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Good Mood Food

Do you experience brain fog, mood swings or constant anxiety?

Eating more nutrient-dense whole foods can help balance your emotions, your mood and improve your cognitive function. Good mental health, just like physical health, depends on adequate nutrition. If you are low on a few key vitamins or minerals, you are more likely to experience issues with mood swings or anxiety.  Give your brain the building blocks it needs to thrive.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”right” source_author=”Drew Ramsey, MD” source_title=”Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety” full_quote=”There are a variety of food categories that can aid in your quest for a healthier brain –and remission from depression and anxiety symptoms. They are leafy greens, rainbow fruits and veggies, seafood, meat, eggs and dairy, fermented foods, dark chocolate. Foods from these groups contain the important nutrients you need to feed the good bugs in your gut, reduce inflammation, and put your brain into grow mode. All things that can help with depression and anxiety” short_quote=”Foods from these groups contain the important nutrients you need –and can help with depression and anxiety symptoms.”]

You can get brain essential nutrients in these food categories. Make greens and rainbow foods the major components of your meals.

Greens and Cruciferous Vegetables

Leafy vegetables are the most nutrient-dense (nutrients per calorie) foods on the planet. Spinach, kale, arugula, watercress, beet greens, collards, Swiss chard are all great options. Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and cabbage.

Rainbow Fruits and Veggies

Every color in our vegetables represents a different family of phytochemicals (protective, healing chemical compounds found in plants).

Red/purple foods are especially nourishing for your brain. Berries are the rock stars for brain health, but all red/purple foods have especially powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and DNA-enhancing properties that help keep your brain fighting fit.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”right” source_author=”Leslie Korn” source_title=”Nutrition Essentials for Mental Health” full_quote=”There are a variety of nutrients that act as antioxidants to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain. Carotenoids found in fruits and vegetables, especially the dark leafy greens and red spectrum, are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and they improved cognitive health. Several high fat foods like avocado or avocado oil significantly increase absorption of the carotenoids” short_quote=” There are a variety of nutrients that act as antioxidants to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain.”]

Quality-sourced Protein:

  • Pastured eggs: Rich in nutrients needed to build brain cells, linked to lower rates of anxiety symptoms.
  • Fish and seafood: Anchovies, sardines, oysters, mussels, salmon, cod are among the most nutrient dense foods you can eat –  rich in brain nutrients omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins.
  • Sustainably raised meat (beef, lamb, goat, and chicken).  Loaded with essential amino acids, vital healthy fats, rich in B12 and E, vitamins, essential minerals iron, selenium, and zinc.

Essential Fats: Avocado, coconut, olives, nuts and nut butters, olives, grass-fed butter. Omega-3 fatty acids are vital to the brain. They also help you absorb the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients essential for brain health.

Fermented Foods: Kefir, yogurt, miso, sourdough, sauerkraut, kombucha and kimchi add beneficial bacteria to your system to help support brain health. These feed the good bacteria in your gut that support brain health.

Nuts, Beans and Seeds: A small serving nuts and seeds gives you a mix of plant-based protein, healthy fats and slow burning carbs, fiber, zinc, iron and essential vitamins. Think of nuts and seeds as a condiment; add to overnight oats, salads, grain bowls, curry, and meatloaf.

What to Do?

Choose the foods in these categories that you enjoy eating. Experiment and gradually add in those you’re not familiar with. Try new ways of eating foods you may think you don’t like. Here are a couple of ways to are just a few fun ways to add in more of these foods on a regular basis.

Be mindful of what you eat. Keep a food journal for a week and jot down the foods from each category that you every day. How many colors did you get? How many plant foods? Quality protein? This about progress, not perfection. Wherever you are is ok, just build up one food, one day at a time.

Eating nutrient dense, whole foods from nature is a powerful way to care for  your brain and your body.

References

Ramsey, Drew (2021). Eat to beat depression and anxiety. New York, NY: HarperWave.

Korn, Leslie (2016). Nutrition essentials for mental health. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company.

Learn more:

Mood Food: Nutrition for Your Brain – GBC Nutrition

20 Foods to Naturally Increase Your Brain Power – Mind Body Green

Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety – Drew Ramsey MD

Updated  – original posted August 2021 

What I Wish I’d Known about Brain Health

I walked into the waiting room with my brilliant, charismatic father, my mentor, my friend. He had come all the way from Bolivia to see a neurologist in the Texas Medical Center. “I don’t look like that, do I?” he asked, noticing the patients already there. I shook my head, reinforcing his notion that he didn’t belong there.

A few months earlier he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s in our hometown Cochabamba, Bolivia. As often happens with the diagnosis of any major disease, particularly one that has no cure, disbelief was forefront. After careful research and months of waiting, we were able to get this appointment with a world-renowned specialist in Parkinson’s disease.

I will always remember that summer day. Going from sweltering Houston heat that sticks clothing to your skin in seconds between the parking garage and the frigid blast of air-conditioning upon entering a building.

Disbelief is the first stage of grief. It would morph into a roller coaster of bargaining, anger, grief, depression, acceptance, resistance and learning over the next fourteen years.

This is what I wish I had known that fateful day when my beloved daddy received confirmation of a Parkinson’s diagnosis. Cognitive decline is not inevitable. We can reduce the risks, and progression, of degenerative brain diseases.

  1. Food REALLY matters – Eat real food from nature. Get the right balance of macronutrients: quality protein, fats from nature, and carbs from plants. Essential fatty acids are especially critical for the brain. Avoid processed foods, minimize sugar and refined grains (wheat flour especially). There is a strong correlation wiht sugar and Alzheimer’s, so much that Alzheimer’s is called Type 3 diabetes.
  2. Micronutrients matter. Vitamins, essential minerals and phytochemicals (natural chemical compounds in platn foods that have protective and healing effects). Key micronutrients like Vitamin B and D and Omega-3 fatty acids are critical for normal brain function across the lifespan. Low levels can increase the risk of neurodegeneration. Get your micronutrients by eating a WIDE diversity of plant foods, including nuts and seeds, herbs and spices.
  3. Digestion matters – Digestion is the chemical and mechanical breakdown of food. Proper digestion releases nutrients for absorption through the lining of into the bloodstream and carried wherever needed. If digestion doesn’t function properly, nutrients are not adequately absorbed and delivered to the brain and rest of your body.
  4. Gut health matters– Gut is the gastrointestinal system (GI) made up by the esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine. Gut health is directly linked to brain health. People suffering from Parkinson’s have different patterns of gut dysfunction than healthy people. Gut dysbiosis (dysfunction) plays a pivotal role in the development and progression of Parkinson’s disease, and is also linked to depression and anxiety.
  5. Sleep matters – Improving your sleep promotes brain health and may reduce risks of developing Parkinson’s/cognitive decline. Your brains is most active when asleep — storing memories, removing toxins and waste, making repairs. Build a regular sleep routine in and in a dark room free of light pollution from electronic devices.
  6. Stress matters – Stress, anxiety, depression and strong negative emotions decrease brain activity. The communication between the brain and gut is clearly related to chronic stress. Excess cortisol (stress hormone) over time interferes with neuronal plasticity—the brain’s ability to adapt and learn, can lead to a suppressed immune system, and to full-blown depression.
  7. Toxins matter – Environmental toxins, toxic mold, and air pollution are significant contributing factors in the development of Parkinson’s disease. Avoid, or minimize, the most pesticide-laden produce. There is a direct correlation with pesticides in Parkinson’s patients, and also with dry cleaner chemicals. Drink filtered water, invest in a water filter at home. Heavy metals such as mercury and aluminum can present dementia-like systems.
  8. Movement matters – Aerobic exercise (like walking) enhances neuroplasticity, promotes the growth and survival of neurons and appears to have the most favorable effects on brain health and Parkinson’s disease progression.

What to do?

  • Eat food as close to nature as possible. To support a healthy gut and a healthy brain, gradually increase consumption of plant foods until you reach 8 servings/day. Eat a variety of types and colors: leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, rainbow vegetables and fruits, beans, nuts and seeds, herbs and spices. Aim for 2 – 3 colors at each meal. Purple/blue/red foods are especially beneficial for brain health
  • Improve your digestive function and your gut health
  • Build sustainable stress resiliency practices — mindful breathing, movement, gratitude, nature…whatever works best for you.
  • Honor your sleep
  • Reduce your exposure to toxins

I will always wonder –  what if we had known this information years ago? How different would the outcome have been for my dad, for his quality of life? For all of us who loved him?

Former Congressman, senator, ambassador, powerful historian that he was, visionary and architect of democracy, how much more could he have contributed to the nation he so dearly loved? And to the cause of democracy he dedicated his whole life to?

I will never know. What I do know is that with this knowledge about functional nutrition and the brain, I can help others to improve cognitive function, physical vibrancy and reduce risks of degenerative brain diseases. Change-maker that he was, my amazing father would love that.

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Updatedfrom December 2021 post.

 

Change Your Carbs to Boost Mental Health

Did you know carbohydrates are found predominantly in plant foods?

  • leafy greens
  • vegetables
  • tubers (root vegetables)
  • legumes
  • fruits
  • grains

These are the carbs humans ate for tens of thousands of years.

Refined carbs – pasta, bread, processed foods, even ground grains (flour) – are a relatively recent food development.

Consuming refined carbohydrates is linked to inflammation. Chronic inflammation can lead to physical and mental ill-health.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”right” source_author=”Leslie Korn, MD” source_title=”Nutritional Essentials for Mental Health” full_quote=”Chronic low-level inflammation contributes to depression and cognitive decline.” ” short_quote=”Chronic low-level inflammation contributes to depression “]

By choosing carbohydrates from nature instead of refined human-made carbohydrates, you will

  • reduce inflammation
  • give your body and your brain more essential micronutrients
  • consume fewer calories

Combine those plant carbs with protein and good fats from nature for stable energy, help your body absorb vital minerals and vitamins, and produce neurotransmitters- chemical messengers in your body. They enable your brain to provide a variety of functions.

Additional benefits:

Stable blood sugar
Blood sugar regulation is your body’s priority for stable energy and for optimal brain function.
Refined carbs cause blood sugar spikes and crashes. This can deplete important neurotransmitters (chemical messengers that carry signals between neuron). Erratic blood sugar can also lead to degeneration of the brain.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”full” source_author=”David Perlmutter, MD” source_title=”Brain Maker” full_quote=”Surges in blood sugar have direct negative effects on the brain, effects that cause more inflammation. Blood sugar increases lead to a depletion of important neurotransmitters, including serotonin, epinephrine, GABA, and dopamine. Materials needed to make these neurotransmitters, such as B vitamins, also get used up. High blood sugar also causes magnesium levels to dwindle, impairing your nervous system. More important, high blood sugar sparks a biological process whereby sugar molecules bind to proteins and certain fats that contribute to the degeneration of the brain and its functioning.” short_quote=”Surges in blood sugar have direct negative effects on the brain”]

Fiber
These foods are rich in fiber. Fiber slows down glucose absorption and controls the rate of digestion. This helps stabilize your blood sugar.
Your microbiome (the trillions of bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract) influences your mental health. Fiber-rich plant foods feeds the good gut bacteria. A healthy gut is linked to a healthy brain.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”full” source_author=”Drew Ramsey” source_title=”Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety” full_quote=”When it comes to depression and anxiety, the microbiome matters – and matter greatly. By improving the microbiome, we may have another way to fight mental health issues. Maintaining a healthy mood is having g a lot of different types of good bugs hanging out in your GI tract. Most serotonin neurotransmitters that help regulate mood and learning are in the gut, not the brain. There is a lot of information zooming back and forth between the gut and the brain that helps keep us healthy, and scientists are only beginning to understand all the ways that the microbiome can affect brain functions through the gut-brain axis. What’s become utterly clear is that a healthy gut is a prerequisite for a healthy brain” short_quote=”By improving the microbiome, we may have another way to fight mental health issues”]

Rainbow phytochemicals
Phytochemicals are powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and DNA-enhancing compounds in plants. Every color represents a different family of plant compounds.

Your brain consumes twenty percent of everything you eat. By choosing plant foods as your carbs, you are getting essential micronutrients to produce and support each element of your brain, especially critical neurotransmitters. You will be better able to prevent and manage mood and anxiety disorders.

What to Do?
Instead of worrying about carbohydrates calories, aim for greens and rainbow plant foods to be make up the main part of your meals. There are so many ways to eat the rainbow¡

Have fun exploring and find the way that works best for you.

Here are a some delicious, nutritious options:

Quinoa Tabbuleh

Grain Pilafs – mix different grains like brown rice and quinoa, add herbs and veggies, and/or chopped nuts

4 Delicious, Nutritious Potato Salads

Roasted sheet pan veggies like Roasted Red Cabbage and Brussels Sprouts

 

 

Brain Healthy Breakfast Smoothies

Here is quick, delicious, nutritious brain-healthy breakfast.

Benefits

  • Stable energy: you get all macronutrients in a glass which will provide stable energy and balance your blood sugar
  • Sharper focus: focus determines how efficiently you process information. By taking sugar and refined foods out of breakfast, you help reduce inflammation that contributes to brain fog
  • Better memory: when your brain is inflamed, it can affect your ability to form short-term memories and also connect to long-term member.
  • Better mood: Inflammation and fat dysregulation resulting from poor food choices tap into flight-fight and anxiety-driven centers of your brain. By providing your brain instead with stable and efficient source of energy from high-nutrient foods, it becomes easier to reduce anxiety and depression. Your neurotransmitters will be stable rather than firing in an chaotic, anxiety-producing pattern = promoting feelings of happiness and sense of peace
  • Reduce risk of cognitive decline: medical studies indicate nutrient deficiency (vitamins C,E, B12, B 6 and beta-carotene is linked to cognitive impairment. These breakfast smoothies pack in brain essential vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and healthy fats.
  • Stronger immune system:
  • Fast food: Fresh is best. You can store in a mason jar with a lid – or another airtight container – for 24 – 72 hours. This minimizes oxidation which breaks down nutrients and changes the color. Shake well before drinking

Basic formula

  • Liquid: Nut milks, oat milk, grass-fed whole dairy milk, kefir, coconut water, filtered water
  • Leafy greens: spinach, baby kale, mix of greens
  • Nature’s fats: seeds (chia, flaxseed, hemp seed, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower and/or nuts (almond, cashews, pecans, walnuts, nut butters)
  • Fruits: use organic if it’s on the Dirty Dozen list, go seasonal to increase the diversity of micronutrients, use shredded veggies (carrots, beets, zucchini) or pureed (beet pumpkin, sweet potato, butternut squash). Red/purple fruits are especially rich in brain-boosting phytochemicals
  • Spices: allspice, cocoa, cinnamon, ginger, tumeric (with a pinch of black pepper)
  • Sweeteners: Add bananas or dates. use nature’s sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, molasses or stevia

Starting combinations

Berry Almond Joy

  • 1 cup frozen berries for the fruit
  • 2 tablespoons coconut
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter

Chocolate Strawberry

  • 1 cup strawberries for the fruit
  • Add 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa to the spices

Ginger Spice

  • 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • Pinch of black pepper (to activate tumeric)

Mango Lassi

  • 1 cup mango for the fruit
  • kefir for the liquid

Choose Better Fats to Boost Mental Health

What fats are you are eating? One of the best steps you can take to improve your mental fitness and protect your brain is to pay attention to the types of fats you are giving your body.

Your brain consumes about 20 percent of the calories you eat each day. To adequately function, it depends upon a dozen key nutrients — vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins that give your brain the building blocks it requires.

 

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”right” source_author=”Leslie Korn, MD” source_title=”Nutritional Essentials for Mental Health” full_quote=”To improve mood, focus and memory, eat good fats like butter, eggs, avocados, walnuts, and coconut oil, and eliminate all poor-quality fats and trans-fats like French fries and fats (particularly hydrogenated oils) added to canned and packaged foods. Fats from nature are medicine for your brain” short_quote=”To improve mood, focus and memory, eat plenty of good fats “]

Choose brain-healing fats 

  • Grass-fed butter has an ideal balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. It contains vitamins A, D and E as well as iodine and selenium
  • Nuts and seeds – also rich in fiber, zinc, iron and essential vitamins. A small serving offers a nice mix of healthy fats, proteins and slow-burning carbohydrates
  • Nut butters
  • Coconut oil. Coconut is rich in fats, protein and has a full complement of B vitamins. Coconut oil is one of the healthiest and most medicinal of fats. In additional to the fat, coconuts contain iron, selenium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and vitamins B1, B3, B5, C and Ka. Coconut lowers blood sugar, protects the liver and improves immune function.
  • Olive oil – improves brain and nervous system function
  • Sesame oil – has anti-depressant properties
  • Avocado oil – helps regulate blood sugar

Foods in their natural form are high in brain-healthy omega 3 fatty acids.

Eliminate industrialized fats

Hydrogenated, highly processed fats are toxic and interfere with the essential roles fatty acids have in the body.

  • Corn oil, cottonseed, soybean, canola, sunflower, and vegetable oils
  • Margarine and butter substitutes

If you consume dairy

  • Choose whole milk and milk products (kefir, yogurt, cheeses, butter) from pasture-raised cows. Natural milk is a complete protein, is high in enzymes and contains brain essential vitamins B6 and B12 and fat-soluble vitamins A and D.
  • Goat milk products are also a nutritious option. Goat milk has more nutrients because of the rich and varied diet of the goats and is more digestible.

References

  1. Korn, Leslie. (2016). Nutrition Essentials for Mental Health: A complete guide to the food-mood connection. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company
  2. Brogan, Kelly, MD. A Mind of Your Own: The truth about depression and how women can heal their bodies to reclaim their lives. (2016). New York, NY: Harper Collins

Good Mood Rainbow Foods

What colors are on your plate? How many colors from nature do you eat each day?

Rainbow vegetables and fruits are powerful brain foods. They provide the micronutrients necessary for your physical and mental health:

Rich in powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and DNA-enhancing properties, they fuel your brain, provide essential nutrients and reduce inflammation. There is a strong link between inflammation, mood, and mental health.

Loaded with fiber, these foods also feed the good bacteria in your gut.  The trillions of bacteria in your gut influence your mood, brain functions and mental health. Rainbow foods are good mood foods.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”full” source_author=”Drew Ramsey, MD” source_title=”Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety” full_quote=”Mother Nature created a world full of brightly colored fruits and vegetables – all with their own unique phytonutrients to promote health. These rainbows – sometimes referred to as “brainbows” – are chockful of fiber and phytonutrients. Flavonoids are responsible for the bright colors. Purple foods like eggplant and berries, boast phytochemicals called anthocyanins, which have amazing anti-inflammatory properties. Orange options like carrots and sweet potatoes, get their sunny color from, which convert into brain-boosting vitamin A. Reds – from strawberries to tomatoes – signal lycopene, an antioxidant dynamo.” short_quote=”Mother Nature created a world full of brightly colored vegetables, all with their own unique phytonutrients to promote health”]

Here is a quick list of rainbow foods, and reasons to eat them. How many of these foods do you eat?

Greens are SO nutrient-dense, I’ve written about them separately — Good Mood Leafy Greens. and 10 Ways to Boost Your Mood with Leafy Greens. Aim to eat greens every day.

 

Colors Foods Benefits
Red Beets

Cherries / Cranberries

Kidney beans

Red apples and pears

Red bell peppers

Red cabbage

Strawberries/Raspberries

Red potatoes

Red quinoa

Radicchio

Watermelon

 Improves memory and mood

Decrease brain fog

Improves digestion

Improves heart health

Lowers blood pressure
Orange Carrots

Oranges

Peaches /apricots

Cantaloupe

Mango

Papaya

Butternut squash

Sweet potatoes

 Improves digestion

Boosts immunity

Helps cells communicate

Prevents cellular damage

Improves better cognitive performance reduces risk of cognitive decline
Purple Blueberries / Blackberries

Elderberries

Eggplant

Plums

Purple grapes

Purple carrots

Purple cabbage

Purple potatoes

Black quinoa

Black beans

 Improves memory

Improves circulation

Boosts brain activity

Boosts immunity

Improves digestion

Blood sugar regulation
White Onions / garlic

Cauliflower

Turnips

Jicama

Bananas

Peaches

Parsnips

Mushrooms

Rutabagas

White radishes

White beans

 Reduces blood pressure

Boosts immunity

Helps new cell growth

Improves blood circulation

Helps detoxification

Protects cells

What to Do?

Which fruits and veggies do you regularly eat?  What can you add to build a rainbow in your meals?

  • Identify opportunities to make small, positive changes.
  • Find ways to build a rainbow in every meal.
  • Expand your palate and maximize the range of nutrients that are beneficial to your brain.
  • Eat for pleasure. Eat for life!

Here are a couple of ways to put more colors on your plate:

Bean Salads

Potato Salads

Grain Bowls – Wholefully

Sheet Pan Dinners – Cooking Classy

Sheet Pan Dinners

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”full” source_author=”Leslie Korn” source_title=”Nutrition Essentials for Mental Health” full_quote=”Eat all the colors of the “brainbow”. Eat whole, nutrient-dense foods from the whole color spectrum to obtain your nutrients. Preparing fresh food is an act of self-nourishment, emotionally as well as physically. The stressors of modern-day life cause us to dissociate from the simple, self-care rituals that invigorate us. Food gathering, preparation, and sharing is a ritual that when done well, leads is into a parasympathetic state of relaxation and provides the endorphin rush of attachment and connection.” short_quote=”Eat whole, nutrient-dense foods from the whole color spectrum to obtain your nutrients.”]

Next Steps

  • Aim for at least 3 – 4 colors on your plate each meal
  • List the fruits and veggies you regularly eat
  • Try 1 new veggie each week
  • Find new ways with a veggie you love
    • Breakfast smoothie
    • Grain bowl
    • Roasted, pureed, shredded
  • Share! Let me know how it goes. I’d love to cheer you on 😊

Updated from August 2021 post.

Nuts and Seeds are Good Mood Foods

Your brain is an energy-hungry powerhouse. That’s why you need to keep your brain fueled with nutrient-dense foods to maintain its optimal performance. Nuts and seeds are loaded with nutrients that your brain needs for energy, concentration, mood, sleep, and to avoid memory loss — which all have an impact on your mental health.

The brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a major contributor to neurodegenerative diseases. Oxidative stress and inflammation impact the aging process, mild cognitive impairment, depression and other brain disorders.

Good mood foods help support the nutritional requirements for mental health, and protect the brain from degenerative damage.

How?
A small serving of nuts/seeds provides a mix of healthy fats, proteins and slow-burning carbohydrates to:

  1. Make the neurotransmitters necessary for brain cells to communicate
  2. Keep your mood, motivation, and energy stable

In addition nuts and seeds are:

  • known to decrease inflammation
  • rich in antioxidant vitamins, especially B1, B9 and E. Vitamins protects cells from oxidative stress caused by free radicals. Vitamin E can support brain health especially in older age
  • are good sources of essential minerals magnesium, copper, manganese, zinc, iron
  • are a major source of L-argine – an amino acid that helps cerebral blood flow and cognitive function
  • benefit the brain by enhancing cognition, memory, recall and rest
  • rich in fiber — an easy way to keep your appetite satisfied, while also fueling healthy digestion and your gut health
[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”right” source_author=”Sarah Ballantyne, MD” source_title=”Paleo Principles” full_quote=”A palmful of nuts or seeds per day is associated with many health benefits. However, more is not better, and there are good reasons to limit nut and seed consumption to about an ounce a day. It’s easy to overdo it with nuts and seeds. If you have trouble moderating portion size, try thinking of them as a condiment – sprinkling on salads or veggies, instead of eating of eating them as a snack. 2 tablespoons of nut butters is more than an ounce” short_quote=”limit nut and seed consumption to about an ounce a day”]

Which Nuts?

  • Almonds contain a potent brain ingredient called phenylalanine, an essential amino acid that helps produce mood stabilizing hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine. They are rich in vitamin E, a great source of riboflavin, iron, magnesium, and L-carnitine, help improve memory by reducing neuronal degeneration.
  • Brazil nuts are a fantastic source of selenium, a hard-to-get antioxidant mineral.
  • Cashews contain over 80 nutrients and help increase oxygen flow to the brain. They are good sources of fiber, protein, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, and manganese as well as sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. They also contain the essential amino acid tryptophan, which increases levels of serotonin. Serotonin impacts every part of your body, from your emotions to your motor skills. It can be considered a natural mood stabilizer and helps with sleeping, eating, and digesting.
  • Pistachios are rich in prebiotic fiber.
  • Walnuts high in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats, contain up to 20% protein, omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids essential for healthy brain cell membranes, vitamin E and B6, and help maintain healthy levels of the calming neurotransmitter serotonin which influences our moods and appetite.
  • Pecans provide more than 19 minerals and vitamins including vitamin A, multiple B vitamins, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc.

Eat Seeds
Loaded with vitamins and minerals, like magnesium, vitamin E, and zinc, seeds make a great addition to any diet. They are so simple, inexpensive, and versatile.

  • Some are great sources of protein and provide the amino acid building blocks your brain needs to repair.
  • They are rich sources of healthy fats like omega 3. In addition, seeds contain more optimal ratios of omega 3 to omega 6, helping to modulate inflammation to protect the health of your brain cells from oxidative damage. This helps regulate blood pressure and gives you a lower risk of a stroke.

Which Seeds?

  • Pumpkin seeds are rich in many micronutrients important for brain function including copper, iron, magnesium and zinc
  • Flax seeds contain two types of dietary fiber–soluble and insoluble–which help support gut health. Soluble fiber is fuel for beneficial bacteria in your large intestine. These bacteria produce important neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and melatonin that the brain uses to regulate mood and cognition. Flaxseeds are best eating ground
  • Chia seeds have a balance of soluble and insoluble fiber, which act as pre-and probiotics — they help feed the beneficial bacteria in your intestines. They also help produce serotonin, and other important neurotransmitters that help regulate your gut-brain connection.
  • Hemp hearts are one of the higher sources of plant protein. They contain more protein than chia seeds or flaxseeds and they provide all the essential amino acids, necessary to produce neurotransmitters. They also contain brain-healthy antioxidants as well as vitamin E and minerals. Hemp seeds have a hard outer shell and a soft inside, which is known as the hemp heart. Hemp hearts also contain the optimal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3s. They can help modulate inflammation associated with oxidative stress and deteriorating mental health
  • Sunflower seeds contain a lot of vitamin E, choline – which becomes part of your brain’s master neurotransmitter – as well as selenium which supports brain function and memory. Rich in essential fatty acids, they contain vitamins E C, B1, B3, B5, B6, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and selenium. They also contain tryptophan, which helps the brain to produce the calming neurotransmitter serotonin.
  • Pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, are an excellent source of magnesium, zinc, copper and iron, all of which are important minerals for brain health. Magnesium is essential for a healthy brain and nervous system. Zinc plays a critical role in regulating communication between brain cells. Pumpkin seeds are high in fiber and protein; they are a rich source of manganese, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids. A daily handful of pumpkin seeds is a good source of zinc, used in the brain’s hippocampus to enhance memory. Zinc is a critical element in human health but a common nutritional deficiency, especially among children.

Caution: if you have digestive or autoimmune disorders, track the effect nuts have on your digestion. You may want to minimize or avoid nuts.

What to do?

  • Choose raw nuts as roasted nuts are often rancid
  • Use nuts as a condiment
  • For nut butters, buy the ones with oil sitting on top and no sugar added. It’s easy to add nuts and seeds to many of the dishes you already eat. Cashes are wonderful in a stirfry. Add walnuts to a morning smoothie. Toss pumpkin seeds on your favorite salad
  • Add to breakfast foods (oatmeal, pancakes and muffins)
  • Add chopped nuts to cooked grains (quinoa, brown rice etc.)
  • Top stir fry and currys with chopped nuts or seeds
  • Sprinkle nuts and seeds on salads
  •  Add to salads

Here are of my favorite, versatile delicious, nutritious nut recipes to use on fish or chicken, toss with pasta and roasted veggies, or use as a sandwich spread. They also make a great snack on rice cakes or whole-grain toast.

• Pesto – Use any herb: cilantro, parsley, basil or arugula, kale, spinach

• Romesco – Roasted red bell pepper and  almond (or walnut), yum!

Good Mood Foods: Meat and Eggs

The focus today is on meats and eggs from a brain health viewpoint. If you are concerned about mental fitness and brain health, I encourage you to read on. I get it. Eating meat is controversial. I’ve previously addressed my own journey with meat in To Eat or Not Eat Meat.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”right” source_author=”Drew Ramsey, MD” source_title=”Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety” full_quote=”As a former vegetarian, I understand that many of us feel conflicted about eating meat…But that said, meat is a remarkable source of iron, protein, and vitamin B12. I’ve come to believe the age-old debate over whether we should or shouldn’t eat meat instead needs to evolve into a discussion about how we can eat meat in a way that is both healthy for our bodies and sustainable for the environment.” ” short_quote=”As a former vegetarian, I understand that many of us feel conflicted about eating meat”]

Your brain is the most complex organ in the human body. It consumes 20% of everything you eat. That food provides the energy and nutrients to support this incredibly complex organ. When your brain is deprived of the nutrients it needs, it will struggle to function. It will also affect your mood, focus and memory.

Sustainably raised meats (beef, pork, lamb and poultry) are rich in brain healthy nutrients:

  • Bioavailable (easily absorbed) protein
  • A balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids important for reducing inflammation and promoting brain health
  • Good levels of B vitamins (B1 – thiamin, B2 – riboflavin, B3 -niacin, B6 – biotin, pantothenic and folic acid), also especially hard-to-get vitamin B12
  • Vitamin E and the phytochemical carotenoid because they freely roam and eat natural vegetation
  • Iron content is good and more usable by the body than iron from any other food
  • Several other essential minerals, such as zinc, copper, selenium, potassium
  • Vitamin A levels are very high in liver. Beef or calf liver is known to be one of the most concentrated sources of nutrition available. Historically in many places around the world liver is often suggested as a medicinal food because of its high iron and blood-building nutrients
  • Vitamin D

It is difficult to obtain adequate protein on a diet that completely excludes animal products. This can also lead to deficiency in many essential minerals. Zinc, iron and calcium from animal sources are more easily absorbed.  Sustainably raised meats are better for our health and better for the environment. Buying organic foods from farmers and farmers helps the organic farming industry know there is a market that supports them.

Meat is not only beef.  And not just muscle meat (for example steak and roasts). A variety of foods provides a variety of nutrients. This prevents deficiencies that today are too common.

  • Bison
  • Lamb, consumed especially in Middle Eastern countries, is similar to beef in its nutrient makeup and high protein content.
  • Pork is a blend of nutrition between beef and chicken.
  • Poultry: chicken, turkey, duck, geese
  • Chicken contains vitamin A and B vitamins, potassium, phosphorus, zinc and iron.
  • Turkey has a little more zinc, iron, potassium and phosphorus
  • Wild game such as deer and boar, game birds like duck and geese
  • Our ancestors and traditional tribes especially valued certain high-vitamin animal products like organ meats, butter, fish, eggs and shellfish

Pastured Eggs

Spend the money on pastured eggs – especially if you choose not to eat meat. These eggs come from chickens allowed to roam free, eating plants and insects like would in the wild.

They are the most complete, nutritious and economical form of animal protein available and are valued by traditional cultures throughout the world. Don’t skip the yolk. It is high in vitamin A, has B vitamins, vitamin D and vitamin E, calcium, iron, and zinc.

[su_expanding_quote_book alignment=”right” source_author=”Kelly Brogan, MD” source_title=”A Mind of Your Own” full_quote=”Eggs are perfect food, and the yolk is a nutritional gold mine. Whole eggs contain all the essential amino acids we need to survive, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants known to protect our eyes. And they can have far-reaching positive effects on our physiology. Not only do they keep us feeling full and satisfied, but they help us control blood sugar.” ” short_quote=”Eggs are perfect food, and the yolk is a nutritional gold mine.”]

What to do?

  • Eat meat as an occasional and/or celebration food
  • Eat meat as a condiment in the way of cuisines around the world or blend with plant foods to make meatloaf and/or meatballs
  • Eat a wide range of foods from various meat groups on a daily and seasonal basis
  • Use herbs and spices used traditional to not only enhance flavor, but for health/medicinal purposes. They also improve nutrient absorption.

Here are some of my favorites

Along with these, the above chili, enchiladas and stir fry are staple recipes I’ve used for years. I usually make one of these on a Sunday and rotate through them.  As always, I make a double recipe to freeze half for another day.

Meatballs

Meatloaf

Pork Tenderloin 

Do you have a traditional meat recipe?

Recipes

Brain Healthy Breakfast Smoothies

Here is quick, delicious, nutritious brain-healthy breakfast.

Benefits

  • Stable energy: you get all macronutrients in a glass which will provide stable energy and balance your blood sugar
  • Sharper focus: focus determines how efficiently you process information. By taking sugar and refined foods out of breakfast, you help reduce inflammation that contributes to brain fog
  • Better memory: when your brain is inflamed, it can affect your ability to form short-term memories and also connect to long-term member.
  • Better mood: Inflammation and fat dysregulation resulting from poor food choices tap into flight-fight and anxiety-driven centers of your brain. By providing your brain instead with stable and efficient source of energy from high-nutrient foods, it becomes easier to reduce anxiety and depression. Your neurotransmitters will be stable rather than firing in an chaotic, anxiety-producing pattern = promoting feelings of happiness and sense of peace
  • Reduce risk of cognitive decline: medical studies indicate nutrient deficiency (vitamins C,E, B12, B 6 and beta-carotene is linked to cognitive impairment. These breakfast smoothies pack in brain essential vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and healthy fats.
  • Stronger immune system:
  • Fast food: Fresh is best. You can store in a mason jar with a lid – or another airtight container – for 24 – 72 hours. This minimizes oxidation which breaks down nutrients and changes the color. Shake well before drinking

Basic formula

  • Liquid: Nut milks, oat milk, grass-fed whole dairy milk, kefir, coconut water, filtered water
  • Leafy greens: spinach, baby kale, mix of greens
  • Nature’s fats: seeds (chia, flaxseed, hemp seed, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower and/or nuts (almond, cashews, pecans, walnuts, nut butters)
  • Fruits: use organic if it’s on the Dirty Dozen list, go seasonal to increase the diversity of micronutrients, use shredded veggies (carrots, beets, zucchini) or pureed (beet pumpkin, sweet potato, butternut squash). Red/purple fruits are especially rich in brain-boosting phytochemicals
  • Spices: allspice, cocoa, cinnamon, ginger, tumeric (with a pinch of black pepper)
  • Sweeteners: Add bananas or dates. use nature’s sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, molasses or stevia

Starting combinations

Berry Almond Joy

  • 1 cup frozen berries for the fruit
  • 2 tablespoons coconut
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter

Chocolate Strawberry

  • 1 cup strawberries for the fruit
  • Add 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa to the spices

Ginger Spice

  • 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • Pinch of black pepper (to activate tumeric)

Mango Lassi

  • 1 cup mango for the fruit
  • kefir for the liquid