How the brain feeds: essential food for the mind
How the brain feeds
Virtually all foods find raw materials that are important in the formation of brain tissue, but certain mental faculties require a greater amount of certain nutrients for restoration. The brain requires a balanced diet to function well, so to think, learn and remember, eat foods that contain the nutrients your mind needs to be awake. Remember that there are vitamins and minerals that are directly involved in concentration, memory, mental performance and mood. If the body lacks them, it will be much harder for your brain perform at its best.
The proteins contained in foods of animal origin, especially in the liver and shellfish contribute to the regulation of intellectual ability and mood. Some studies show that a diet rich in carbohydrates (potatoes, rice, flour, milk, cereals) helps calm anxiety. A good diet should include an adequate supply of minerals under the benefits they offer the body. Calcium, for example, involved in the transmission of nerve impulses, iron and affects performance in transporting oxygen to the cells, and zinc appears to be related to the activity of the brain neurotransmitters. For calcium should eat milk and dairy products, while iron can be found in meats, organ meats, legumes and nuts. The oysters, shellfish, lamb and legumes are rich in zinc.
All B vitamins are involved in the process of production of neurotransmitters, specifically B1 (pork and yeast), B6 (melon, chicken and banana) and B12 (liver, eggs and cheese). The latter is very important to counteract stress and strengthen intellectual agility.
Furthermore, other research has shown that vitamin C (citrus, tomatoes, cauliflower and peppers) decreases the likelihood of brain cancer, especially in childhood. In this case, smokers should increase your intake of vitamin C, since an average smoker it reduces the level of 20 percent and a heavy smoker, at 40 percent. Our brain consumes about a quarter of the oxygen that enters our body.
In fact, it is the body consumes more oxygen. If our lungs lose much of its ability to transfer oxygen and the arteries that supply oxygenated blood to the brain are sclerotic and hardened by long years of poor eating habits, the result can be a rapid mental deterioration.
Physical exercise and a diet based on the principles we have mentioned are some of the best actions you can take if our desire is to reach old age with our mind at full capacity. The essential food for the mind:
Some essential nutrients to keep our mind to a higher level of performance, are:
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine) - found in beans, grains, seeds, brewer's yeast, liver.
- Magnesium - nuts, peas
- Potassium - spinach, raisins, dates, citrus fruits, broccoli, avocado, beans
- Vitamin B3 (niacin) - milk, fish, peas, sunflower seeds and flax, whole grains, brewer's yeast.
- Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) - liver, soybeans, tuna, beans, yeast
- Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) - liver, oysters, fish, egg yolk, milk products.
- Vitamin C - citrus fruits, tomatoes, strawberries, green vegetables, kiwi
- Copper - seafood, nuts, seeds, cherries, strawberries, honey
- Zinc - dates, figs, egg yolk, fish, oysters, carrots, peas, oats, wheat germ, sesame seeds
- Tryptophan - milk
- Tyrosine -habas, pumpkin seeds
- Colina - tofu, egg yolk, oatmeal, cauliflower, cabbage
The hill is very important especially since, besides a constituent part of acetylcholine, a major neurotransmitter in the brain.
Some studies indicate that it may help in some cases of impairment or memory loss in older people. A simple way to supplement the diet with choline is using lecithin. Lecithin is available in pellet form and eating two to four tablespoons twice daily.
Phosphatidylserine: Chapter deserves phosphatidylserine is one nutrient that has drawn attention in recent years. It is a special kind of fatty substance used by the body to, among other things, maintain the health of nerve cells. Brain cells contain a large amount of the substance, particularly in the cell membrane, but its concentration decreases with age.
Considering that the cell membrane has important functions ranging from regulating substances into and out of the cell and the internal composition of these, we can begin to suspect that phosphatidylserine is of great importance for brain activity. Indeed, in experiments conducted recently been observed that can help improve memory and cognitive abilities, especially among older people.
In one of these studies conducted with people between 50 and 75 years of age, it was supplied to a group of people phosphatidylserine 100 mg three times daily and another group was provided with an inert substance or placebo. After 12 weeks, a significant improvement in memory of those who had ingested the substance was found. The improvement was greater in those who prior to the study had higher memory problems.
Another study conducted in Italy showed that phosphatidylserine in doses similar to those used in the previous study may help older people with advanced memory problems. These studies were conducted using cows extracted brain phosphatidylserine. Due to the already famous problem of the disease called "mad cow" this type of phosphatidylserine is no longer possible to acquire on the market.
Vitamins E, a group of fat-soluble vitamins that help prevent oxidative stress in the body among other things, and containing foods such as peanuts, broccoli, tomatoes, asparagus, kiwi or squash, have proved crucial for neuronal health, according to the findings of the latest study conducted by Oregon State University (USA) and which includes The Journal of Lipid Research.
