Now for the brain course
Scientists prove you CAN eat your way to a sharper mind (and even beat dementia) with six key foods
THE link between diet and heart health is well known. But a growing body of scientific evidence suggests what we eat can also have a direct influence on that most complex and delicate organ in the human body – the brain.
The field of research has garnered such weight that it even has a name: neuro-nutrition.
As the centre of the nervous system, the brain houses structures that control almost every bodily function. And, incredibly, there is now proof that consuming certain foods can change our moods and help us think faster, and that a healthy diet in mid-life can also slash the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
What’s more, the sooner we start ‘eating smart’, the better.
New findings show that more nutrients than previously thought can cross the protective bloodbrain barrier. Many more increase blood flow to the brain, speeding delivery of the fuel it needs for peak performance.
Most interestingly, despite chemists’ shelves heaving with expensive supplements that claim to be able to work wonders on mental agility, many studies suggest that quite ordinary foods have just as good if not more of an effect.
Just as the right diet plays a vital part in protecting the brain from decline, the wrong one can damage it. As many as 67 studies show that obesity blunts thinking in the young, while diabetes, often linked to overeating, doubles the risk of dementia, a devastating disease that already affects 850,000 Britons, with that number set to soar to a million in the next six years.
It is a message that former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips is keen to get across. She knows only too well the agony of dementia, having witnessed her ‘independent, intelligent’ father succumb to the disease. ‘It was so difficult to see his mind slowly slipping away,’ said the 72-year-old, who is an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society.
Phillips believes in ‘eating sensibly and cutting out bread, pasta, crisps, cakes, sweets and biscuits’.
She added: ‘I want an active brain, one that’s working as strongly as my heart.’
Of course, diet is not the only factor because genetics, exercise, stress and other lifestyle factors also play a part.
But building modest amounts of the following six foods – as recommended by leading medical experts – into your diet really can help you eat your way to a sharper memory, and lower the risk of cognitive decline in later years. Here we show you how...