuts are an excellent fiber-rich whole food, provided you eat the raw, unsalted ones found in the refrigerator section of your natural food store. Because they contain volatile oils, most nuts sold elsewhere have been overheated during processing or exposed to excessive amounts of heat during storage. The result: rancid oils. I haven’t included peanuts because they are especially vulnerable to aflatoxins—a type of mold that is damaging to the body. Here are the fiber grams per 1-ounce serving of my preferred picks:
Almonds 4 g
Brazil nuts 12 g
Cashews 1 g
Pine nuts 12 g
Pistachios 3 g
Walnuts 2 g
The Seed-y Side of Healthy Eating. Most people rarely give seeds a second thought, yet they are powerhouses of healthy fats, protein, and, of course, fiber. Since seeds tend to be used in different ways and in different quantities, I’ve listed the serving sizes for some of the best seeds and the fiber grams per serving.
Chia seeds (2 tablespoons) 10 g
Flaxseeds (2 tablespoons) 4 g
Hemp seeds (2 tablespoons) 2 g
Pumpkin seeds (½ cup) 3 g
Sesame seeds (¼ cup) 4 g
Sunflower seeds (½ cup) 6 g
Beautiful Berries. Not only do berries taste great, but they are high in fiber, too. Here are the fiber grams per 1-cup serving of some of the best berries to choose to maximize your fiber intake.
Blackberries 8 g
Blueberries 4 g
Elderberries 10 g
Raspberries 8 g
Strawberries 3 g
The Whole Grain and Nothing But. Because many people suffer from gluten sensitivities, I’ve listed the top whole, gluten-free, high-fiber grains and their fiber grams per 1-cup cooked serving.
Amaranth 5 g
Brown rice 4 g
Buckwheat groats 5 g
Millet 2 g
Oats 8 g
Quinoa 5 g
Leafy Greens and Squash. Some of the best vegetable sources of fiber include leafy greens and squashes. Here are their fiber grams per 1-cup cooked serving:
Collard greens 5 g
Kale 3 g
Spinach 5 g
Swiss chard 4 g
Acorn squash 9 g
Butternut squash 6 g
Hubbard squash 7 g
Spaghetti squash 2 g
Summer squash 5 g
Zucchini 3 g
Super Health Bonus
Your bowels will love you for adding more fiber to your diet. And the additional fiber also means you’ll significantly decrease your risk of bowel disorders, including colon cancer.
60-SECOND BRAIN HEALTH TIP #19:
Eat More Beans to Boost Cognition
Beans are high in critical nutrients that eliminate brain-damaging toxic compounds.
Beans could just be the most underrated food in your diet. Most types of beans have high levels of vitamin B6 and folate, both of which help to lessen levels of homocysteine in your body. High homocysteine levels often indicate an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and accelerated aging. The beans that are highest in vitamin B6 and folate are kidney beans and black beans.
Beans are usually high in the B vitamin thiamin, which is integral to energy production and brain cell and cognitive function. Also known as vitamin B1, thiamin is needed to make an important brain messenger substance called acetylcholine, making this vitamin imperative to healthy memory function.27
Kidney beans are high in the mineral manganese, which your body needs to make an important enzyme called superoxide dismutase, or SOD, as it is sometimes known. SOD disarms free radicals produced in the energy centers of your cells, thereby improving energy production and lessening oxidative damage in your body. A cup of kidney beans supplies you with almost one-quarter of the recommended daily dose of manganese.
A large-scale study called the Normative Aging Study linked high dietary folate in foods like beans with less cognitive decline.28
How to Benefit
It’s easy to get at least ½ cup of beans in your diet every day. Add cooked chickpeas to a salad, enjoy hummus with vegetable crudités, or puree chickpeas with roasted red peppers and a bit of sea salt to enjoy in place of mashed potatoes. Add a handful of beans or lentils to your favorite soups, stews, casseroles, curries, tacos, fajitas, and wraps. And of course, there’s always the old standby: chili. Navy beans have the highest amount of fiber at 19 grams per cup, and kidney beans have 16 grams, but all beans are rich in fiber, so any beans will do. Use lentils or chickpeas to make veggie burgers, or use chickpea flour in baked goods.
Super Health Bonus
Beans’ blood sugar–regulating effects will have the added bonus of keeping your energy balanced throughout the day. And new research in the European Journal of Nutrition shows that eating a diet high in legumes such as lentils and chickpeas can help your body burn excess body fat. That’s because beans contain protein and fiber, both of which help stabilize blood sugar levels. Avoiding blood sugar spikes and drops ensures that your body stops storing extra pounds, particularly around your waistline. Beans may help restore a healthy weight in another way, as well. In one study, participants reported greater dietary satisfaction and ate fewer processed foods when chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) were included in their diets.
60-SECOND BRAIN HEALTH TIP #20:
Enjoy an Apple a Day to Keep Dementia at Bay
A daily apple or serving of apple juice halts brain decline by boosting essential brain hormones.
We’ve all heard the old adage “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and provided that the apple is an organic one, it may actually be true, when it comes to brain health.
Research published in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias found that people with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s who drank two 4-ounce cups of apple juice daily had a 27 percent reduction in agitation, anxiety, and delusion.29 A study in the Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging found that regular apple juice consumption compensated for the dietary and genetic deficiencies that promote brain degeneration.30
Another study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that supplementing animals’ diets with apple juice concentrate prevented the free radical damage and cognitive decline common in Alzheimer’s disease. It also helped the animals to maintain healthy acetylcholine levels, while animals whose diets were not supplemented with the apple juice had a significant decline in the hormone.31 Acetylcholine is your most prevalent neurotransmitter—a substance that helps brain and nerve cells communicate. Acetylcholine is involved with attention, arousal, and muscle activation.32
While apples and apple juice work directly on reducing free radical damage and maintaining optimal brain levels of acetylcholine, they also work to maintain a powerful brain by keeping cholesterol levels healthy and preventing stroke. Scientists at BHF Health Promotion Research Group, Nuffield Department of Population Health, at the University of Oxford, in England, compared the effects of eating one daily apple to taking statin drugs (used to lower cholesterol levels) among adults age 50 and up.
The study participants made no other dietary or lifestyle changes, and their mor
tality rates from strokes and heart attacks were recorded. The results of the study were published in the BMJ. Scientists found that eating an apple a day or taking statin drugs daily resulted in an equivalent reduction in mortality. The scientists also estimate that if 70 percent of the over-50 population of the United Kingdom simply ate one apple daily, 8,500 deaths every year due to heart attack or stroke would be averted. And if 90 percent of the British population over age 50 ate a daily apple, the number of lives saved would climb to 11,000 annually. Similar results could be expected in North America.
The great news is that if people ate a daily apple instead of taking statin drugs to prevent strokes and heart attacks, there would not be an increase in any of the serious health conditions linked to statin drug use. The researchers concluded, “An apple a day or a statin a day is equally likely to keep the doctor away.” They added, “We find that a 150-year-old proverb is able to match modern medicine and is likely to have fewer side effects.”33
Not only are apples and apple juice able to help boost brain health, new research also shows that the addition of apple cider vinegar to your diet will help lower high cholesterol levels that can increase stroke risk. In a study published in the Journal of Membrane Biology, researchers studied the effects of a high-cholesterol diet on animals fed apple cider vinegar versus animals that only ate the high-cholesterol diet. They found that the apple cider vinegar exerted a protective effect against the high-cholesterol diet.34
How to Benefit
Apples truly are nature’s fast food. They come ready to eat in a package that is easy to take almost anywhere. They simply need a quick wash. So it is easy to reap their many health benefits, including giving your brain a boost and providing the protection it needs against brain diseases. Add an apple to your lunch, have one as a snack on a break from work, or eat one as an evening treat to quell a sweet tooth. Use applesauce in your baking to reduce the amount of sugar needed. (This will take some adjustment of dry and wet ingredients.) You can also blend apple cider vinegar with a little olive oil, sea salt, and some herbs to make a delicious and nutritious salad dressing.