HOW DOES THE BRAIN WORK?
Being 80 per cent water and weighing in at around 1.3kg, your brain consists of billions of cells.
Most of these are simple "glial" cells - the "glue" that holds the brain together. These glial cells are also responsible for supporting and nourishing the neurons.
Neurons are nerve cells which receive and send messages to and from different parts of the brain. Each neuron is connected to up to 10,000 neighbouring neurons.
The connections between them are made via axons and dendrites: axons carry signals away from the neurons while dendrites carry messages to them.
Between each axon and dendrite is a tiny gap, the synapse. Signals are passed across the synapse by the release of highly specialised brain chemicals - the neurotransmitters.
Certain foods can stimulate or inhibit neurotransmitter release, which can have a dramatic effect on how well your brain functions, energy levels and mood.
FEEDING YOUR MIND
So what does your brain need to flourish? In short, an old-fashioned balanced diet containing all three of the major nutrient groups.
FATS
Doctors now believe some fat is essential for regulating mood. But too much saturated fat can lead to the same sort of artery clogging (atherosclerosis) that results in heart disease.
If an artery in the brain is clogged, the result can be stroke or vascular dementia - the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's.
Current government guidelines recommend fats should make up no more than 35 per cent of our daily calorie intake, but we can do a lot to improve brain function by eating healthy fats rather than unhealthy ones.
The healthy fats are the omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel and the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats found in olive oil and other healthy oils such as hemp and rapeseed; plus nuts, seeds and avocados.
The fats to limit are the saturated ones such as those found in meat and dairy products - and trans fats, usually found in hydrogenated fats and oils, which turn up in deep-fried foods and some heavily processed products such as biscuits, cakes, margarine, pastries and meat pies.
Why we need the healthy fats:
? To help form the brain's cells' (neuronal) membranes.
? To help form the protective myelin sheath that allows faster communication (it is 70 per cent fat).
? To protect us from depression. Deficiency in certain fats makes us more vulnerable to depression, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
? To boost IQ. Fat builds brainpower. The reason breast-fed infants score higher in IQ tests is thought to be that their mothers' milk transfers exactly the right ratio of the right fats.
PROTEIN
If fat makes up the brain's cells, it's proteins that allow messages to be sent between the neurons. Most neuro-transmitters are made up of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. We need to eat protein in order to ensure a steady supply of neurotransmitters.
This is one reason why what we eat can have such a profound effect on how we think and feel.
If you eat protein - say, a piece of fish for lunch, you are going to feel far more alert in the afternoon than if you had eaten a bowl of carbohydrate-rich pasta - that's partly because the fish will break down to the amino acid tyrosine, which promotes the release of noradrenaline and dopamine.
These neurotransmitters will keep you motivated and focused right through the so-called mid-afternoon slump.
Carbohydrates on the other hand, can tend to make you sleepy.
You need only a couple of servings of protein a day to keep your brain working actively - and it's best to get them during the day, at breakfast and lunch.
WHICH PROTEINS TO EAT
There are eight amino acids, and dietary proteins are classified depending on how many they supply.
COMPLETE PROTEINS: These supply all eight of the amino acids and include fish, meat, eggs, cheese, milk and yoghurt.
INCOMPLETE PROTEINS: Foods such as grains, legumes, seeds and nuts provide some amino acids, but not all of them. They need to be eaten in combination with other foods to form complete proteins.
CARBOHYDRATES
Fats make up brain cells and protein 'fires' them off, but it's carbohydrate which fuels them. Your brain runs on the carbohydrate glucose, and neurons need a constant supply.
Carbohydrates also supply the amino acid tryptophan, necessary for production of serotonin, the neurotransmitter essential for maintaining an even mood.
The best possible fuel is the type of carbohydrate foods - grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables - known as unrefined (or complex) carbohydrates - those that haven't been processed. Unrefined carbohydrates are broken down relatively slowly by your body, ensuring a steady supply of energy to your brain.
On the other hand, refined (highly processed) carbohydrates such as those found in processed foods tend to be broken down rapidly, providing your body with a rapid "sugar rush," which is just as quickly followed by a "sugar crash."
When it comes to helping us choose the healthiest carbohydrates, the GI (glycaemic index) is invaluable. Each foodstuff has a GI value dependent on the speed with which it is broken down to glucose and hits the blood stream.
Glucose has a value of 100 and water is 0.
Unrefined carbohydrate foods usually have a fairly low GI - and any food with a GI below 50 (which means its glucose will be released slowly into the bloodstream) is generally a good choice if you want high levels of concentration, focus and alertness.
GI RATINGS OF COMMON FOODS
CHOOSE THESE ...
Apple 38
Basmati rice 58
Carrot 39
Spaghetti 40
All Bran 44
Yoghurt 36
INSTEAD OF THESE ...
Chocolate bar 68
White rice 87
Potato (mashed) 73
Jacket potato 85
Cornflakes 83
Ice cream 61
To see what a dramatic difference eating the right foods can make to your memory, mental agility, energy levels and mood, try my simple eating programme.
Within four weeks, you should not only be feeling brighter and sharper, but may well have lost excess pounds.
For details of Carol's programme, log on to www.dailymail.co.uk/eatingplan
Being 80 per cent water and weighing in at around 1.3kg, your brain consists of billions of cells.
Most of these are simple "glial" cells - the "glue" that holds the brain together. These glial cells are also responsible for supporting and nourishing the neurons.
Neurons are nerve cells which receive and send messages to and from different parts of the brain. Each neuron is connected to up to 10,000 neighbouring neurons.
The connections between them are made via axons and dendrites: axons carry signals away from the neurons while dendrites carry messages to them.
Between each axon and dendrite is a tiny gap, the synapse. Signals are passed across the synapse by the release of highly specialised brain chemicals - the neurotransmitters.
Certain foods can stimulate or inhibit neurotransmitter release, which can have a dramatic effect on how well your brain functions, energy levels and mood.
FEEDING YOUR MIND
So what does your brain need to flourish? In short, an old-fashioned balanced diet containing all three of the major nutrient groups.
FATS
Doctors now believe some fat is essential for regulating mood. But too much saturated fat can lead to the same sort of artery clogging (atherosclerosis) that results in heart disease.
If an artery in the brain is clogged, the result can be stroke or vascular dementia - the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's.
Current government guidelines recommend fats should make up no more than 35 per cent of our daily calorie intake, but we can do a lot to improve brain function by eating healthy fats rather than unhealthy ones.
The healthy fats are the omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel and the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats found in olive oil and other healthy oils such as hemp and rapeseed; plus nuts, seeds and avocados.
The fats to limit are the saturated ones such as those found in meat and dairy products - and trans fats, usually found in hydrogenated fats and oils, which turn up in deep-fried foods and some heavily processed products such as biscuits, cakes, margarine, pastries and meat pies.
Why we need the healthy fats:
? To help form the brain's cells' (neuronal) membranes.
? To help form the protective myelin sheath that allows faster communication (it is 70 per cent fat).
? To protect us from depression. Deficiency in certain fats makes us more vulnerable to depression, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
? To boost IQ. Fat builds brainpower. The reason breast-fed infants score higher in IQ tests is thought to be that their mothers' milk transfers exactly the right ratio of the right fats.
PROTEIN
If fat makes up the brain's cells, it's proteins that allow messages to be sent between the neurons. Most neuro-transmitters are made up of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. We need to eat protein in order to ensure a steady supply of neurotransmitters.
This is one reason why what we eat can have such a profound effect on how we think and feel.
If you eat protein - say, a piece of fish for lunch, you are going to feel far more alert in the afternoon than if you had eaten a bowl of carbohydrate-rich pasta - that's partly because the fish will break down to the amino acid tyrosine, which promotes the release of noradrenaline and dopamine.
These neurotransmitters will keep you motivated and focused right through the so-called mid-afternoon slump.
Carbohydrates on the other hand, can tend to make you sleepy.
You need only a couple of servings of protein a day to keep your brain working actively - and it's best to get them during the day, at breakfast and lunch.
WHICH PROTEINS TO EAT
There are eight amino acids, and dietary proteins are classified depending on how many they supply.
COMPLETE PROTEINS: These supply all eight of the amino acids and include fish, meat, eggs, cheese, milk and yoghurt.
INCOMPLETE PROTEINS: Foods such as grains, legumes, seeds and nuts provide some amino acids, but not all of them. They need to be eaten in combination with other foods to form complete proteins.
CARBOHYDRATES
Fats make up brain cells and protein 'fires' them off, but it's carbohydrate which fuels them. Your brain runs on the carbohydrate glucose, and neurons need a constant supply.
Carbohydrates also supply the amino acid tryptophan, necessary for production of serotonin, the neurotransmitter essential for maintaining an even mood.
The best possible fuel is the type of carbohydrate foods - grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables - known as unrefined (or complex) carbohydrates - those that haven't been processed. Unrefined carbohydrates are broken down relatively slowly by your body, ensuring a steady supply of energy to your brain.
On the other hand, refined (highly processed) carbohydrates such as those found in processed foods tend to be broken down rapidly, providing your body with a rapid "sugar rush," which is just as quickly followed by a "sugar crash."
When it comes to helping us choose the healthiest carbohydrates, the GI (glycaemic index) is invaluable. Each foodstuff has a GI value dependent on the speed with which it is broken down to glucose and hits the blood stream.
Glucose has a value of 100 and water is 0.
Unrefined carbohydrate foods usually have a fairly low GI - and any food with a GI below 50 (which means its glucose will be released slowly into the bloodstream) is generally a good choice if you want high levels of concentration, focus and alertness.
GI RATINGS OF COMMON FOODS
CHOOSE THESE ...
Apple 38
Basmati rice 58
Carrot 39
Spaghetti 40
All Bran 44
Yoghurt 36
INSTEAD OF THESE ...
Chocolate bar 68
White rice 87
Potato (mashed) 73
Jacket potato 85
Cornflakes 83
Ice cream 61
To see what a dramatic difference eating the right foods can make to your memory, mental agility, energy levels and mood, try my simple eating programme.
Within four weeks, you should not only be feeling brighter and sharper, but may well have lost excess pounds.
For details of Carol's programme, log on to www.dailymail.co.uk/eatingplan
2 comments:
Loved the info you have provided here in your blog(s). Thank you for your time and willingness to share your knowledge. Take care.
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