5 Things You Should be Eating to Protect Your Brain as it Ages
Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are the building blocks of a well functioning brain. Many seniors start to develop cognitive impairment as they age not because they are simply getting older, but because their nutrition is lacking. Aside from quitting smoking, staying active, and continuing to challenge yourself intellectually to keep your brain working well into your centenarian years, here is a list of foods, primarily those which contain monounsaturated fats or ‘healthy fats’, which can keep you reciting poetry from memory or recalling your childhood friends’ names like you just saw them yesterday.
- 1.  Avocados – This fruit/nut/vegetable helps to keep your brain working at top speed with healthy fats, lots of potassium, fiber, Vitamin E, B-complex and folic acid. The health benefits of avocados are amazing.
- 2.  Peanuts, Walnuts, Almonds and Pecans – As long as you don’t have a tree nut allergy, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, and pecans are wonderful for boosting brain health. They also help to prevent gallstones, fight depression with tryptophan, aid in blood sugar reduction with manganese, boost memory with vitamin B3, increase cognitive ability with vitamin B2, and protect against cancer with a form of phytosterol called beta-sitosterol (especially in peanuts). To keep from going nuts, eat your nuts.
- 3.  Healthy Hormone Free Meat – If you aren’t a vegan, eating chicken and turkey can help to boost brain power as you age. Eggs, another form of animal protein, can also help boost cognitive processes. Stick with organic and free-range eggs and meat and you can enjoy high levels of Omega’s as well as amino acids, which are both brain cell building blocks.
- 4.  Mackerel and Herring – These oily fish are especially full of nutrients and fats we need to keep our brains working. They have fat-soluble vitamins like A and D, selenium, protein, and healthy Omega 3 fats including EPA and DHA. Eating oily fish can keep you thinking straight well into your 90s while the healthful fats also help with issues like ADHD and ADD.
- 5.  Red Palm, Coconut, Olive, and Sunflower Oils – Lots of healthy medium chain triglycerides and ‘healthful fats’ can be found in these oils. What’s more, oleic and lauric acids are good for the brain. Olive and coconut oil contain important medium chain fatty acids (monounsaturated fatty acids) that your body and brain need as well. These types of good fats may even help to prevent Diabetes type II. (The coconut oil and Alzheimer’s connection should especially be recognized).
You don’t have to wait until you’re collecting social security and walking around with a cane to consume these foods. Start consuming these healthful foods now and keep them in your diet for good health as you age.
Palm Oil consumption is destroying the habitat for Orangutans. Please do not recommend it. Our health is not worth screwing their lives over.
My health is worth the lives of ALL orangutans. Everyone else's health is frosting on the cake. Fetch me my oranga-rifle!
Boycott Palm oil
Health is wealth, a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. We all need these nutrients for a more functional brain, and longevity. I am an author of books titled, ”The best health flavours” volumes 1 to 5. 320 pages minimum. My publisher is http://www.xlibrispublishing.co.uk
Appreciation is application for more. Let us all appreciate the natural society for the research and efforts to better human lives here on earth. Though as an author, i believe that, the faintest pen is better than the sharpest brain! We need to really and effectively take care of our eyes too. A yoruba adage says, ”eyes are the kings of the body” As an author, my areas of interest are in the field of research and development, safety and reliability, construction, health, environment, training, good human relationship, good house keeping, team work, synergy and driving. Thank you for this opportunity to express myself.
Note: Yoruba is an ethnic language and dialect spoken by yoruba tribe of western Nigeria, in west Africa, my nation.
Animal Brains might be repulsive to some, but I think they are nutritious. Also it's wasteful to throw them away.
Good point. Paleoanthropologists have hypothesized that, when our ancient ancestors finally figured out how to use tools to crack open craniums and bones to get at the brain and marrow, our species really took off and became top dogs on this planet. Take that, stupid orangutans!
Someone told me peanuts are a legume, not a nut, and to be avoided in a low carb diet. If true, perhaps they should not be included above.
They are super high in omega 6 fats and you have to consider the healthy ratio of omega 3 to omega 6.
http://www.wikihow.com/Balance-Omega-6-With-Omega…
I'm shocked that Ms. Sarich (author of this piece) lumped peanuts in the tree nut list. They are a legume that grows underground & they are generally harder to digest. The biggest thing about nuts though, is that they CAN'T BE ROASTED. Raw nuts have all of the health benefits mentioned but ONLY RAW. The oils become completely toxic when cooked. And if thinking about acid and alkaline balancing, I have read almonds are alkaline and walnuts are acidic. (Something to consider because most of us are way too acidic.)
I am definitely going to stock up on palm oil now
Coconut oil absolutely helps…they are doing a study in Florida now on coconut oil and medium chain triglycerides and alzheiemer’s disease … Google dr Mary Newport and how she reversed her husbands severe decline and also coconur oil and Alzheimer’s to see so many people’s success stories with it (eecially a man in Australia). I’m using it on my daughter who has Lyme encephalopathy and praying it will turn things around..
Yup DEAD ANIMALS are really good for the brain!!! WHOWUDDATHUNKIT???? As of NOW, I am canceling my sub. to this POS newsletter!!!
go fukk yourself
Surely it was when homo sapiens discovered how to cook food, and ingest a lot more calories to feed the brain as a result, was when we overtook the apes?
Radioactivity from Fukushima is contaminating the world’s oceans. So why are fish recommended?
Yes. You are losing me by recommending Radioactive Fish???? Thank tsyganka so glad someone is interested. And Palm Oil a bit dubious too??