If you want to make the right decisions
in confusing times—Time to refinance? Explore a different career? Root for the singing spinster or the 12-year-old?—you
need to pay special attention to what you eat. That’s right: Your grocery list can help with your to-do list. That’s
because the right foods are a kind of clean-burning fuel for your body’s biggest energy hog: Your brain. A study in
the Journal of Physiology makes the point that, though your brain represents only 2 percent of your body weight, it makes
20 percent of the energy demands on your resting metabolism.
On our new Eat This, Not That! Web site, we rounded up the best foods to munch on when you need a mental boost—and found studies that show, in fact, that you
can be up to 200 percent more productive if you make the right eating choices. Stock up on these items to halt mental decline,
jog your memory, sharpen your senses, improve your performance, activate your feel-good hormones, and protect your quick-witted
sharpness, whether you’re 15, 40—or not admitting to any age whatsoever!
FOR SHORT-TERM MEMORY
Drink This!: COFFEE
Fresh-brewed joe is the ultimate brain fuel. Caffeine
has been shown to retard the aging process and enhance short-term memory performance. In one study, British researchers found
that just one cup of coffee helps improve attention and problem-solving skills.
Not That!: ENERGY DRINKS/TOO
MUCH COFFEE
Ever heard of the concept “too much of a good thing”? If you OD on caffeine—too many
cups, a jolt of caf from the late afternoon onward, a Red Bull cocktail—it can mess with your shuteye schedule. Sleep
is reboot time for your mental computer, and you don’t want to mess with it.
FOR LONG-TERM MEMORY
Eat This!: BLUEBERRIES
Antioxidants in blueberries help protect the
brain from free-radical damage and cut your risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. They can also improve
cognitive processing (translation: thinking). Wild blueberries, if you can find them, have even more brain-boosting antioxidants
than the cultivated variety, so book that vacation in Maine now. The berries will ripen in July.
Not That!:
THE UNRIPE AND UNREADY
Here’s a cool tip: if your favorite berries are out of season, buy them frozen. The
freezer locks in peak flavor and nutrients, so the berries’ antioxidant capacity is maxed out. Those pale, tough, and
expensive off-season berries usually ripen on a truck, rather than on the bush, so they’re nutritional imposters compared
to the real thing.
For more smart shopping tips, point your grocery cart to THIS story and learn how to pick the most delicious and nutritious while controlling your waistline!
TO THINK FASTER
Eat This!: SALMON OR MACKEREL
If the Internal Revenue Service picks you for
some up-close-and-personal auditing, you’ll want to be on your toes when they vet your deductions list. So put salmon
or mackerel on the grocery list. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fishes are a primary building block of brain tissue,
so they’ll amp up your thinking power. Salmon is also rich in niacin, which can help ward off Alzheimer’s disease
and slow the rate of cognitive decline.
Not That!: FULL-FAT ICE CREAM
Not all fats are created
equal: Beware foods high in saturated fats, which can clog blood vessels and prevent the flow of nutrients and blood to the
brain. Ice cream is not a brain-health food.
TO ENERGIZE:
Eat This!: HIGH-PROTEIN SALAD
WITH VINAIGRETTE
The oil in the dressing will help slow down digestion of protein and carbs in the salad, stabilizing
blood-sugar levels and keeping energy levels high. Build your salad on a bed of romaine and spinach for an added boost in
riboflavin, and add chicken and a hard-boiled egg for more energizing protein.
For other tips on how to build
the perfect salad, check out the Eat This, Not That! ultimate salad selector.
Not That!: PANCAKES OR BAGELS
MIT researchers analyzed blood samples from a group of people who had
eaten either a high-protein or a high-carbohydrate breakfast. Two hours after eating, the carb eaters had tryptophan levels
four times higher than those of the people who had eaten protein. The tryptophan in turkey is one of the reasons you crawl
off for an afternoon nap after Thanksgiving dinner. So watch what you gobble.
TO CALM DOWN
Eat This!: LOW-FAT YOGURT OR MIXED NUTS
Scientists in Slovakia gave people 3
grams each of two amino acids—lysine and arginine—or a placebo, and asked them to deliver a speech. Blood measurements
of stress hormones revealed that the amino acid-fortified guys were half as anxious during and after the speech as those who
took the placebo. Yogurt is one of the best food sources of lysine; nuts pack loads of arginine.
Not That!:
SODA
A study from the American Journal of Public Health found that people who drink 2½ cans of soda daily
are three times more likely to be depressed and anxious, compared with those who drink fewer. So Mountain Dew is a Mental
Don’t.
TO CONCENTRATE
Eat This!: PEPPERMINT TEA
The scent of peppermint helps you focus and boosts
performance, according to researchers. Need to reach Chicago before nightfall, and you’re stuck in traffic around Cleveland?
One study found that peppermint makes drivers more alert and less anxious.
Not That!: CANDY
Sugary
foods incite sudden surges of glucose that, in the long term, cause sugar highs and lows, leading to a fuzzy state of mind.
So you’ll need to avoid all the attention-busting sugar bombs on this list of the 20 most sugar-packed foods in America.
FOR GOOD MOODS AND GRINS
Eat This! ARUGULA OR SPINACH SALAD
Leafy
greens—arugula, chard, spinach—are rich sources of B vitamins, which are key components on the assembly line that
manufactures feel-good hormones such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. According to a study published in the Journal
of Neuroscience Nursing, a lack of B6 can cause nervousness, irritability, and even depression.
Not That!:
WHITE CHOCOLATE
White chocolate isn’t chocolate at all, since it contains no cocoa solids. So it won’t
stimulate the euphoria-inducing mood boosters like serotonin, as real chocolate does. Grab the real thing, the darker the
better. More cacao means more happy chemicals and less sugar, which will eventually pull you down.
FOR SHARPER SENSES
Eat This!: 1 TBSP OF GROUND FLAXSEED DAILY
Flax is the best source of
alphalinoleic, or ALA—a healthy fat that improves the workings of the cerebral cortex, the area of the brain that processes
sensory information, including that of pleasure. To meet your quota, sprinkle it on salads or mix it into a smoothie or shake.
Not That!: ALCOHOL
This one’s obvious, but worth mentioning anyway. A drink or two can
increase arousal signals, but more than that will actually depress your nervous system. This makes you sloppy, not sharp.
Want more of all of the best and worst foods in America? Click here for the complete list of drinks, snacks, drive-thru foods, burgers, salads and everything else under the sun!
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Article published at http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/31477/best-and-worst-brain-foods/