Eating for your Brain
I just finished the book, Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power by Lisa Mosconi. I enjoyed it, which is why I've spent the past two days powering through it. There is nothing like getting a notice from the library that you have to return a book in two days to make it jump to the top of the reading list.
What I found most interesting were the parts about how the components of the foods we eat interact with our bodies and more particular our brains. The aim of the book is dealing with how to offset dementia in old age, but really it is about healthy brains. Does it surprise you that I found it fascinating? I will probably get myself a copy just for the geeky brain science parts.
But on top of the brain-food connection, there are also other parts dealing with other ways that we can create brain health. In the section which talks about how using your brain helps to keep it healthy, I ran across this:
"... you might be surprised to learn that, among all the intellectual activities at our disposal, the human brain seems to actually have a favorite. It loves board games the most.
Several studies have identified playing board games as the intellectual activity most consistently linked with a reduced risk for dementia. In one example, a two-year-long study of four thousand people showed that those who regularly played board games had a 15 percent lower risk of dementia later in life as compared to nonplayers.
This makes sense, since playing board games is a highly stimulating activity. Far from merely being a source of entertainment, these games typically promote complex reasoning, planning, and attention, as well as memory skills. Plus, you are interacting with other people ... Card games are included in this group, proving to be as effective as board games when it comes to brain benefits.
As you might notice, all these games promote social interactions and often reinforce multigenerational bonding too. ...
After all, we are social animals. A fairly big chunk of our brains -- the limbic system -- is all about loving and bonding, as much as playing." (pp. 162-3)
Playing and interacting with others in that play are important for brain health! (I so love it when science proves my pet theories correct.) Notice that we are not talking children here; the book is clearly aimed at adults. Adults who are old enough to start being concerned about what their later years are going to look like. If it is true that play is good for older adults, how much more must it be true for growing and developing brains? We do true harm to ourselves the minute we put forth the idea that play is only for the very young child, and something that is to be set aside once the more "important" aspects can be focused on. How much richer would all of our lives be if we gave play a more important role in life?
It turns out that a diet based on lots of whole fresh vegetables, whole grains, and lots of fish contains that nutrients that our helps our brains function at their best. In popular terms, the Mediterranean diet comes closest. This is no great surprise as we have been told for quite some time that these foods are good for us, and processed foods and red meats are not. This is also the section of the book where I believe the author became a little rigid. Yes, I completely buy her arguments for why these foods are the best for us. But I also think a little flexibility isn't a bad thing, either. A sweet dessert every now and then is not going to cause a catastrophe.
All in all, I do recommend the book, particularly if you are interested in brain science or nutrition. It is for the most part extremely balanced, and the science is well backed-up. I warn you though, you may never look at a chocolate cookie or a hamburger the same way again.
What I found most interesting were the parts about how the components of the foods we eat interact with our bodies and more particular our brains. The aim of the book is dealing with how to offset dementia in old age, but really it is about healthy brains. Does it surprise you that I found it fascinating? I will probably get myself a copy just for the geeky brain science parts.
But on top of the brain-food connection, there are also other parts dealing with other ways that we can create brain health. In the section which talks about how using your brain helps to keep it healthy, I ran across this:
"... you might be surprised to learn that, among all the intellectual activities at our disposal, the human brain seems to actually have a favorite. It loves board games the most.
Several studies have identified playing board games as the intellectual activity most consistently linked with a reduced risk for dementia. In one example, a two-year-long study of four thousand people showed that those who regularly played board games had a 15 percent lower risk of dementia later in life as compared to nonplayers.
This makes sense, since playing board games is a highly stimulating activity. Far from merely being a source of entertainment, these games typically promote complex reasoning, planning, and attention, as well as memory skills. Plus, you are interacting with other people ... Card games are included in this group, proving to be as effective as board games when it comes to brain benefits.
As you might notice, all these games promote social interactions and often reinforce multigenerational bonding too. ...
After all, we are social animals. A fairly big chunk of our brains -- the limbic system -- is all about loving and bonding, as much as playing." (pp. 162-3)
Playing and interacting with others in that play are important for brain health! (I so love it when science proves my pet theories correct.) Notice that we are not talking children here; the book is clearly aimed at adults. Adults who are old enough to start being concerned about what their later years are going to look like. If it is true that play is good for older adults, how much more must it be true for growing and developing brains? We do true harm to ourselves the minute we put forth the idea that play is only for the very young child, and something that is to be set aside once the more "important" aspects can be focused on. How much richer would all of our lives be if we gave play a more important role in life?
It turns out that a diet based on lots of whole fresh vegetables, whole grains, and lots of fish contains that nutrients that our helps our brains function at their best. In popular terms, the Mediterranean diet comes closest. This is no great surprise as we have been told for quite some time that these foods are good for us, and processed foods and red meats are not. This is also the section of the book where I believe the author became a little rigid. Yes, I completely buy her arguments for why these foods are the best for us. But I also think a little flexibility isn't a bad thing, either. A sweet dessert every now and then is not going to cause a catastrophe.
All in all, I do recommend the book, particularly if you are interested in brain science or nutrition. It is for the most part extremely balanced, and the science is well backed-up. I warn you though, you may never look at a chocolate cookie or a hamburger the same way again.
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