Saturated fat does not belong to the shopping list of the brain.
This week I want to give you a tip of a very important and interesting non-fiction book:
Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power
The book was released in 2018 and is written by Lisa Mosconi, PhD
Due to better standards of living and progress in medicine life expectancies are higher than ever in the western civilisations. But at the same time lifestyle diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes have exploded. The next to explode shall be the Alzheimer disease. At the moment there are 5,3 million Alzheimer patients in the US. The amount is expected to rise there to 15 million by the year 2050 and worldwide to 132 million.
In this situation it is a highly interesting question can we prevent, postpone or to stop Alzheimer disease with dietary choices. And Mosconi says:
Some foods affect directly to our DNA by activating those good genes that protect from diseases while others switch off the same genes which makes it probable we contract illnesses.
Brainfood was just translated into Finnish. You’ll find my long blog post HERE, if you wish to see. The Google translator is poor, but hope you get the idea.
"Like our bodies, our brains have very specific food requirements. And in this eye-opening book from an author who is both a neuroscientist and a certified integrative nutritionist, we learn what should be on our menu.
Dr. Lisa Mosconi, whose research spans an extraordinary range of specialties including brain science, the microbiome, and nutritional genomics, notes that the dietary needs of the brain are substantially different from those of the other organs, yet few of us have any idea what they might be. Her innovative approach to cognitive health incorporates concepts that most doctors have yet to learn. Busting through advice based on pseudoscience, Dr. Mosconi provides recommendations for a complete food plan, while calling out noteworthy surprises, including why that paleo diet you are following may not be ideal, why avoiding gluten may be a terrible mistake, and how simply getting enough water can dramatically improve alertness.
Including comprehensive lists of what to eat and what to avoid, a detailed quiz that will tell you where you are on the brain health spectrum, and 24 mouth-watering brain-boosting recipes that grow out of Dr. Mosconi’s own childhood in Italy, Brain Food gives us the ultimate plan for a healthy brain. Brain Food will appeal to anyone looking to improve memory, prevent cognitive decline, eliminate brain fog, lift depression, or just sharpen their edge.”
Lisa Mosconi
Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power / Penguin Random House 2018
Es lógico, que comer productos naturales nunca debe ser malo para la salud, excepto que se abuse de ellos; pero, por lo vivido a lo largo de mi vida -que ya tengo bastantes años- y a pesar de estar avalado a veces por renombrados científicos, muchos productos que hoy son buenos o milagrosos para la salud, mañana, no lo son, he conocido muchos ejemplos como los aceites, cafés, infusiones, semillas o frutos secos, tipos diferentes de panes, etc.. Por eso mismo en este tema soy muy escéptico.
VastaaPoistaDe todas formas gracias por la recomendación de este libro, que me encantaría leerlo, a pesar de la que ya te he contado.
Un abrazo, amiga.
Todo es verdad lo que dices Manuel. Las dietas de moda van y vienen. Pero esta dieta para el cerebro se basa en materias primas frescas y puras y es muy similar a la dieta mediterránea, que se sabe que es saludable. El principal mercado de este libro es los Estados Unidos, donde los más necesitados comen alimentos realmente unilaterales y mal nutritivos.
PoistaGracias por tu comentario - un abrazo.
As you say, lifestyle diseases are increasing; we speak a lot about food, but we should speak more about healthy food. Thanks for sharing!
VastaaPoistaIt is not so easy to stick to healthy choices in the middle of all this abundance. Raffinated sugar is the devil - it makes the brain shrink :)
PoistaMost interesting - I think natural plant nutrition is the most best for us.
VastaaPoistaI love all the food that is recommanded for the brain ... walnuts are for sure the best - they even look like our brain...lol! Nature made it so easy for us - but we went aways from nature in every way..so sad.
I fear ALzheimer has also something to to with aluminium. It can pass the brain cell barriere and I have heard it now often that this is also a reason for so much Alzheimer..togehter with the nutrition-
thinking of all the cans we use for drinks and food - a dilemma!
oxo Susi
You are so right Susi. Lisa Mosconi mentions aluminium and says nobody should use aluminium kettles or pans; she does not recommend non-stick pans either. Oh all those cans! Maybe she did not mention them at all... All nuts are good, so are almonds. The group B vitamins are so important, too. This was really interesting reading.
PoistaHi Riitta,
VastaaPoistathis seems to be a very interesting book. Thank you for sharing!
Have a lovely rest of the day, Love and hugs, Claudia xo
Very interesting indeed Claudia. I have always been interested in healthy life style. As to the well-being eating in a healthy way is not enough. The brain needs also excersise, mental activity and happy moments with your beloved ones. Have a nice evening!
PoistaThis book about nutrition sounds very interesting. We try to eat healthily, but this is even easier when staying in Italy where we can eat locally-sourced food from small suppliers and home grown organic produce given to us by relatives. Glass jars are better than tins for preserving food. I would not have thought about non-stick pans, however. Changing one's diet is challenging.
VastaaPoistaMosconi is Italian and the recommended way to eat by her is largely the Mediterranean style. Fresh and pure ingredients, olive oil for omega-3 fatty acids, very little red meat, preferably fatty fish and no industrially made foods. And no raffinated sugar! Plenty of veggies and seeds. Not bad.
PoistaVarmasti mainio opas terveelliseen ruokaan ja elämään!
VastaaPoistaOlet mitä syöt, niinhän se monesti menee.
Kirjassa on myös kiinnostava testi lukijoille. Sen perusteella näkee hyvin, missä on eniten vikaa. Omat pahimmat 'aivoruokamokani' ovat maitosuklaa (puhdistettu sokeri) ja liiat juustot - muuten asiat on hyvin. Vieroituskurssille!
PoistaThe book is very interesting.
VastaaPoistaI buy healthy food but is it really healthy?
I do not buy bread and rolls in a super market.
I buy flour in a well-known mill and bake sourdough bread myself. No preservatives or enhancers.
Hugs and greetings.
Lucja
You do just right Lucia - to bake at home is safe. Industrial biscuits, cakes, rolls etc. may contain dangerous transfats and all kinds of added stuff.
PoistaEating healthily is so important for health of body and brain. All of these fad diets seem so restrictive and ridiculous. I eat everything and adjust various amounts as I need to. We love vegetables and eat a lot of them. Bread, and sweet treats (for occasional eating) are all baked at home, never purchased. I'm going to look for this book. Thanks for the recommendation.
VastaaPoistaMosconi’s thoughts make sense and she is a professional in this field and knows the recent research. The US people under the average income would so need these advice. I understand that the money is often the obstacle, but it does not determine all. I personally am addicted to milk chocolate, that is my worst ’food crime' :)
PoistaUm livro muito interessante.
VastaaPoistaUm abraço e continuação de boa semana.
Andarilhar
Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
O prazer dos livros
Me parece un libro interesante ¿ pero no estará traducido al español ? Besitos.
VastaaPoistaPor lo que sé todavía no - solamente en italiano. Esperamos que más tarde, es un libro nuevo, de este año.
PoistaLiebe Riitta,
VastaaPoistadas Thema interessiert mich schon seit langem. Das vorgestellte Buch gibt bestimmt viele gute Ideen über eine gesunde Ernährung.
Meiner Meinung nach, sollte man oft selbst kochen, wenn man sich bewusst ernährt. Anderseits, beim Gemüsekauf gibt es auch vieles zu beachten: Am besten von Bauern in der Nähe, so dass das Gemüse frisch und mit Pestiziden nicht belastet ist.
Danke für diese schöne Buchvorstellung.
Liebe Grüße
Loretta
You are so right Loretta. Industrially prepared food is not a wise choice. Then pesticides is another problem. Also Mosconi mentions this same list of 15 probably safe on pesticides vegetables that my blog friend Low Carb Diabetic just published:
VastaaPoistahttp://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/2018/11/fifteen-foods-that-are-low-in-pesticides.html
On the other hand she lists these 12 that are usually high on pesticides: apples, celery, tomato, cucumber, grapes, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, spinach, strawberries, bush blueberry, paprika. It would be better to buy organic if moneywise possible.
Many thanks for this book review and for mentioning the blog post (above).
VastaaPoistaEating real food (organic if possible) and not processed is a good start for all!
All the best Jan