Can the foods you eat steal your memory?


March 16, 2017

“He who cures a disease may be the skillfullest, but he that prevents it is the safest physician.” – Thomas Fuller

 

Can what we eat affect our mental fitness?

Together with a healthy lifestyle, a healthy diet does more than benefit our waistlines. The foods we eat not only affects our heart health, our risks for other diseases but also the potential to keep our minds healthy. Emerging researches indicate that diet can be more important than once thought in brain health and that what we eat might have an impact on our ability to remember and our likelihood of developing dementia as we age. In fact, it has been shown that a poor diet markedly affects memory and increases one’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease. However, the glad tidings would be – diets are highly modifiable and stands as a realistic strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities, protecting the brain from damage, promoting repair and withstanding the effects of aging.

Foods that may hurt your cognition fitness

What we like more often than not may not be what we need.
Our brain prefers some fuel over others. It needs healthy fats (natural fats), fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and adequate vitamins and minerals. Our brains depend on natural fats to create and maintain cell membranes and carry fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
Conversely, trans fats can do more harm than good. They are man-made and do not behave as natural fats do in the body. Trans fats can cause cellular destruction, afflict hormone production, adversely affect memory and increase inflammation in the brain.
Under the microscope, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is the presence of sticky protein clusters called beta-amyloid plaques. Research suggest that diets high in cholesterol and unhealthy fats might be responsible for speeding up the formation of these hostile, damaging plaques in the brain which block cell-to-cell signalling.

High levels of trans fats have also been suggested in studies to reduce serotonin production in the brain, leading to depression as well as affecting memory negatively.
Unsurprisingly, these same foods that increase the risks for Alzheimer’s disease can hurt other aspects of your health too, contributing to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, low birth rate, obesity and immune dysfunction. These effects extend to people of all ages, not just seniors.
Dr. Francine Grodstein, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has this to say: “We know that’s (unhealthy fats) bad for your heart. There is now a lot of evidence that it’s also bad for your brain.”

Unfortunately, the foods that have been linked to Alzheimer’s are common staples we enjoy – white breads, pasta, processed meats and cheeses. Trans fats are commonly found in processed foods, fried foods, store-bought salad dressings, pie crusts, muffins, chips, baked goods and lots more.

List of foods linked to increased rates of Alzheimer’s disease:

Processed cheeses including American cheese and mozzarella sticks. These foods build up proteins in the body that have been associated with Alzheimer’s.
Processed meats such as bacon, smoked turkey and ham. Smoked meats contain nitrosamines, which cause the liver to produce fats that are hostile to the brain.
Beer – Most beers contain nitrites, which have been linked to Alzheimer’s.
White foods or “bad carbs” cause spikes in sugar level, increasing insulin resistance. A study reported in 2015 relates insulin resistance to poorer performance on memory tests taken by late-middle-age adults.
You don’t have to ditch your pasta, cakes, white sugar, white rice and white bread, but rather, have them in moderation.
Microwave popcorn contains diacetyl, a common additive known for its buttery flavour, has recently been linked to the development of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain.

Foods that may help your cognition fitness

Converting to healthier dietary habits is never easy. However, avoiding foods as mentioned above can be the first step towards successful aging.

Here’s the list of foods that are wholesome choices for seniors and the rest of us:

Leafy green vegetables
Cold-water fish
Berries and dark-skinned fruits
Coffee and dark chocolate
Extra virgin olive oil
Cold-pressed virgin coconut oil

Lastly, a consistent healthy diet isn’t the only way to nourish your mind. There are other tips to keep your mind sharp as you get older:
• Quit smoking – Smoking has been studied to put one at a significantly higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
• Exercising like brisk-walking three or more times a week has been linked to a lower risk for dementia.
• Keep your weight in a healthy range for your height. A body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal. By the same token, popular dietary prescriptions that might help to reduce weight do not necessarily benefit the physiology of the body or the mind.





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