Boost Your Brainpower!

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mens sana in corpore sano

(a healthy mind in a healthy body)

Here are the 50 best brain foods, according to Dr. Amen. It looks like he listed them in alphabetical order, not best, second best, etc. Why, doctor, why?

Almonds, raw
Almond milk, unsweetened
Apples
Asparagus
Avocados
Bananas
Beans (black, pinto, garbanzo)
Bell peppers (yellow, green, red, and orange)
Beets
Blackberries
Blueberries
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Carrots
Cheese, low fat
Cherries
Chicken, skinless
Cranberries
Egg whites, DHA enriched
Grapefruit
Herring
Honeydew
Kiwi
Lemons
Lentils
Limes
Oats
Olive oil
Olives
Oranges
Peaches
Peas
Plums
Pomegranates
Raspberries
Red grapes
Soybeans
Spinach
Strawberries
Tea, green
Tofu
Tomatoes
Tuna
Turkey, skinless
Walnuts
Water
Whole wheat
Wild salmon
Yams and sweet potatoes
Yogurt, unsweetened

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Why ORAC is important for the health of your brain

The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) scores of fruits vary. In this mix of fruit, the ORAC score of blueberries is highest, followed by (in order) the scores of black plum, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, sweet cherries, avocado, navel orange, and red grapes.

http://www.wildblueberryhealthblog.com/2012/02/your-orac-questions-answered.html

http://www.everydayhealth.com/longevity/healthy-eating-recommendations.aspx

Nutrition & the Brain:

In this study, by neuroscientist James Joseph, it looks like cooked artichoke may be the winner!

"One of the first of Joseph’s studies, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, showed a protective effect of consuming antioxidants. Study rats were fed—from adulthood to middle age—vitamin E, strawberry extracts, or spinach extracts, all with similar ORAC values. Animals receiving the high-antioxidant diets did not experience the age-related cognitive performance losses seen in control rats fed standard chow.

A later study, also published in the Journal of Neuroscience, showed a reversal of functional loss among rats on special diets. Each of three groups of rats, equivalent in age to 63-year-old humans, was fed a different high-antioxidant extract. A control group was fed standard chow. After 8 weeks—equivalent to about 10 years in humans—the rats’ performance levels were measured.

The rats fed the spinach, strawberry, or blueberry extracts effectively reversed age-related deficits in neuronal and cognitive function. In addition, the blueberry-fed group far outperformed their peers while traversing a rotating rod to test balance and coordination."