I had a webex yesterday at work with a nutritionist. I googled her name and she's got BA, Dip NT and NTCC and mBANT after her name so I reckon she knows a thing or two about a how your brain and body works and what food does to it.
I told my chat buddies that I would type up my notes on what she said.
The invite to the webex said: -
"In an age of AI we should be looking to leverage the uniqueness of the human brain by optimizing brain agility, fitness and performance. Which is why eating for brain energy and focus has become one of the underpinnings of a series of diet trends growing in popularity.
Certain foods have been scientifically proven to enhance your focus, memory, and stabilise your mood. And when you get enough of them on a consistent basis you get more productive days, weeks, and months as a result.
The human brain is uniquely agile and how we interpret information directly reflects on our ability to respond to the circumstances life throws at us. Brain fog, anxiety and forgetfulness are some of the most common complaints in people seeking nutritional therapy today.
Join us to explore ground breaking dietary and lifestyle strategies to bring about positive change so you can improve your brain capabilities and achieve greater mental clarity.
Key benefits:
My own personal notes on what she said: -
Please be aware that I am not very mindful so if I zoned out during that one hour chat, I didn't make any notes. Also, if I didn't like summat, I didn't bother noting the benefits cos I didn't know I'd be sharing details with you, it was just for me.
The MIND diet combines the principles of the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and a Mediterranean Diet. Apparently people who follow the MIND/DASH/Mediterranean style diet have the brain function of someone 7.5 years younger.
Foods to eat.
Green Leafy Veg x 6 a week
Great source of natural folates. B9. People deficient in B9 are higher risk of MH problems like depression. It's also good for detoxing.
Other veg x 1 a day
Berries x 2 portions a week
If you drink a smoothie of 400ml of strawberry/raspberries it improves your cognitive ability for up to 4 hours. It doesn't matter fresh/frozen so long as they are flash frozen. Increases sperm count and motility in men. Try doing 2/3 VEG VS 1/3 FRUIT SMOOTHIES BECAUSE THEY WILL HAVE LESS SUGAR. Having a smoothie after a workout would be a good time because your muscles would be receptive to receiving the glucose without triggering an insulin response so you get all the benefit of the vitamins.
Nuts x 5 a week I don't eat nuts. Didn't listen to this bit.
Olive Oil
Whole Grains x 3 a day
Beans x 3 meals a week
Good source of proteins. Healthy way to keep your bowels moving. Not having healthy bowels can give you brain fog. Contain amino acids that are the things that power your neurotransmiters.
Fish at least once a week
WILD FISH. One particular omega-3, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), Mackerel/Sardines have higher levels of this stuff. 50% of your brain cell membranes are made of DHA. Keeps your brain cells flexible and ready to transfer information. Cell membrane without it can become brittle and not process information in the same way. DHA also found in Avocado/Nuts. It's harder for your body to process the DHA in those in the same way it gets them from fish. Only get's about 15% as much from them. I don't really like either so I'll eat fish.
Chicken or Turkey (not fried) x 2 a week
Foods to limit.
Wine x 1 glass a day. Sml glass for ladies. Large glass for men.
Women metabolise alcohol differently to men. Red wine is marginally better than white wine.
Alcohol does interrupt your ability to get into REM sleep. Your brain needs REM sleep. Can't remember why. Prolly cos I had too much booze last night. Limit your intake cos it drives inflammation and brain fog.
Butter > x 1 tbspn P/day.
Cheese > x 1 a week
Diary drives up our insulin levels. Animal fats are more likely to be stored by the body as fat vs a plant based fat or oily fish. It's a good source of fuel for the brain.
Red Meat > x 3 a week. Some people can get away with eating more but it comes down to quality of the meat your eating rather than red meat being specifically bad. If you eat something with a low fat content like Venison because it's a wild meat, it has low animal fat content.
Fried Food > x 1 a week
Pastries and sweets. > x 4 times a week
An overwhelming amount of transfats and saturated fats can make your cell membranes brittle.
Eggs > x 10 a week. Good source of protein.
Google the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15. That will tell you which fruit and veg have pesticides on. Those on the clean list are less likely to have pesticides on them so you don't have to worry about buying Organic but those on the dirty list you should deffo buy the organic versions because the chemicals and pesticides but stress on your system.
Some vitamins are fat soluble so you won't get them if you don't add olive oil to your salad. So put it on your salad.
Go skinny on carbs. The brain absolutely loves glucose. Pasta/Rice/Quinoa/Bread. Spike your blood sugar levels. You get an insulin response and if you trigger it often, your cells get used to insulin and produces more. It's an inflammatory. Pre-cursor to alzheimers. Watching your carb intake and having a good balanced diet would be helpful in terms of giving your brain the efficiency it needs without relying on carbs.
Fasting is an integral brain performance boosting tool.
Fast for 16 hours a day and eat for a window of 8 hours.
Take a challenge 5:2 or 6:1 diets and of course going into spas to do more extended fasts.
I didn't really listen much about fasting cos I'm not allowed to do it cos of my medication. She did say you should take your own Doctors advice if you have ill health and want to fast. Like I said, I don't do it personally. Well, not on purpose, sometimes I don't eat cos I'm not hungry but that's not the same thing at all.
Drinks
Brain Booster. Celery, Carrot, Lime.
Inflamation Fighter: Celery, Carrot, Parsley, Cucumber.
Mood Booster: Cucumber, Kale, Pear.
Add these Super Foods: Bee Pollen, Chia Seeds, Maca Poweder, Acai berries, Spirulina.
Tummy bugs can affect the Amygdala. Giving you higher anxiety. Clear out the unwanted organisms in your tummy and your Amygdala will be happy.
24 hour water fast. Once a month.
Other fasts once or twice a year when the seasons change. Not sure why. Wasn't paying attention.
You should only fast if you are in good health.
Top trends that have a profound impact on your mental capabilities and mood.
1. Poor Digestive Enzyme Status (Poor digestion of food) - 2. Dysbiosis (Overgrowth of bacteria and yeast in the gut) - 3. Malabsorption - 4. Poor Omega 3 status - 5. Poor antioxidant status.
Green Tea is a healthy way to improve antioxidant status.
Use Silicon Freezer Bags because they are non-toxic.
Dark Chocolate is good for dopamine which is a neurotransmitter.
Vitamin C for improved mood and nueroprotection
Magnesium Glycinate for stress support.
Vitamin D for overall brain health. For the winter months.
Vitamin B Complex for anti-stress and energy.
A loss of just 19 mins of sleep can affect our cognitive performance by up to 30%.
If you drink decaf drinks, make sure they are naturally decaffeinated. Look for something on the label called Swiss Water Cleansed. If it doesn't say that then it means it's been chemically decaffeinated and that's bad for your body. She said it's better in her opinion to drink caffeinated but reduce the amount than drink decaf. I get the impression that she thinks the world would be a better place if we all just drank Green Tea though because she talked about it ALOT. I didn't listen because I don't like Green Tea. It's like pond water.
Anyways, so that's what I wrote down and that's my new diet. Or it will be when I start properly. I've already bought some stuff.
Drama x
??
I can't find it on the list but I just ate half a jar of blackcurrant jam with a bag of salted peanuts and followed that with a banana and massive dollop of peanut butter.
Only mentioned it as a warning because it has made me feel a bit nauseous and light headed.
I will study the plan tomorrow Drama.
Stephen x
Thank you for posting the nutritional information Drama, I found it very interesting.
I am vegetarian bordering on vegan so will obviously take that into account but your post reminded me that I should be eating green leafy vegetables which I very rarely do.
As a matter of interest for any vegans out there. I recently read in a report by the Vegan Society that B vitamins (especially B12) are essential to health and well being but they are generally only found in meat, fish and dairy produce so now I have included yeast flakes and marmite in my diet.
Stephen
Ingredients
175g (6oz) penne pasta (dry weight)
2 vegetable stock cubes
225g (8oz) young spinach leaves, shredded
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 aubergine, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 x 400g (14oz) can chopped tomatoes
1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
8–10 basil leaves, shredded
115g (4oz) low-fat Cheddar cheese, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 190C, 375F, Gas Mark 5.
Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water with 1 vegetable stock cube until it is just tender. Drain well and then stir in the shredded spinach leaves.
Meanwhile, in a non-stick frying pan, dry-fry the red onion for 2–3 minutes until softened. Add the aubergine, garlic and red pepper and cook for a further 6–8 minutes until the aubergine starts to colour.
Add the tomatoes, chilli and remaining stock cube and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Pour the pasta into a large ovenproof serving dish. Cover with the sauce and then sprinkle with the shredded basil leaves and grated Cheddar cheese.
Bake in the oven for about 15–20 minutes until cooked and golden brown on top.
Number of Servings: 4
Cool, thank you ?
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