More things you can eat for extra brain protection....

Today's Post: Thursday, 7-28-2011

Yesterday, I saw a story online with a whole list of things you can eat that give you extra brain protection.

It included some interesting foods.

1.Hopefully you are already eating a health supporting diet such as a DASH II with extra virgin olive oil added or Mediterranean diet each with less or no refined grains and extra vegetables. Those diets and avoiding excess sugar, excess omega 6, refined grains, and junk foods and soft drinks as well keep your circulation good and your inflammation low. They lower your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes dramatically. That means your brain gets good circulation and keeps working right when otherwise it might not.

2. Hopefully, you are getting regular exercise every week. Regular moderate exercise like walking or gardening or tai chi plus interval cardio a few times a week and strength training a few times a week also lower your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes dramatically. That means your brain gets good circulation and keeps working right when otherwise it might not.

But doing these exercises also optimizes the neurotransmitters in your brain, gives it extra circulation, and grows new nerve and brain cells too. And, because it sharply slows aging to do this, your brain will keep working well longer for that reason too!

3. Also, the two best things to take for brain protection are curcumin supplements or curried foods with turmeric or both and at least 4,000 to 8,000 iu a day of vitamin D3. Studies show that these two things not only are protective of your health and many other ways, they may help prevent or even reverse the changes in your brain that cause Alzheimer’s disease.

4. I liked the foods list yesterday for several reasons.

a) It listed wild caught salmon since the one of the omega 3’s it contains is DHA. They said that DHA helps your nerves communicate more and better and enables your body to grow new ones more easily.

Getting enough omega 3 oils also helps avoid or lessen depression which helps your brain work better.

Surprisingly they did not also include sardines, small mackerel, and other wild caught fish high in omega 3 oils. They also did not note that you can take purified fish oil omega 3 supplements and take DHA supplements directly.

Nor did they note that eating these things or taking them plus cutting back on omega 6 oils like soy and corn oils and fats from grain fed animals who are mostly fed corn and eating extra virgin olive oil instead all help to lower inflammation. NOT having high chronic inflammation protects your brain directly from damage. And, since it also helps protect your blood vessels and heart from damage, it preserves your circulation which strongly protects your brain.

b) They suggested that eating a red apple each day protected your brain with a strong antioxidant called quercetin.

Wikipedia also notes that foods rich in quercetin include black and green tea; onions, especially red onions, red grapes, tomatoes, broccoli and other leafy green vegetables, virtually all red and red purple berries such as cranberries and raspberries.

Since red wine is made from red grapes, it also is a source of quercetin.

(Except for whole red apples and red onions, I eat and drink several of these things almost every day.)

In addition to the antioxidant protection quercetin gives your nerves and brain, it also helps prevent allergies and boosts your endurance. So, it’s no surprise that you can also take quercetin supplements.

But the apple recommendation is interesting for another reason. The ursolic acid in the peels of apples also apparently helps you avoid high blood sugar, lose fat, and build muscle.

So, if you can get organic, unwaxed apples and eat a few each week, you get both benefits.

c) In addition, both blueberries and strawberries have been shown to have direct benefits to your brain and to improve brain function. (Note these are two kinds of berries where it’s important to eat the organic version to the largest extent you can.)

d) Dark chocolate is rewarding to eat. The article said it released endorphins.

It has some caffeine and related substances. So dark chocolate is a mild stimulant similar in strength to black tea.

And, if you eat or drink it without milk, it also lowers blood pressure if it’s high and improves your circulation.

You brain loves every part of these benefits!

If you eat it as dark chocolate plus sugar, it’s worth knowing that a quarter of a small candy bar of dark chocolate is enough to give you the blood pressure and circulation benefit.

And, drinking unsweetened cocoa works well. You can take in more chocolate with no sugar at all!

Lastly, some specialty chocolate shops now have hot and cold dark chocolate and chocolate pieces with no sugar.


e) The other food they listed I thought a great addition was dried oregano added to savory foods or salads. “ In several studies, oregano was shown to have 40 times more antioxidant properties than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges, and 4 times more than that of blueberries or strawberries.” That means just a little in your salad or tomato sauce can do you and your brain a lot of good.

But that’s not all. Like apple peels, oregano is a good source of ursolic acid. Ursolic acid also apparently helps you avoid high blood sugar, lose fat, and build muscle according to a study I read.


f) Walnuts were on their list. They noted that walnuts are high in natural vitamin E and vitamin B6. Walnuts also are high in the plant form of omega 3 and have been shown to have extra heart and circulation protecting qualities.

But for those who aren’t allergic virtually all raw or dry roasted nuts with no oils or salt added have close to as good or better brain protection.

Pecans, almonds, and pistachios in addition to walnuts also have heart OK fats or oils and tend to increase your levels of protective HDL when you eat them.

They are high in magnesium and other minerals to keep you healthy and which help in keeping you away from high blood pressure.

That means they all protect your brain by protecting its circulation!

They also are a snack that does not increase your blood sugar and can be eaten instead of a sugary or starch snack.

Nuts taste good. And between being crunchy and having protein, fat, AND fiber, they are filling and appetite satisfying to eat.

And, there’s a bonus. Despite having that fat, unless you deliberately overstuff yourself with them studies show you can eat them every day and not get fat yourself.

You can also combine these foods in a salad.

You could have red onion slices, romaine lettuce, walnut halves, dried cranberries, and a tomato puree and extra virgin olive oil dressing, and slices of tomato, and minced garlic, and a good bit of dried oregano and throw in some diced, organic broccoli florets.

Eating vegetables does NOT have to be dull!