Foods to boost brain power
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million Americans suffer with Alzheimer’s disease and 1 of every 3 seniors dies with some form of dementia. Families may spend over $5,000 each year caring for a loved one, and it costs the U.S. $216 billion a year for Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.
However, feeding your brain the right food isn’t just about preventing a disease in the future. Giving your brain the fuel it needs to function optimally may also improve your current cognitive function and creativity, making you more productive at work and at home.
Your brain needs the right fuel to nourish neurons, boost production of neurotransmitters and protect against damage and degeneration.
Unfortunately, some popular nutritional fads may have placed you at greater risk for damage to your neurons, without the additional heart health benefits and proponents of these dietary changes promised.
You may make a significant difference in your overall health and reduce your risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease when you purposefully include the foods your brain needs to function and detoxify.
There are two types of fuel your body and brain can use to convert into energy. Either metabolized carbohydrates or fats may supply your brain and body with the energy it requires to survive.
Although your brain can use both, there is evidence to suggest that the metabolic product of fats, or ketones, will help restore and renew neurons, even after damage has started.
Fats and proteins are essential to your survival but your body could happily do without non-fiber carbohydrates. The only carbs you really need are fresh vegetables, which are a great source of gut- and health-promoting fiber.
By reducing the number of healthy fats you eat, low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets can essentially starve your brain cells, prevent effective detoxification and diminish the structural components necessary for cognition, memory and learning.
Blueberries may reduce your potential from developing dementia as the antioxidants collect in greater concentration in areas of the brain responsible for memory and learning.14,15
Human studies have had promising results suggesting blueberry supplementation may improve neurocognitive function, with lower symptoms of depression and better glucose control.16
