LE PORTRAIT MAGAZINE Feb.27.2015 | Page 44

a half-cup. The blueberry extract enabled the old rats to perform like young rats. They could walk a rotating rod without falling off and run faster than the control group of rats not fed the blueberries. There was a dramatic difference in coordination and balance between the two groups, with the blueberry group coming out on top. The right diet can even prevent brain cancer You may have heard of the nutrient or flavonoid called quercetin. Quercetin is a very powerful anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory agent with cardio-protective qualities. But, blueberries have an even more powerful related agent called ellagic acid. In fact, ellagic acid is one of the most powerful (recently discovered) anti-carcinogens. Ellagic acid has been found to inhibit metastasis of cancer cells and assist with normal cell destruction, hence protecting both the body and the brain from tumors. A moment ago, we mentioned how stress chemicals affect memory by disrupting glucose production in the brain. At the Brookhaven National Laboratory, using an imaging technology called PET, they were able to understand the connection between the neurohormone dopamine and its relationship to brain glucose. Are your brain hormones bringing you down? When the activity of dopamine becomes diminished, th W&^(