Question: Is it really important to have a good diet if I want to improve my memory?
Answer: “the answer is simple. Healthy food, Healthy Brain. Junk Food, you know better.” –
As the quote above makes it very clear, in order to make your brain function better than before, faster than before and more intelligently, then yes giving it the right kind of food becomes important. We often forget to treat our brain for what it is; a mental muscle. Just like you eat proteins and avoid carbs when you aim to build your body muscles, similarly you should also focus on eating the relevant foods that bring mental power to your brain. In weight lifting, the more you do it, the heavier you lift, the more defined and stronger your muscles become. Similarly, the more you USE your brain, the more WEIGHT you give it, the stronger it will become!
I’ve done my share of research where I went over several AUTHENTIC research studies that have aimed to scientifically prove what foods have a positive impact on our brain. Although there are a lot of assumptions and common sense foods that we think might help with our brains functioning, however, the focus of this article was purely scientific studies. For instance, everyone can safely assume that having a healthy (more fruit and veggie) diet will be better for memory and brain. However, in this post such assumptions are not made even if they are pretty obvious.
So what foods are there that have shown to have a positive impact on our brain functioning and hence memory? Well, here are some top foods that you can (thankfully) easily incorporate in your lives and let your brain function stronger and for longer!
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO): Mediterranean countries, which have olive oil as a staple in their diets, have reported lower incidences of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, cancer and in general a longer life span! Similarly there have also been studies, which showed that adults who took the Mediterranean diets, had a LOWER risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or progressing to it after some mild cognitive impairments. Furthermore, a study was also conducted to see whether EVOO had an impact on learning and memory (in mice)*. Lucky for us, it showed that when given EVOO mice were better able to memorize in comparison to if they were given coconut oil or butter. Coconut oil bolstered the learning process like EVOO but had not the same impact on memory. Hence extra virgin olive oil improves your memory as well as the learning process.
Reason: researchers inferred the results to be such because EVOO reverses the oxidative damage in brain that may occur because of aging. This is because EVOO has the antioxidant, polyphenols, whose augmentation in the brain counters the negative effect of amyloid B Protein’s over production(which causes poorer memory). In simpler words; the peptide that your body creates more when you age, can lead to poor memory. Extra virgin olive oil carries an antitoxicant that fights the negative effects of that aging peptide.
What to do: simple. We can easily incorporate EVOO in our diets by creating salad dressings with this amazing oil. By simply taking a spoonful of it first thing in the morning, not only is good for your brain but also your bones. HOWEVER, please note that the positive effects of EVOO may not exist if it is cooked. So it’s recommended you take the oil as it is without heating it. Next time you go onto that protein diet for stronger muscles, make sure you remember to dip the protein in EVOO so your BRAIN MUSCLE is also being worked on J.
*It is safe to assume that any effect that a nutrient has on mice will be the same on us. This is because their biological, genetic and behavioral systems are closely related to our systems.
- Walnuts: you can easily improve your cognitive health by having a handful of walnuts either as a snack or an added part of your daily food intake! A study showed that consuming 10g of walnuts on average per day caused the participants to have better cognition functions such as accurate recall and FASTER recall. Moreover, those who consumed around 13g per day scored higher on the cognition. Hence tip: don’t shy away from incorporating at least 13 grams of walnuts in your daily life.
Further more, if you look at a complete walnut, its is SHAPED LIKE A BRAIN. So no wonder, it helps the brain! Although there is no room for assumptions, but the mere sight of a walnut begs one to think “huh? Does this have anything to do with the brain.” And since its NATURAL, the link HAS to be positive!
- Almonds: “oh bhai badaam khao yadaasht khraab hoti jaa ri hai.” if you are from Pakistan, then you have probably heard this a lot. So have I. The phrase above translates as “dude. Eat more almonds. Your memory is getting weaker.” Whenever someone forgets a name, a general Pakistani would conveniently advice to eat more almonds. How useful and true is this societal advice? I researched and voila! It DID emanate from something true. There have been numerous studies that show a positive correlation between almonds and better old age memory and memory retention. As mentioned earlier, almonds too are high in essential nutrients like polyphenol. Almonds however have a strong effect in hindering the process of age-related memory dysfunction. Moreover, use of almond in old age has in fact helped improve memory. A study conducted by Haider et al adviced that a continued use of almonds in early age when the neural plasticity of brain is high and effective, can have a positive impact on later age related neurodegenerative disorders.
So what to do? If you are still “not old” then incorporate almonds in your daily life, they will slow down the mental aging of your brain! You do not have to be labeled with a bad memory to start working on it. However, if you do suffer this misfortune, then again these God gifted nuts are there to help you!
Watch this short Fox News Clip for more almond health benefits!
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/10/17/health-benefits-almonds.html
– Dark Chocolate: as much as I love chocolate, and as much as I wished this were true, its not. Although there are a lot of articles out there supporting the fact that Dark Chocolate can help improve memory, unfortunately no study that reliably concluded that dark chocolate can improve memory has crossed my eyes so far. The ones that have, are either not relevant or unreliable. Hence, no need to put on more weight hoping to get smarter.
However, want to feel happier? Then yes go for chocolate. No research required (although there is tons!) to avail the boost of dopamine and hence happiness that comes from eating your favorite chocolate!
REFERENCES
[1] Trichopoulou A, Critselis E (2004) Mediterranean diet and
longevity. Eur J Cancer Prev 13, 453-456.
[2] Perez-Lopez FR, Chedraui P, Haya J, Cuadros JL (2009)
Effects of the Mediterranean diet on longevity and age-related
morbid conditions. Maturitas 64, 67-79.
[3] Guallar-Castillon P, Rodriguez-Artalejo F, Tormo MJ,
Sanchez MJ, Rodriguez L, Quiros JR, Navarro C, Molina E,
Martinez C, Marin P, Lopez-Garcia E, Larra˜naga N, Huerta
JM, Dorronsoro M, Chirlaque MD, Buckland G, Barricarte A,
Banegas JR, Arriola L, Ardanaz E, Gonz´alez CA, Moreno-
Iribas C (2010) Major dietary patterns and risk of coronary
heart disease in middle-aged persons from a Mediterranean
country: The EPIC-Spain cohort study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc
Dis, doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2010.06.004.
[4] Lopez-Miranda J, Perez-Jimenez F, Ros E, De Caterina R,
Badimon L, Covas MI, Escrich E, Ordovas JM, Soriguer F,
Abia R, de la Lastra CA, Battino M, Corella D, Chamorro-
Quir´os J, Delgado-Lista J, Giugliano D, Esposito K, Estruch
R, Fernandez-Real JM, Gaforio JJ, La Vecchia C, Lairon D,
L´opez-Segura F, Mata P, Men´endez JA, Muriana FJ, Osada
J, Panagiotakos DB, Paniagua JA, P´erez-Martinez P, Perona
J, Peinado MA, Pineda-Priego M, Poulsen JE, Quiles
JL, Pamirez-Tortosa MC, Puano J, Serra-Majem L, Sol´a R,
Solanas M, Solfrizzi V, de la Torre-Fornell R, Trichopoulou
A, Uceda M, Villalba-Montoro JM, Villar-Ortiz JR, Visioli
R, Yiannakouris N (2010) Olive oil and health: Summary of
the II international conference on olive oil and health consensus
report, Jaen and Cordoba (Spain) 2008. Nutr Metab
Cardiovasc Dis 20, 284-294.
[5] Calabrese V, Cornelius C, Trovato A, Cavallaro M, Mancuso
C, Di Rienzo L, Condorelli D, De Lorenzo A, Calabrese
EJ (2010) The hormetic role of dietary antioxidants in free
radical-related diseases. Curr Pharm Des 16, 877-883.
[9] Feart C, Samieri C, RondeauV, Amieva H, Portet F, Dartigues
JF, Scarmeas N, Barberger-Gateau P (2009) Adherence to a
Mediterranean diet, cognitive decline, and risk of dementia.
JAMA 302, 638-648.
[10] Scarmeas N, Stern Y, Tang MX, Mayeux R, Luchsinger JA
(2006) Mediterranean diet and risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
Ann Neurol 59, 912-921.
