Food for thought.

Last week the Chicago Tribune featured an article by Drs. Kay Judge and Maxine Barish-Wreden about the correlation between diet and the way the brain ages.

The doctors reported that scientists are researching causes for brain deterioration, as in Alzheimer's disease, and are concentrating on the link between the deposition of amyloid beta protein in brain tissue and inflammation of brain cells. Studies have found that inflammation may accelerate the deposition of the amyloid protein in the brain. If this is found to be true, then the foods we eat play a very important role in Alzheimer's. And we may have a chance to do something about it, because research shows that the foods we eat can decrease inflammation of the brain cells.

What foods can decrease brain cell inflammation? In the article, the doctors listed the following foods as part of a brain-healthy diet:

• 5 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This includes apples and onions for their flavonoids, dark leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach for their carotenes, cooked tomatoes for lycopene (another carotene) and blueberries for their antioxidants.
• Fish eaten twice a week, or omega-fatty acids taken as a daily supplement.
• Olive oil for cooking
• Black or green tea
• Whole grains
• Beans, other legumes and nuts
• Dark chocolate

Brain-healthy foods EXCLUDE:

• Red meat
• Excessive salt
• Trans-fats
• Saturated or animal fats
• High-glycemic foods
• Overly processed foods

To read the entire article click here.

Another study by the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center has also found that turmeric, a spice found in curry, is shown to increase the clearance of amyloid beta plaques in the brain. The spice is used as an anti-inflammatory agent in both Chinese and Indian medical systems for a wide-range of conditions.
Researchers found that cultures that consume large amounts of turmeric report low incidences of Alzheimer’s disease. For example, India, which uses this spice both in cooking and medicine, has one of the lowest incidences of Alzheimer's in the world! (The rate of Alzheimer's in India is less than 1/4 than the US.)

Click here to read an article on the benefits of turmeric.

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