Brain Food. An Expert's Advice on What to Eat for the Proper Care & Feeding of Your Brain

When Dr. Fernando Gomez-Pinilla has something to say about what foods are good for our brains--we better listen!  He is a UCLA professor of neurosurgery and physiological science, and a member of the UCLA's Brain Research Institute. He has spent years studying the effects of food, exercise and sleep on the brain.

Fernando is my new best friend--health expert--and go-to guy.  Anyone who reads my blog knows that I'm a food-exercise-sleep-brain geek and a true-believer in the Holy Grail of Diet-Exercise-Sleep.  Vitamins--unless they're in "real food" aren't going to save you.  For brain health you're going to have to eat your vitamins & anti-oxidants in the form of food!

Dr. G-P analyzed over 160 studies about how food affects the brain and he published this incredible review of the literature this past July 2008 in the well-respected journal, Nature Reviews. Neuroscience. To see the full article click here and scroll down to Latest Publication.

Here's What Dr. Gomez-Pinilla Has to Say

• Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain. 
• Diet, exercise and sleep have the potential to alter our brain health and mental function.
• Diet changes can enhance cognitive abilities, protect the brain from damage and counteract the effects of aging.
• The past 5 years has seen a tremendous increase in research that supports the importance of a diet rich in omega-3s, flavonoids, B-vitamins, anti-oxidants and more for mental & emotional fitness.

Why Is the Brain Is So Highly Affected By the Foods We Eat?

• The brain is highly susceptible to oxidative damage--as in RUST!
• Because the brain consumes so much energy, all that thinking & processing generates an awful lot of oxidizing (rusting) chemicals.
• Brain tissue contains a great deal of oxidizable material to start with, especially in the fatty membranes surrounding nerve cells.
• To counteract the damage that our brains take from everyday usage & to promote the repair of this inevitable brain damage, there's no way around it---You have to eat a steady diet of anti-oxidants, like berries, greens, beans and citrus. Or check out Dr. Joel Fuhrman's list here.

Dr. Gomez-Pinilla's Top Recommendations to Feed & Repair the Brain

The Omega 3's-Fatty Fish-Flax-Walnuts-Kiwi

• DHA, abundant in salmon, reduces oxidative stress, enhances synaptic plasticity  & fluidity (promotes quick thinking), & improves learning and memory.  It's the most abundant omega-3 in the brain's cell membranes.
• Diets deficient in omega 3's are associated with depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, dementia and dyslexia. Yikes.
• In Japan & Okinawa where the diets are high in fish, the rate of mental disorders is very low.
• Children whose mothers took omega-3 supplements while pregnant & breast-feeding show better cognitive performance than those whose mothers didn't supplement.
• Children with increased amounts of omega-3 did better in school, in reading, in spelling, and had fewer behavioral problems.

Folic Acid-Spinach-Citrus-Beans

• Essential for brain function.  Deficiency can lead to depression & cognitive impairment.
• Adequate amounts can prevent dementia, cognitive decline, and enhance antidepressants.
• Recent 3-year clinical trials reduced age-related decline in cognitive function.

Curcumin--Curry spice known as turmeric

• This powerful anti-oxidant is the yellow color found in mustard and in curry spices.
• It reduced memory deficits in animals with brain damage and Alzheimer's.
• Alzheimer's disease is rare in India, which is one of the largest consumers of turmeric. Coincidence?

Berries

• Powerful anti-oxidants, shown to reduce oxidative brain damage and boost both learning ability and memory retention in rodent models.
• It's a polyphenol and it appears to beneficially affect the hippocampus--the part of the brain that retains memories & is most damaged by Alzheimer's.

Watch the Calories, Junk Food & Saturated Fat!

• Excess calories reduce the flexibility of brain synapses & increase the brain's vulnerability to cellular damage by free radicals.  If that's not a good reason to watch calories, I don't know what is!
• Junk food & fast food negatively affect the brain's synapses as well as the specific brain molecules related to learning & memory.
• Small portions are beneficial to brain molecules like BDNF, (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) which has a role in helping to keep existing neurons alive, and growing new ones. A real good thing that I'd like to encourage.
• Dr. G-P suggests that possibly controlled moderate intermittent caloric restriction or meal skipping might have brain benefits.  Not sure about this one.
• Since doing this research, Dr. Gomez-Pinillo has mostly quit eating fast food.
• Saturated fats promoted cognitive decline & aggravated cognitive impairment after trauma in animal studies.  And the sat fats exacerbated cognitive decline in aging humans.

Exercise & Get a Good Night's Sleep

• Exercise enhances learning & memory, counteracts cognitive decline in aging, enhances mental capacity in young adults, & facilitates recovery after brain injury or disease.
• Exercise promoted the growth of new brain cells in animal models
• Exercise increases the blood levels of a molecule called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor).  It usually can't cross the infamous "blood-brain barrier", but magically, it does with exercise.
• The IGF-1 increases the blood flow in the brain, which actually makes the brain produce more neurons and other functional brain cells. 
• The part of the brain crucial to forming new memories, the hippocampus (first to shrink with age & stress) is benefited the most by IGF-1.  Which means: Exercise is the antidote we need to protect our aging brains!
• And then there's sleep.  What we all need to repair our brains, and give all that healthy food and exercise a chance to perform its magic.

If you want to learn more about Dr. Gomez-Pinilla's work, check out his website.  There you'll find a link to his article, as well as a link to an article about his work that was published in the July 1, 2008 issue of The Economist. Click here.

And last of all, I've included a wonderful resource from Dr. G-P's article--a table that will tell you what to eat & why for the Care & Feeding of Your Brain.  I plan to tape the list to my refrigerator!

Select nutrients that affect cognitive function

From the following article:

Brain foods: the effects of nutrients on brain function

Fernando Gómez-Pinilla

Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9, 568-578 (July 2008)

NUTRIENT                      EFFECTS ON COGNITION & EMOTION                  FOOD SOURCES

Omega-3 fatty acids (for example, docosahexaenoic acid	Amelioration of cognitive decline in the elderly148; basis for treatment in patients with mood disorders80; improvement of cognition in traumatic brain injury in rodents81; amelioration of cognitive decay in mouse model of Alzheimer's disease149, 150	Fish (salmon), flax seeds, krill, chia, kiwi fruit, butternuts, walnuts
Curcumin	Amelioration of cognitive decay in mouse model of Alzheimer's disease123; amelioration of cognitive decay in traumatic brain injury in rodents89	Turmeric (curry spice)
Flavonoids	Cognitive enhancement in combination with exercise in rodents92; improvement of cognitive function in the elderly151	Cocoa, green tea, Ginkgo tree, citrus fruits, wine (higher in red wine), dark chocolate
Saturated fat	Promotion of cognitive decline in adult rodents4; aggravation of cognitive impairment after brain trauma in rodents88; exacerbation of cognitive decline in aging humans3	Butter, ghee, suet, lard, coconut oil, cottonseed oil, palm kernel oil, dairy products (cream, cheese), meat
B vitamins	Supplementation with vitamin B6, vitamin B12 or folate has positive effects on memory performance in women of various ages152; vitamin B12 improves cognitive impairment in rats fed a choline-deficient diet153	Various natural sources. Vitamin B12 is not available from plant products
Vitamin D	Important for preserving cognition in the elderly154	Fish liver, fatty fish, mushrooms, fortified products, milk, soy milk, cereal grains
Vitamin E	Amelioration of cognitive impairment after brain trauma in rodents102; reduces cognitive decay in the elderly119	Asparagus, avocado, nuts, peanuts, olives, red palm oil, seeds, spinach, vegetable oils, wheatgerm
Choline	Reduction of seizure-induced memory impairment in rodents155; a review of the literature reveals evidence for a causal relationship between dietary choline and cognition in humans and rats156	Egg yolks, soy beef, chicken, veal, turkey liver, lettuce
Combination of vitamins (C, E, carotene)	Antioxidant vitamin intake delays cognitive decline in the elderly157	Vitamin C: citrus fruits, several plants and vegetables, calf and beef liver. Vitamin E: see above
Calcium, zinc, selenium	High serum calcium is associated with faster cognitive decline in the elderly158; reduction of zinc in diet helps to reduce cognitive decay in the elderly159; lifelong low selenium level associated with lower cognitive function in humans160	Calcium: milk, coral. Zinc: oysters, a small amount in beans, nuts, almonds, whole grains, sunflower seeds. Selenium: nuts, cereals, meat, fish, eggs
Copper	Cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease correlates with low plasma concentrations of copper161	Oysters, beef/lamb liver, Brazil nuts, blackstrap molasses, cocoa, black pepper
Iron	Iron treatment normalizes cognitive function in young women162	Red meat, fish, poultry, lentils, beans

© 2008 Nature Publishing Group 

Comments

[Conroy Lamont]

GREAT post and info---I do almost all of this for about 5 years now, and have had improvement in memory. I also reduced my wheat and dairy to as close to zero as possible. I believe wheat is = sugar, and dairy is for baby COWS. I realized I was kind of lactose intolerant and feel better with out dairy.
-
It is a shame most Americans can't eat this way--there would be less dementia and sickness.