eating for your brain
The brain is a very picky eater. It only needs certain nutrients at certain times, but without them, you are in a lot of trouble. I listened to the charming Dr. Lisa Mosconi, author of Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power, in an NPR interview this week who fascinated me with a number of stats. For instance, only 1% of Alzheimer’s cases are genetically caused. That means 99% of all cases are related to behavior — food and exercise. There is very little that scares me as much as losing my cognitive abilities, and this book lays out the case for why and how to treat your brain in the best possible way. Brain Food is not so much a diet book as a brain nutrition book, although if you are eating to take care of your brain you are also eating to take care of the rest of your body. It’s a quick read, and here are a few particularly interesting take aways:
– Lack of hydration will make you really dumb. It’s not only the amount of water, but water that has been stripped of its minerals via filtering can’t be absorbed.
– Fish is massively important, and it was probably the principal source of protein for Paleo man, not animals.
– Salmon roe is a fantastic source of Omega-3s, and if we are eating a standard American diet, we are not getting anywhere near the quantity of Omega-3s that we need for good brain health.
