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There are many books about nutrition and cognitive functions. The authors ground their nutrition protocol on what humans ate during the paleolithic era. Often these authors contradict each other. For some, we were better hunters than gatherers so we ate mostly meat. For others, we were better gatherers and ate primarily nuts, plants, fruits. Others advance our digestive system can’t tolerate grains because it was a modern invention of the first agricultural revolution (about 10,000 years ago).
However, anthropology suggests that paleolithic diets were dependent of where people lived. Close to shores, they ate more fish; within the forest they ate plants; in areas with herbivores they ate more meat. Also, humans ate grains millions of years before the agricultural revolution. And, we can digest those just fine because of an enzyme earmarked to digest grains (amylase). So, paleolithic diets were as varied as they are today.
Mosconi gets the anthropology right. Her foundation is based on two empirical findings. The first one is her studying of the “Blue Zones” or the five areas in the World associated with the greatest proportion of centenarians. And, her second one is her experience as a neuroscientist. She has seen thousands of brain MRIs while knowing what diet her patients ate. She uncovered a link between brain health and diet. The ones who ate a Mediterranean diet had far healthier brains (per MRIs) than the ones on an American diet. She also observed that 2 out of the 5 Blue Zones eat a Mediterranean diets. And, the three other ones have major overlapping components with a Mediterranean diet including complex carbohydrates (fresh produce) that have a lot of fiber, starches (sweet potatoes), nuts, fish, and not much meat and animal protein.
By eating fish just twice a week, elderly can reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s (AD) by up to 70%.
Mosconi uses a pragmatic approach to improve your diet for brain health. The book is divided in three parts. The first one provides information regarding the brain nutritional requirement. The second one teaches you how to eat better. And, the third part tests you to find out where you are in terms of feeding yourself well. This includes an 80 question test that grades you as either Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced. “Beginner” entails you have little food awareness. You eat a lot of processed food. “Advanced” entails you eat very healthily, mainly organic foods. And, “Intermediate” falls in between.
Mosconi states that based on one’s result on the test, she has a good idea of what your brain looks like. She has seen a correlation between people’s diet and their brain’s MRI.
Mosconi clarifies a few concepts. Other authors have advanced that the brain needs fat, including saturated fat, and cholesterol to function properly. Not so, Mosconi indicates that the fats we eat (saturated fat from animal protein) and cholesterol can’t even cross the blood-brain barrier. The brain needs a completely different type of fat: essential Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs). They include Omega-3s and Omega-6s fatty acids. Good sources of Omega-3s include fish, oils, eggs.
Saturated fats are not good for the brain. They are associated with a 4 x increase in the risk of developing cognitive deterioration later in life.
Also, brain cholesterol is very different from the cholesterol we eat. High cholesterol level (> 240 mg/dl) leads to 3 x the risk of cognitive issues and dementia later in life.
The low-carb & high-fat diet (includes keto-diet) are not good for you because the brain needs glucose for fuel. It can burn fat. But, the brain’s preferred energy source is glucose. The key is to provide the brain with glucose without raising glucose/serum blood level. You do that by avoiding sugar and eating complex carbohydrates (fresh produce) that convert into glucose.
Keto-diets have other negatives. An increase intake of saturated fat increases cholesterol levels (more than eating cholesterol directly). Also, fat-rich foods are often low in fiber, which is hard on your digestive system, and high in protein which is hard on your kidneys.
A healthy diet has to include a lot of prebiotics food (good for microbiome). They include onions, asparagus, artichokes, garlic, bananas. These foods are rich in carbohydrates called oligosaccharides. The latter lower cholesterol, prevent cancer, and detoxify your body.
Probiotics (foods that include live good bacteria) are also key. They include yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and other fermented foods.
Regular meats are really bad. They are loaded with antibiotics and antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.
So far there is no evidence that eating grains is associated with any cognitive decline. One can verify that at PubMed.
Mosconi imparts information regarding food codes (small labels with codes stuck on fresh produce). A number starting with a 4 means a produce is not organic (has fertilizers and pesticides); Starting with an 8 means GMO; and with a 9 means organic.
Exercise is important too. Vigorous, frequent exercise can reduce your risk of AD by 43%. However, daily activities like walking, gardening, can reduce your risk of AD by 35%.
There are three mechanisms that clean up the internal infrastructure of the brain: 1) sleep, especially during the deep sleep zone (that activates the cleaning glymphatic system); 2) aerobic exercises that boosts enzymatic activity that dissolves AD plaques in the brain; and 3) Intermittent fasting (12 hours +) that cleans up amyloid in the brain.
- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: Avery (March 6, 2018)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0399573992
- ISBN-13: 978-0399573996
- Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 9.3 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 97 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#35,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #259 in Cognitive Psychology (Books)
- #8 in Brain Cancer
- #50 in Memory Improvement Self-Help
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