“A full Belly makes a dull Brain: The Muses starve in a Cook’s Shop.”-Benjamin Franklin
Brain is much more complex organ in the body of human. It has 2% of body weight, but uses 20–30% of calories of your body. It loses an average of 85000 cells / day. It contains almost 100 billion nerve cells. It means, it requires quality of food for it’s appropriate functions. If you constantly feed inadequate food to your body you make reach this food indirectly to your brain for malfunctioning which may lead to some kind of abnormal diseases memory lapses, and you may fall prey to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. For instance, a glass of wine may be very pretty for your enjoyment and it is good for the health of your heart but it is definitely detrimental to your brain. It is therefore feared that more than 50% of the general population is affected by this kind of diseases by the time they turned to be 70 years of age.
The APOE Genes
Of course the tests evaluates a person’s DNA to determine what combination of APOE (Apolipoprotein) i.e. genetic inherence that is responsible for some kind of structure derived from parents. The APOE gene exists in three different forms ( alleles) — e2, e3, and e4 — with e3 being the most common allele, found in 60% of the general population. It is inevitable what we have derived from our parents and we can not change our parents but the food that harms may be taken appropriately so that required improvement can be maintained. It was found in studies that saturated fats derived from animal sources or dairy products may sometimes be more harmful than the they do good to your body and brain.
Copper and Iron Contents
It is not myth that if you have derived certain genes from parents and you can not improve the brain structure or the functionality. I want to make this more clear with an example. Suppose you cooked your food and left the frying pan outside and suddenly it rained. You had left for outstation for few days. What will happen to frying pan? It will rust with oxidation, right? In the same way iron and copper oxidize in your body. These produces free radicals and affect the brain just like sparks between cells. So copper and iron is like double edge sword if taken in excess quantity and definitely this may harm your brain as it becomes toxic.
Vitamins And Minerals
As far as the vitamins are concerned, we take vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C and vitamin D along with added irons. We already have some of them from our regular food. But the sparkles which are received from these combinations can be avoided with extinguishing effects from vitamin E which can be derived from dry foods. Vitamin E has anti-oxidant quality that plays a vital role for nullifying bad effects of combination of hitherto discussed vitamins and iron combinations. We have to be little careful not to take excessive vitamin E as we are taking pills which contains a single type of vitamin E. It is sometimes less known fact that natural food has total eight kinds of vitamin E and we stick to single kind received from tablet.
The Four-Color Theorem
I hated subject of biology during my school days but I loved the concept of four-color theorem.
1. Legumes (Purple)
The purple colour of the blueberries and grapes are so seasoned for almost three months in the air, storm and sunlight that it is a very good source of anti-oxidant for the body and brain.
2. Vegetables (Green)
Green vegetables just like spinach, broccoli, cucumber are not just have soothing effect to your retina but also give numerous to your body and brain.
3. Grains (Yellow)
The whole grains like wheat, corn, millet are the important source of vitamins and minerals that have important role of healthy diets.
4. Fruits (Red)
People who eat more fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases, such as heart disease, including heart attack and stroke and certain types of cancers. Eating foods such as fruits that are lower in calories instead of higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.
Importance Of Exercise
A Harvard study found the risk of cancer can be reduced by as much as 54% simply by walking for 3 to 5 hours a week.
A study published by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health linked a 15-minute walk with a reduction in depression. Together with the endorphin release, exercise serves as a distraction from negative thinking cycles that feeds poor mental health.
It was found from the study of university of Illinois that shrinkage of brain is drastically reduced by 40 minutes brisk walk thrice a week.
Take Away
1. Try to avoid trans and saturated fat foods.
2. Let us focus on food and exercise for brain health and longevity.
