How to eat for a healthier brain

Have you ever heard of brain food?  Foods you can eat for a healthier brain?  I always told my students that before an exam they should drink some water.  Why?  Because even being slightly dehydrated (1%-5%) can adversely affect brain function.  A 2% decrease in brain hydration can result in short term memory loss and have trouble with math computations. Besides staying hydrated, what foods can you eat for a healthier brain?

My sister sent me an interesting article, “People who eat magnesium-rich foods like spinach and almonds may have bigger, healthier brains”.  

Why magnesium? 

According to NIH, about half of Americans have diets deficient in magnesium.  It is known as a “silent deficiency” as most people are totally unaware that they are lacking in magnesium. 

What are the health benefits of magnesium? 

Magnesium is a mineral that has many roles to play in your body. 

•       Heart – a healthy heart needs magnesium as it helps the heart regulate a healthy rhythm, helps regulate blood pressure and helps in cholesterol production.  (Your body needs some cholesterol.)
• Bones – everyone knows your bones need calcium but most people do not know your bones also need magnesium for bone formation and to maintain bone density. 
• Metabolism – Magnesium helps your body digest fats and proteins and also helps your body “regulate blood glucose levels”. 
• Vitamin D metabolism – to metabolize vitamin D, you need magnesium.  A person can take a vitamin D supplement but your body cannot metabolize D without sufficient magnesium. 
• Energy:  One function of magnesium is to help your body convert the glucose in foods you eat into energy.  “Therefore, getting enough magnesium can help keep energy levels stable and prevent onset of tiredness.”

How does magnesium help your brain?

A study in the European Journal of Nutrition looked at 6,000 participants from 40-70 years of age.  They analyzed the magnesium intake over 16 months.  The participants with the healthiest brains had higher magnesium intakes.  According to NIH adult men need about 420 mg of magnesium a day and adult women need 320 mg.  Study participants with the healthiest brain ate over 550 mg of magnesium a day. 

Researchers stated:

Increasing one’s magnesium intake “may lead to significantly better brain health, which would also be expected to contribute to greater preservation of cognitive ability, and lower risk or delayed onset of dementia in later life.”  

How can you increase your intake of magnesium?  Many foods like nuts and spinach are good sources.  For good health, Dr. Oz recommends a handful of nuts a day.  I usually enjoy some nuts everyday as nuts are loaded with good nutrition.  Find some sources of magnesium that you can enjoy every day. 

Focus on food not supplements. 

•          Green leafy vegetables like spinach, Swiss chard, collard greens
• Nuts:  almonds, cashews, peanuts, peanut butter
• Milk and Yogurt – cow’s milk and yogurt made from real cow’s milk
• Seeds:  pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds
• Cereal: shredded wheat, oatmeal (some other breakfast cereals are fortified with magnesium)
• Beans:  kidney beans, black beans, edamame, lima beans
• Potato – baked with the skin on, green peas, sweet corn
• Rice:  brown rice has magnesium, white rice not so much as processing white rice takes away most of the magnesium
• Quinoa
• Bananas, avocados, papaya, blackberries.  Bananas are my favorite as I eat a banana every day.
• Meats/Fish:  Salmon, halibut, chicken breast, ground beef
• Dark chocolate:  contains several minerals including magnesium, zinc, copper and iron

Conclusion:  How does your diet stack up for magnesium?  Are you one of the 50% of Americans lacking in magnesium?  There are so many ways to add some magnesium to your day.  Focus on whole grains like whole grain breads, whole grain cereals as the magnesium isn’t processed out.  I drink real cow’s milk (organic) and everyday I eat some yogurt made from cow’ milk.  There are so many ways to add some magnesium to your day so you can have a healthier brain and more energy.  

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