Showing posts with label omega 3 fatty acids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label omega 3 fatty acids. Show all posts

Monday, May 9, 2011

Are You Nuts About Nuts, Fruits and Veggies?

If you are, you must be pretty smart because there is a strong correlation between consuming this special brain food - nuts- and a great brain.

First of all, nuts are rich in Vitamin E which protects the brain from memory losses and dysfunctions. Secondly, nuts are packed with omega-3 fatty acids which make the neurons in the brain more fluid and responsive to signal transmission and communication.

Intelligence and health are dependent on the smooth communication among brain cells. Nuts provide choline,part of a neurotransmitter that revs up the transmission mechanism between cell and cell.For these reasons, nuts are a great source of brain food.

More Fruits and Vegetables Mean A Better Brain!

According to researchers at the Heinrich-Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany, a high intake of fruits and vegetables ( at least 400 grams per day) increases the antioxidant levels in the body and significantly improves cognitive function.

Their findings are independent of age, gender body mass index or education levels. According to Dr. M. Cristina Polidori, currently at the Department of Geriatrics, Marienhospital Herne, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany,"With this work we show a multiple link between fruit and vegetable intake, antioxidant defenses and cognitive performance, in the absence of disease and independent of age."

Friday, January 2, 2009

Attention Deficit Disorder and Diet

You are what you eat! There is a large measure of truth in this saying especially in reference to food and child behavior. Ever since Dr. Benjamin Feingold alerted us to the dangers of artificial colorings, flavorings and preservatives, we have become more conscious not only of the fast food industry but the whole process of food manufacturing in the contemporary world.

The problem is that the food we purchase at the supermarket is filled with preservatives, emulsifiers, thickeners and additives all of which can produce different reactions in different people. Most studies on food additives have been done on separate and individual items. The safety of each item does not guarantee the safety of the product in which multiple additives are combined. We are all biochemically unique. Certain combinations can trigger allergic reactions in sensitive children, while others might not be affected at all.

We need to be more conscious of whole foods cooked at home: bread baked with unbleached whole grain flour without additives, soups and salads made with fresh garden tomatoes and greens harvested not weeks, but moments ago. We have traded the immediacy of "live" food for a whole culture of food allergies and sensitivities.

Research also indicates that children with attention deficit disorder have lower concentrations of omega fatty 3 acids. Low concentrations of omega fatty 3 acids, specifically DHA are associated with an increased risk of depression and brain deterioration. Risk for Alzehimer's Disease decreases with the consumption of omega 3 fats.

In AntiCancer: A New Way of Life, Dr. Servan-Schreiber locates the paucity of this essential fat in the dietary changes of our modern cows. The replacement of omega 3 rich grass pastures with battery farming means that the principal feed for cows comes now from corn, soy and wheat which are almost wholly devoid of omega 3 fatty acids.

It is no wonder that between 1970 and 1990, the mass of fatty tissue in children under one in the United States doubled, a statistic attributed by researchers Gerard Ailhaut and Philippe Guesnet to the change in the "character" of milk coming from grain fed cows.