Brain Bulletin #62 - Nutritional Magic for Your Brain
in Brain BulletinThe food you eat every day influences your energy levels, and your mood. Get in the habit of doing some mental accounting. Ask yourself if what you are about to eat is a net gain, or net loss for your brain. Every bite counts. Each time you take a bite of food you are making a small, but important choice. These choices add up. Fast.
Don't forget walnuts. Walnuts are my favorite brain food.
Your brain accounts for 2% of your body weight, but burns over 20% of your energy reserves. That means your brain is a big deal...it's working pretty hard. To get the most from your brain you need to feed it often with slow-release, high quality nutrition.
It doesn't get much better for your brain than raw, unsalted walnuts!
The Romans and the ancient Chinese thought that since walnuts look like the brain, they must be good for the brain. Recent science proves them right!
- Walnuts are great for your brain. Here's what you get:
- Walnuts develop 3 dozen neuro-transmitters for your brain.
- Walnuts are packed with vitamin E.
- They contain the, all important for your brain, fatty acid omega-3.
- Walnuts can improve brain function and memory.
- They can even lift your mood.
- They improve artery function after a high fat meal.
- Walnuts promote heart health....(and what's good for your heart is good for your brain!).
- They can help prevent cognitive decline as you age.
- Walnuts can help your brain get a good, natural night's sleep.
- Some studies seem to indicate that walnuts even play a role in reducing cancer.
This may be the "clincher":
Eating walnuts lowers the risk of weight gain. This seems counter-intuitive. But a twenty-eight month study in Spain found that people who ate nuts at least twice a week were 31% less likely to gain weight than people who did not. Study authors concluded, "Frequent nut consumption was associated with a reduced risk of weight gain (5 kg or more). These results support the recommendation of nut consumption as an important component of a cardioprotective diet, and also allay fears of possible weight gain."
Eating just four walnuts a day can help.
You can carry them with you to snack on. Sprinkle them on oatmeal. You can put them in our salads.
Walnuts are a key part of my #1 recommended breakfast for your brain:
The #1 Breakfast for Your Brain
More information on brain foods is found here:
Eat 5 of These Super Brain Foods Every Day!
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Twitter is a great way to learn and fuel your brain. I just posted an interesting piece on leadership and the brain.
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It's been a great few weeks. I had 2 great days speaking at the Crosscurrents Conference. Special Education teachers are the best! I also got to speak to 200 law enforcement officers on leadership and the brain and I spoke to 1500 students at Sir Charles Tupper Secondary School in Vancouver.
I am getting ready to leave for Toronto to keynote and close the Ontario Board of Funeral Services Annual Conference. I am looking forward to catching a Bluejays game with my nephew Sean. I come back for some local talks and then leave for Switzerland with our daughter. I speak at IMD in Lausanne and Taryn does some teaching at Geneva International School. We are both looking forward to Ernie s World Famous Raclette in Geneva! I better start dieting now.
I am reading a great book called "The Genius in All of Us - Why Everything You've Been Told About Genetics, Talent, and IQ is Wrong" by David Shenk. You probably already know by the title that I think it is excellent!
