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April 10, 2013 Leave a Comment

Coconut Oil and Cognitive Function

To Put it Simply: Your Brain Loves Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil

One of my favorite flavors in the world is coconut. It’s right up there with chocolate and coffee. I’m pretty sure Mounds candy bars were made just for me. Give me a Mounds and a cup of coffee and you won’t hear a peep out of me for a while.  I’m pretty silent when my own happy little Paradise.

Fortunately, chocolate (dark chocolate) has its health-related virtues (heart) and coffee is known to help prevent Alzheimer’s.  We’re beginning to hear more and more about the health benefits of coconut – which is just all around great news for coconut nuts like myself.

A recent article on Green Med Info caught my eye. How could it not? – It combined two things that interest me most in the world: Cognitive Function (as well as Alzheimer’s and Dementia Prevention) and the magic word… coconut. Coconut oil to be exact. (Buy Coconut Oil on Amazon)

Studies show that just one dose of coconut oil a day can tremendously boost brain function and cognitive ability.  Coconut oil has also shown AMAZING promise in the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia.

Read the fascinating article by clicking the link: How Coconut Oil Boosts Brain Function

You can learn more about Coconut Oil and its effect on Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer’s Prevention on Natural News.

 

Filed Under: Brain Food, Prevent Alzheimer's Disease, Prevent Memory Loss Tagged: , , , , ,
March 30, 2013 Leave a Comment

Yet Another Reason to Love Green Tea (and Drink it By The Gallons)

Add it to Your Alzheimer's Prevention Arsenal

Cup of Green Tea

There are already, seemingly, 1,001 healthy reasons to drink green tea. The antioxidants are great for your health and can help prevent many diseases and illnesses. What’s more, green tea acts like a spark plug to your metabolism, encouraging it to burn more calories by turning them into energy-giving fuel.

Personally, I love green tea and have for some time. Most people either strongly prefer it hot (like my oldest daughter) or iced cold (like my husband), but I love it at any temperature it’s comfortable at! I like to mix things up with what I add to my green tea, too. Sometimes I go with a little honey or a squeeze of fresh citrus, but most of the time, I drink it straight up because I’m wild about the flavor.

If you’re one of the millions of people who are getting serious about Alzheimer’s Prevention, now you have another reason to drink green tea. A specific molecule in green tea, known as EGCG, has been shown to interfere with formation of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s. EGCG breaks down existing aggregate structures in the proteins that contained metals—specifically copper, iron and zinc.

Pour yourself a tall glass of green tea and read more about the study here: Green Tea in the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Filed Under: Brain Food, Prevent Alzheimer's Disease Tagged: ,
September 19, 2012 Leave a Comment

Foods to Avoid for a Sharper Brain

Burger and Fries

As you probably know, there are certain foods that are good for the brain. These brain foods should be eaten and enjoyed as often as possible.  Click the link for a great list of these healthy and delicious foods and, remember, what’s good for the brain is good for the heart – so you’re doing your body as much good as you are your mind.

What many people may not realize is that there are foods that are as bad for our brains as certain foods are good – foods that do untold damage to our minds as well as our bodies.  These are the foods we should avoid with every ounce of willpower we can muster.

Junk food, fast food, and overly sugary foods and drinks aren’t just harmful for our waistlines and hearts, they’re damaging to our brains.  Many experts attribute the alarming rise in Alzheimer’s cases to the American diet.  Many restaurants and food manufacturers are trying to turn the tide, but it’ll only be as successful as each individual (that’s you and me, kid!) allows it to be.

Make healthy switches in your daily diet and you’ll reap benefits in your body and mind. You’ll find that instances of “brain fog” fade away and you’ll feel sharper almost as soon as you make the healthy changes.  In the long run, if you replace junk food with healthier choices, you’ll be taking great strides in preventing memory loss and different types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease.

Below are just a few ideas for you to incorporate into your daily life:

  • Completely swear off fast food breakfasts. These are some of the unhealthiest meals imaginable. Eat oatmeal or cereal at home, with berries (your brain loves berries!) added for extra oomph.
  • Fall in love with fruit smoothies and green smoothies. I’ve replaced my typical breakfasts with green smoothies and find that I no longer snack before lunch.  The nutrients in the greens, vegetables, and fruit in these smoothies aren’t just great for your brain’s health long-term, they help keep you sharp today.
  • For lunch, replace burgers and fries with healthier wraps, salads, and soup.
  • When eating out, always choose grilled, baked, or blackened over fried. Try to equate the word fried with “fried brain cells.”

If you try to quit fast food and junk food cold turkey, you probably aren’t going to be very successful in the long run. That’s why you need to find foods and drinks that can serve as viable replacements. Experiment until you find restaurants that have salads, wraps, grilled chicken, soups, and other healthy options that you LOVE.   Zaxby’s, Cracker Barrel, Subway, Panera Bread, and Beef O’ Brady’s have wonderful salads and other healthy options.

It won’t take you long to realize that healthy foods are 10 times more delicious than unhealthy foods.

Make each moment (and bite!) count double,
~ Joi

Filed Under: Brain Food, Improve Your Memory, Prevent Alzheimer's Disease, Prevent Memory Loss Tagged: , ,
August 22, 2012 Leave a Comment

Onions: A Brain Healthy Food with Additional, and Surprising, Benefits

Onions

Dr. Jonny Bowden, author of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why, recently wrote about a surprising “brain food,” the humble (and popular) onion.  Personally, I love it when a food I eat regularly is touted as healthy – either physically or mentally.  Onions have been proven to have BOTH physical and mental benefits, meaning there’s a lot more to this common food item than we ever realized.

I could, of course, re-word everything Dr. Bowden recently wrote on his blog, but I’d much rather simply point you in the right direction (Health Benefits of Onions). Not only is he infinitely more qualified to talk about the subject, I’d love for you to read his incredibly informative other articles as well.

Choosing healthy brain food is one of the easiest things we can do for our brain’s health.  When it comes to eating, we make choices every single day that either carry us closer to or further from optimum mental and physical health.  Making the right choices can mean the difference between good mental health and mental decline.

Be sure to grab a copy of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why on Amazon right away.  Let’s arm ourselves with the information we need to make the right choices when it comes to food.

Make each moment count double,
~ Joi

More Jonny Bowden Books:


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July 19, 2012 Leave a Comment

Foods That Are Good For Your Brain: Oprah’s Great Brain Grocery List!

Brain Healthy Food

 

O, The Oprah Magazine recently released the Great Brain Grocery List in their August issue.  I absolutely love this!   As you know, we’re only as healthy (physically & mentally) as the food we eat.  The food on this list is good for your brain as well as the rest of you.

Make a point to start eating more brain healthy foods. Your brain will reward you for years to come.

Filed Under: Brain Food, Improve Your Memory, Prevent Alzheimer's Disease
May 22, 2012 Leave a Comment

Eat This Daily to Protect Against Alzheimer’s Disease

Steel Cut Oats with Berries and whipped heavy cream

Eat Berries Daily for Optimum Brain Health and to Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease.

As you would expect, I read a great deal (make that great, great, great deal – daily) about mental fitness, brain fitness, and preventing Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Memory Loss. When I see certain tips and recommendations show up again and again, I quickly realize just how vital these particular tips are.

Then I start shoving them down your throat!

I write a lot about brain food and super foods that can help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease because our diet has been proven to have a HUGE effect on our brain’s health.  For a complete list of these foods, see Foods that Prevent Alzheimer’s.  For this post, I only want to concentrate on one particular type of food: beautiful, delicious, nutritious, and versatile berries.

Berries contain high levels of  components, including a class of compounds called anthocyanosides, which fight memory impairment associated with free radicals and beta-amyloid plaques in the brain. Scientific lingo for…. Berries help keep your brain out of trouble! Think of them as body guards – or secret servicemen – for your brain cells.  If you were the President of the United States, would you want to go out in public without your secret service men?

No way! You’d be WAY too vulnerable, right?

Start thinking of berries in the same light. Don’t allow your brain to face a day without several servings of berries.

  • Throw them into your oatmeal, yogurt, or cereal. I actually just finished a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries, strawberries, and a little whipped heavy cream on top (pictured at the top). YUM!
  • Place them in a bowl in your refrigerator, ready-to-eat, covered with saran wrap (that way you see them, sitting there in all their beauty).
  • Drink smoothies made from strawberries and/or blueberries.
  • Throw blackberries on top of frozen vanilla yogurt!

I read an article by a brain expert this morning in which she finished with the words, “Eat berries each day for maximum benefit.”  As I folded the paper and put it away, I answered her with, “Just try and stop me!”

Challenge Accepted.

Make each bite COUNT!

~ Joi

Filed Under: Brain Food, Prevent Alzheimer's Disease, Prevent Memory Loss Tagged: , , , ,
May 21, 2012 Leave a Comment

Butter Ages Your Brain, While Avocados and Olive Oil Serve as a Fountains of Youth

Avocado Canvas Print

Given the fact that I love butter as much as anyone has ever loved butter in the history of the world, this isn’t a brain fitness article I’m going to derive any pleasure from writing.

Put another way, “Man, this sucks.”

Friday, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital published a study that has made me forever think about what I spread on my biscuits and drizzle on my popcorn:  Butter causes the brain to age more rapidly than other kinds of fat. 

All saturated fats are guilty as charged – I just mention butter because it causes me the most distress.  Other full-fat dairy products are also brain-agers.  With many apologies to hamburger and steak lovers, I have to point out that the same can be said of red meat.

Thanks to my inner Mary Poppins, however, I prefer to concentrate on the positive.  Besides, I don’t want to cry – my mascara will run.  The good news is: Olive oil, avocado, and other monounsaturated fats appear to slow brain aging.  Personally, I love the flavors of olive oil and avocado even more than butter, so I think my mascara’s safe. There are also some outstanding butter-pretenders on the market – just be sure to read the labels carefully

The study, published online in the Annals of Neurology, involved 6,200 healthy subjects over the age of 65. Their diets were closely scrutinized.  Cognitive functioning tests taken about five years later and found that those women who reported the highest saturated fat intake also had, on average, the worst scores on reasoning and memory tests.

Those with the highest monounsaturated fat intake had the best cognition test scores on average, compared with those who ate mostly polyunsaturated fats — found in corn and vegetable oils.

Subjects who had a high intake of saturated fat had brains that appeared 5 or 6 years older than their biological age, according to study author Dr. Olivia Okereke, a psychiatrist and epidemiologist at the Brigham, while those with the highest consumption of monounsaturated fat had brains that were about 6 or 7 years younger.

Take Away:

  • Replace butter with olive oil as frequently as possible.  Here’s an idea we love in our family.  When serving French Bread (or Italian!) with pasta, instead of buttering the bread and sprinkling it with garlic powder, simply toast the bread.  Fill a dish with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and add herbs, freshly ground black pepper, and/or a little garlic salt.  You’ll never miss the butter.
  • Slather freshly cut and mashed avocado on your sandwiches instead of mayonnaise.
  • When making tuna fish salad, use olive oil instead of mayo or salad dressing. Add pickles, onion, celery, and a little lime juice and enjoy with wheat or pita bread.
  • Experiment with Black Bean Burgers in place of hamburgers. There are some excellent ones on the market.
  • Order more chicken and fish and less red meat.
  • READ LABELS!

As a bonus, remember that anything you do that’s beneficial to your brain is also beneficial to your heart.  It’s a win/win situation!

Photo Credit: The image shown above is actually a gorgeous Avocado Canvas Print. Click through for a closer look.

 

Filed Under: Brain Food Tagged: , ,
October 27, 2011 Leave a Comment

Improve Your Memory and Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease One Bite at a Time

What’s something we do every day, without fail? In fact, woe be unto the person who tries to stand between us and this activity?!

Unless we have a stomach virus from Hell, we eat and drink each and every day. Without fail. In fact, we eat and drink pretty much throughout the day. If you were to count the number of bites and sips over the course of a day, it’d be pretty amazing. Then if you counted them all up at the end of the week, you’d be astounded.

That’s a lot of bites and drinks! What’s really worth spending a little time thinking about is this: Each of these bites and each of these drinks is either ADDING to your overall health and well-being or they’re TAKING AWAY from your overall health and well being. If we’re going to allow so many foods and drinks to pass our lips, doesn’t it make sense to choose wisely?

I spend a great deal of time researching healthy foods for the body and mind. Not only do I do research for this mental fitness blog, I also do research for my food blog and self help blog. The same super foods turn up again and again. I’ve often said that what’s good for your heart is also good for your brain and when it comes to food, this is abundantly true. Did you know that the foods that are unhealthy for your heart (such as salt) are even unhealthy for your brain?

For example, Omega 3 Fatty Acids (cold water fish) help protect your brain from dementia and improve your memory. If you don’t typically eat a lot of salmon, trout, and mackerel – the time to start is now. Make a point of having these amazingly delicious and healthy fish several times a week.  Your brain will thank you for it, as will the rest of your body.

The following are just some of the foods that are known to improve your memory, protect your brain, and help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease:

  • Walnuts
  • Avocados
  • Peanuts
  • Olive Oil
  • Salmon
  • Trout
  • Vitamin E
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin B12
  • Whole Grains
  • Blueberries
  • Cherries
  • Plums
  • Broccoli
  • Eggplant
  • Corn
  • Asparagus
  • Onions
  • Strawberries
  • Bell Peppers

From Everyday Health:

Give yourself a memory boost with dark berries that help keep blood vessels in the brain clear and protect brain cells from damage. Eat fruits like blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Blueberries and similar foods have been shown to actually reverse age-related memory shortfalls in humans and animals. Oranges, cherries, plums, and red grapes are also great memory food. – Everyday Health

Make each moment count double,

~ Joi

Filed Under: Brain Food, Improve Your Memory, Prevent Alzheimer's Disease Tagged: , , ,
October 4, 2011 1 Comment

Why You Should Be Eating More Vegetables!

Vegetables can prevent cognitive decline and help with preventing Alzheimer's Disease and dementia.

Your mom was right (again).  You should be eating your fruits, vegetables, and wearing clean underwear.  But let’s focus on the veggies for now. They’re excellent for you, head to toe, and it turns out they’re very important for your brain’s health.

Do you think you’re eating enough vegetables for your brain’s health? You may be surprised… grab a couple of carrots and read on.

A new study shows that people who eat 3 servings or more of vegetables daily have a slower rate of cognitive decline as they grow older.  There are plenty of things we can do to lessen our odds of getting dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, or memory loss.  You’ve read about many of them here on Out of Bounds.

Eating vegetables is a delicious addition to the preventative list, so make a point of working more vegetables into your daily routine. Below are a few tips to get you started.

  1. Don’t just make a sandwich – make a healthy Dagwood sandwich. Add spinach or dark leafy lettuce, red onion, red peppers, and even cucumbers. The extra crunch makes the sandwich funner as well as tastier and healthier.
  2. Make salads and/or vegetable soup a frequent guest at lunch.  When having a salad, don’t stop at lettuce and tomatoes. The more vegetables you pack in, the more servings you’re getting.
  3. When it comes to noshing during football, baseball, soccer, or basketball games (we all do it, after all) – try trays of fresh baby vegetables. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and watch them disappear. If you MUST, have a little ranch dressing for dipping. I won’t tell anyone.
  4. Fill omelets or scrambled eggs with red and green peppers, red or green onions, tomatoes, broccoli (trust me, broccoli and eggs are outstanding together), asparagus, chopped spinach, etc.  Up the veggies, up the servings.
  5. Steamed baby carrots with a little butter and honey are never anything but delectable.
  6. Keep chopped vegetables in a container in the refrigerator for when the munchies hit.

Here’s a link to a delicious roasted cauliflower recipe. It’s Bob Blumer’s Popcorn Cauliflower and you won’t feel anything less than mad love for it.

 

Filed Under: Brain Food, Mental Fitness, Prevent Alzheimer's Disease Tagged: , ,
August 28, 2011 Leave a Comment

Be Mind-Ful of Heart Health!

Salmon is loaded with Omega 3's which are great for your heart AND your mind!

Research shows that, beyond any shadow of doubt, brain health and heart health are directly linked. It goes without saying, but I’ll probably say it anyway, what’s good for your heart is good for your mind.   There are many ways you can incorporate heart-healthy habits and lifestyle changes into each day. When you do so, your heart AND your brain will become healthier.

That may be the best two-for-one deal I’ve ever heard of!

  •   Studies have found that eating the king of all omega-3 fatty acid super foods, fish, is associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline or dementia. Omega 3′s are also, of course, the cornerstone of all heart healthy diets.
  • Eat to live, don’t live to eat. At the risk of being blunt, get your weight under control NOW. Study after study shows that people who are obese in middle age were twice as likely to develop dementia in later life. Those who also had high cholesterol and high blood pressure had six times the risk of dementia.
  • Get some sort of activity (such as walking) for 30 minutes each day.
  • Reduce your intake of fat and cholesterol. Countless studies have shown that high intake of saturated fat and cholesterol clogs the arteries and is associated with higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Use mono- and polyunsaturated fats, such as olive oil, for example. Bake, steam, or grill your food instead of frying. Find alternative seasonings to help your taste buds adapt.  An example: I LOVE fried fish – to absolute distraction. However, I’ve found that if I use a Blackened Fish seasoning, I honestly like it just as much grilled or baked. I’ve been grilling fish on my George Foreman grill and, honestly, can’t remember the last time I fried fish. I simply don’t miss it at all.
  • Don’t smoke. If you smoke… stop.  If you don’t smoke, don’t start. Smoking interferes with blood flow and oxygen to the brain and is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

From the Alzheimer’s Association:

Some of the strongest evidence about maintaining your brain links brain health to heart health. Even though you can’t feel your brain working, it’s one of the most active organs in your body. Your heart pumps about 20 percent of your blood to your brain, where billions of cells use about 20 percent of the blood’s oxygen and fuel.

If your heart isn’t pumping well — or if your brain’s blood vessels are damaged — your brain cells have trouble getting all the food and oxygen they need. Any condition that damages your heart or blood vessels can affect your brain’s blood supply.

 Off-Site articles you’ll find interesting:

Can Vitamin B12 Lower your risk of Alzheimer’s Disease?

Walking 6 to 9 Miles a Week May Help Memory

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