• Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Directory
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
The Brain Health Magazine
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Directory
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
The Brain Health Magazine
No Result
View All Result

You Are What You Eat

What Food Will Help Your Brain the Most?

in Brain Function, Healthy Living, Nutrition
July 21, 2021
0
You Are What You Eat

by Dr. Shane Steadman, DC, DACNB, DCBCN, CNS

Our brain is the most metabolically-active organ in the body. In a resting state, the brain utilizes about 20% of the body’s energy. Even when we are sleeping, the brain is active with processing and transmitting information. Food and nutrition play a role with mood, behavior, cognitive function, sleep, and energy. People often notice certain foods will influence function. For example, dark chocolate can make some people feel happier, whereas caffeine helps others to feel sharper and more productive. While food and nutrition can improve function, it can be the opposite for other foods. Inflammatory foods can lead to brain fog and changes in memory, as well as contribute to migraines. There is even discussion of a connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

There is so much discussion around certain diets, foods, and supplements. The ketogenic diet has become popular with supporting certain conditions like seizures. The Mediterranean diet has been viewed as beneficial for brain function due to the consumption of healthy fats, oils, and fish. A change in dietary habits can be the quickest way to make a change for a better brain. Many studies and articles suggest that reducing inflammatory foods and decreasing oxidative stress can improve longevity of brain. Implementing changes can start with vegetables.

Your mom always said to eat your veggies and now you have good reasons to do so. Vegetables provide antioxidants, vitamin K, folate, beta carotene, vitamin E, and much more. The rule of thumb is the more color and darker, the better. This rule of thumb also pertains to fruit.  Fruits like blueberries, blackberries, pomegranates, kiwi, and strawberries contain flavonoids, antioxidants, and vitamins such as vitamin C. Many articles and studies suggest eating fruits high in flavonoids and antioxidants can help with nerve signals, transmission, and even supporting the hippocampus for memory. When following the rule of thumb, two-three cups of vegetables and one-two cups of fruit a day is the goal.

The human brain is about 60% fat. Consuming nuts, seeds, and healthy oils is the next step into promoting a healthy brain. Foods like almonds and walnuts are high in antioxidants and essential fatty acids (EFAs). Seeds such as flaxseed, chia seed, and pumpkin seeds are other foods that provide EFAs and support the brain.  As mentioned earlier, the Mediterranean diet consists of healthy fats and oils. Olive oil is synonymous with this eating style. Unhealthy fats such as trans fats can lead to inflammation and oxidative stress. Cooking with and consuming healthy fats can yield big rewards later with aging. Simply substituting olive oil or coconut oil instead of vegetable oil for cooking is a start. Other oils such as grapeseed, flaxseed, and olive oil can be great on salads.

Along the same thinking as fat, another great way to get healthy fats into our diet is consuming fish. Fish provides high-quality protein and essential fatty acids that are great for brain function. Two different type of fats come from fish: EPA and DHA. DHA is the primary fatty acid that helps with reducing inflammation, cognitive function, memory, signaling, recovery, and much more. The body can only make a small amount of DHA, and therefore needs to be supplemented through diet. The goal is to consume fish once a week. For those who cannot and do not like eating fish, supplements can be used instead. When taking a supplement, maintenance is approximately 2,000 – 3,000 mg per day.

Overall, when looking at nutrition and brain health, we can consume many foods daily or weekly to support a healthy brain. It does not need to be difficult or expensive to implement something like this into your regimen. In addition to the above, other foods to look at for brain health include foods such as avocados, turmeric, broccoli, dark chocolate, and green tea. Go online, learn new recipes, and have fun.

Dr. Shane Steadman, DC, DACNB, DCBCN, CNS, is the owner and clinic director of Integrated Brain Centers. To learn more about how they can help with concussions, stroke, and TBIs, please visit www.integratedbraincenters.com. For a free consultation, please call 303-781-5617.

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare Via EmailPinterest
Next Post
The Nutrition-Learning Connection: Three Food Mistakes That Impact Your Child’s Brain

The Nutrition-Learning Connection: Three Food Mistakes That Impact Your Child's Brain

SIGN UP

BLOG

Yoga: Eagle Pose

Yoga: Eagle Pose

By Amy Zellmer, Editor-in-chief Yoga is a powerful tool for recovery after brain injury. Contrary to some beliefs, everyone can do yoga — you don’t need to be super flexible, be able to balance, or even be able to stand up. The beauty of yoga is that every pose can be modified to accommodate anyone.  […]

Read more
Yoga for the Mind, Body, and Spirit

Yoga for the Mind, Body, and Spirit

By Amy Zellmer, Editor-in-chief Yoga is often misunderstood by many, with the thought that you must be flexible and able to contort your body into crazy positions while standing on one toe. This simply couldn’t be further from the truth. Yoga is amazing for the body, spirit, and mind. Similar to meditation, it brings awareness […]

Read more
Clarity® Essential Oil

Clarity® Essential Oil

by Amy Zellmer, Editor-in-chief Essential oils are a complementary tool to help you achieve a healthy lifestyle. They are easy to use, smell great, and have a variety of uses. All oils are not created equal. Young Living is the only brand I personally trust because I know they have complete control over their product […]

Read more
Thinking Outside the Brain: Trent McEntire's Journey

Thinking Outside the Brain: Trent McEntire’s Journey

By Ian Hebeisen Trent McEntire lived an active childhood, despite experiencing chronic pain and stiffness. Whenever he found a physical task daunting or challenging, McEntire would find ways to accommodate the sport to fit his needs. He played basketball, went cycling, and in time took up dance. “When I got into dance, it felt good […]

Read more
Breathing for the Brain

Breathing for the Brain

By Jonathan Chung, DC When it comes to mindfulness training, there is no shortage of techniques to help reclaim control of a wandering mind. The numerous benefits of mindfulness are well documented in clinical trials across a wide variety of conditions, ranging from anxiety and depression to autoimmune disease and chronic pain. Meditation tends to […]

Read more
From the Editor

From the Editor

By Amy Zellmer, Editor-in-chief I am so excited about this issue on Mindfulness. It helped not only in my recovery, but in my everyday life. Learning to focus on the present moment — the right-here-and-now — instead of worrying about what you have to do later, or whatever it was you did earlier, has a […]

Read more
Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

by Amy Zellmer, Editor-in-chief What You Need: 2 lbs. (900g) chicken breasts 4 bell peppers, sliced 1 red onion, sliced 2 tbsp. honey 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 lime, juice 1 tbsp. chili powder 1 tbsp. cumin 1 tbsp. paprika 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. onion powder 1 tsp. garlic powder 1 cup chopped tomatoes […]

Read more
From Calamitous to Cannabis

From Calamitous to Cannabis

By Ian Hebeisen Over her life, Nikki Lawley has sold H-Vac filtration systems, dealt cards at a casino, and started her own company, solidifying her as a true renaissance woman of the modern age. Most recently, she worked as a pediatric nurse in Buffalo – a career choice resulting in a TBI. One shift, a […]

Read more
The Curse and Blessing of Neuroplasticity After Concussion

The Curse and Blessing of Neuroplasticity After Concussion

By Jonathan Chung, DC Neuroplasticity is defined as the ability for neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. If you’ve been involved in the world of strokes and brain injuries long enough, you probably heard of neuroplasticity in the context of how it can provide hope for people to rehabilitate and […]

Read more

INSTAGRAM

Follow Us!

  • Some of our book award goodies arrived today … the swag looks pretty good with this book 🥇 

#ConcussionDiscussions #author #publisher #writer #blogger #braininjury #tbi #concussion #pcs #anthology #FunctionalNeurology
  • I am thrilled to share that Concussion Discussions has won TWO book awards for excellence in publishing. A huge thanks to all of the contributors who helped make this book award-winning:
@steadmanshane 
@dr.perry.maynard 
@integratedbraincenters 
@dockeiser 
@portlandchiropracticneurology1 
@midcoastbrain 
@drszimmerman 
@neurowellnessdoc 
@learningrx_brain_training 
@healingresponse 
@dr.habanova 
@rezzimaxpaintuner 
@bagnell_brain_center 
@nurenbergparis 
@frameworktms 
@northwestfunctionalneuro 
@drerikreis 
@mindeyeinstitute 
@functionalhealthunlimited 
@michironeuro 
@deltasperformance
  • #kindness
  • Comment below!
  • #kindwords
  • Yoga or Pilates? Comment below!
  • #blazeyourownpath
  • Congrats to Jeffrey M Heller recently named the newest partner of @nurenbergparis
  • It’s officially March … and that means Brain Injury Awareness Month!! Join us on March 16th for a FREE virtual event with over 20 survivors and professionals sharing their experience. Register now for FREE! www.FACESOFTBI.com/event

© Copyright 2019 | The Brain Health Magazine

  • Advertise With Us
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Contact Us

DISCLAIMER: THIS MAGAZINE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE - View PDF

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Directory
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used.