Showcase of RETIREMENT LIVING
foreveryoung | March 2014
p.14
BrainFood
By Ellen Ashton-Haiste
The existence of a strong
and positive relationship
between diet and health,
particularly at mid-life and
beyond, is far from a new
idea. Information abounds
about nutrition for heart
health, controlling diabetes
or warding off diseases like
cancer.
But for many people, this
stops short of aging brain
issues, including cognitive
decline and more frightening conditions like Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
In fact, there are many
foods that can keep our
brains healthy as we age,
says Leslie Beck, registered
dietitian and author of more
than a dozen books on nutrition.
“For many of the risk factors for cognitive decline,
nutrition and diet play an
important role in either
preventing them or reducing their effects,” says Beck,
who has joined forces with
the Women’s Brain Health
Initiative to educate Canadians about the relationship
between a healthy diet and
a healthy brain.
Go Mediterranean
For a broad-based diet
strategy that’s heart protective, Beck recommends the
Mediterranean diet.
“It’s what we, today, call
the gold-standard diet,” she
says. “It’s been the focus of
many large, long-perspective studies that have linked
it to protection from a number of chronic diseases, including Alzheimer’s.”
It’s a plant-based diet, rich
in fruits, vegetables, whole
grains and legumes, light on
red meat, with the central
fat being olive oil. So, it’s a
diet high in anti-oxidants,
important because the brain
is particularly vulnerable to
oxidative stress. Since it uses
vast amounts of oxygen, it’s
a primary breeding ground
for free radicals, which are
controlled by anti-oxidants,
Beck explains.
Food from the sea
Fish, also a Mediterranean
diet staple, is important as
a source of Omega 3 fatty
A healthy diet and a healthy brain go hand-in-hand,
and can knock years off your ‘brain age’
acids, particularly DHA, essential for good brain function, Beck says.
This Omega 3 comprises a
large proportion of the brain
cells’ communicating membranes. “If you have more
Omega 3 fats in your brain
cell membranes, it keeps
them flexible so memory
messages get passed more
easily between them,” she
says.
Beck recommends oily
fish like salmon, trout and
sardines.
DHA is also anti-inflammatory, important because
inflammation is another
risk factor for cognitive decline, she says. Vegetarians
and non-fish-lovers can get
DHA in a supplement made
from algae, “which is where
fish make their DHA from.”
Green, green
Leafy greens – spinach,
kale, Swiss chard, rapini,
arugula – high in anti-oxidants, are another key brain
food.
Beck cites a large Chicago
study that followed older
adults and linked those who
ate more than two vegetable
servings a day with a 40-percent-slower rate of age-related cognitive decline.“And
when they looked at which
veggies seemed to offer the
most protection, it was leafy
greens.”
house-cleaning process” by
triggering cells called microglia, that remove toxins
that build up with age. “If
we allow them to build up,
these microglia aren’t doing
their job properly and that
can impair brain function.”
E Factor
B for brain
If those greens are sauteed in a vegetable oil,
there may be extra protection, Beck says. Some oils
– particularly sunflower, safflower or grape seed – are
great sources of vitamin E,
a potent anti-oxidant, she
explains.
Other good sources include hazelnuts, peanuts
and peanut butter.
Berry healthy
Berries – blackberries,
blueberries,
raspberries,
cranberries, cherries, even
pomegranate seeds and red
grapes – get an A-grade as
well. They are high in polyphenols, another category of
anti-oxidants that fall under
the umbrella of flavanoids.
Polyphenols, Beck says,
activate the brain’s “natural
B vitamins – particularly
folate, B6 and B12 – are important to good brain function, Beck says. “There have
been a number of studies
showing that low blood levels of those B vitamins is a
greater risk for cognitive impairment and also stroke.”
And in seniors, a low B12
level has been shown to accelerate cognitive decline.
B6 is found in meat, poultry, bananas avocados and
B12 occurs naturally only
in animal foods, like meat,
poultry, fish, dairy and eggs.
Best sources of folate
include cooked spinach,
cooked lentils, black beans,
asparagus, broccoli, avocado
and artichoke.
Supplements are an acceptable source for these
vitamins, she adds.
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