Last week I talked about how eating lots of super brain foods such as fish, blueberries, nuts, seeds and dark chocolate is essential for providing your mind with the best possible fuel for working at it’s best.

Step two is all about the ‘tude. Or rather, your attitude.

It’s been known for some time that having a poor attitude can have a negative impact on your body and mind.

Stress in any shape or form has a negative impact on our immune system making us more susceptible to illness and disease.

It’s often the case that if you expect something to go wrong, it will!

If you go in to an exam expecting to not to well or fail. Well guess what, it’s likely to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You see when we have a positive expectation of something; it gives us a bit more of a buzz, some excitement or anticipation. Our mind is psyched up ready to receive something good.

One of the key characteristics I have noticed of those who live well into their 90’s and 100 years or more is that they are full of life. They have an expectation; a positive outlook that life is there to be fully lived. Their actual age has no bearing on their outlook. They are involved, in family life, with people, with activities and new experiences.

One long-term study (NECS) looked at 1500 people in the States over the age of 100 over 15 years and found that they all embodied an optimistic view of ageing. While it is true that genetic factors play a role in determining our life span. This is now known to only account for 20-30% of what determines how long we live.

Environmental and behavioural factors account for a whopping 70 to 80%.

There have been news reports of some of our elders learning how to fly, doing parachute jumps, etc. Their attitude is positive; they look forward to every day and what it may bring. They choose to be active, to be happy, to exercise regularly to remain independent. They experience joy.

Now I realise that we are all different and our life experiences are all different too. I’m not trying to paint a rosy, unrealistic picture. Sure we may endure hardship, suffer illness and disease that we have no control over. But we do still have a choice on how we deal with those curveballs life sends us. It is our resiliency to deal with things that go wrong that stand us in good shape to bounce back and carry on.

I have looked after a number of people who have been diagnosed with life threatening illness and cancer. I have witnessed their journeys and their attitude to their experiences and it has been humbling to see how some chose to turn their lives around. After life saving operations or procedures or even when living with palliative care, seeing them grasp hold of life with both hands, savouring every moment with friends and family, enjoying the simple pleasures of sharing a meal with friends or walking along a beach.

But why wait until a catastrophe or bad experience occurs in our lives, to make the change?

It becomes more obvious that the important things in life are not necessarily the baubles of consumption, the new electronic gadget, the latest model car or toy. If we can shape our attitude to choose to enjoy life, to be tolerant, to notice all that we have rather than focusing on what we don’t have, our stress levels diminish and we experience happiness and contentment. Our mind becomes clearer and our emotions more calm, which leads to us thinking better, remembering more and being able to learn new things.

Meditation is a fabulous way to train the mind to be still. Those who practice mediation regularly on a daily basis say their minds are clearer, they are able to focus much better on tasks needing to get done and get them done more easily.

Yoga is also a great way to relax your mind while exercising your body.

Whether it be meditation, yoga, walking the dog, taking some time out on a regular basis each day for yourself will pay off in bucket loads for your brain and mind’s well being.

Your choice.

You choose your ‘tude.

So how are your plans going for what you want to achieve in 2010?

Do you have a game plan written down, ready to start Jan 1^st or whichever day you’ve selected as your starting point?

No?

Ok. So, let’s have a think about what steps you can take to achieve your goals and objectives and in particular what steps can you take to ensure your thinking is smart and your brain is working at it’s optimum

Brain Super Foods

There are a number of super brain foods, which if included in our diet on a regular basis may assist us with better learning, clearer thinking and optimising brain health. What’s more these super brain foods are all readily available, we just have to include them in the weekly shopping and enjoy!

So which are the brain super foods?

Fish. Preferably cold water varieties such as salmon, tuna,  and sardines. Fish contains lots of Omega 3 fatty acids which are essential components for all cell membranes and of particular benefit for our brains and heart and joints.   Omega 3’s are good for our memory, our learning ability and may reduce our risk of dementia. Aim to include fish in three meals a week? Sounds a lot? Well how about including tinned salmon, tuna or sardines in a roll or sandwich for lunch? Or sushi. It’s quick, easy and delicious. Fresh fish once a week as a main meal could be grilled, baked or pan fried.

Blueberries. One of the yummiest brain super foods along with other dark purple and red skinned fruits and vegetables such as strawberries, blackberries, tomatoes and red cabbage. Blueberries are bursting full of powerful antioxidants which help our learning, our motor skills and may protect us from age related cognitive decline. Dr Stephen Pratt calls them “Brainberries” . Blueberries are available fresh in season and frozen. Try them on your cereal. Add them to fruit salad or smoothies. Delicious.

Nuts and Seeds. These are full of vitamins and minerals which are great for brain health. Walnuts, pecans, macadamias,  hazelnuts, brazil nuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, have I missed any? Sunflower seeds, flax seed sesame seed, pumpkin seed. The message is there are a huge variety of nuts and seeds to enjoy and they contain various goodies whether it be Vitamin E, B6, Omega 3 (remember that’s found in fish too) Omega 6, magnesium, and zinc. Choose your favourites and include a small handful everyday as a snack.

Green vegetables. OK, you knew they were going to be included. Your Mum and your Grandmother were right. Your veggies are good for you. They contain lots of vitamins and minerals including Vitamin C. Beta carotene (that’s what gives carrots their lovely orange colour) and Vit C are antioxidants associated with memory. Gotta have those greens. And a special mention has to go to Broccoli.  George Bush may not enjoy it, but Broccoli is a super brain food chokka full of nutrients and Vitamin K, great for thinking.

Whole grains and beans. Whole grains contain folate, vitamin B6 and thiamine. Folic acid is really important to our nervous system. All pregnant women are now encouraged to take a folic acid supplement because it is essential for normal neural development of babies. The risk of a baby being born with Spina Bifida is greatly reduced by taking extra folate supplementation. Beans such as lentils, and black eyed peas (no, not the pop group) are fabulous sources of folate as well as being good sources of protein, which leads me to….

Protein. Protein provides us with amino acids and tyrosine which are need to produce dopamine and noradrenaline which help keep us alert. These are the substances that allow our brain cells to communicate with each other. Chicken and lean red meats are good sources of protein. As are eggs which also contain lutein and zeaxanthin. These are antioxidants which help protect our eyes from developing cataract as we get older and macular degeneration, which is a significant cause of visual loss as we get older. Moreover eggs contain choline  a nutrient which studies have shown to be good for memory and for maintaining our brain cells to enable them to work better. So how do like your eggs? Poached, scrambled or boiled?

Chocolate. The dark stuff. In my previous blog I talked about the benefits of eating a small quantity of good dark chocolate to enhance your thinking, memory and mood. Unfortunately more is not better. So, enjoy in moderation.

So, looking at the above, hopefully you will recognise that you are already feeding your brain with lots of the super foods mentioned above. It’s easy to add some to your weekly shopping so they become a regular feature in all your meals. By including them regualrly you will be feeding your mind and your brain with the best fuel possible to keep your mind sharp and your thinking fantastic.

Remember, for our brains to function really well, we need to feed ourselves a wide variety of super brain foods every day to enable us to keep our brains working really well, especially as we get older.

Bon Appetit!

Next week, Step two will look at how your attitude and beliefs affect your brain performance.

Cognitive decline and ageing. Is it Inevitable?

The short answer is no.

One of the biggest issues I believe we face in society today is getting the message across to people that yes there is a tsunami of  dementia approaching, as our populations are ageing.

And the good news is that the risk of developing dementia can be reduced by looking at our lifestyle and health behaviours.

But, and it’s a big but. The vast majority of people remain unaware that they already have the power to reduce their own risk.

Nearly half of he Australian population just don’t know.

The message is simply not getting across strongly enough, that the time to act is now.

In Australia we already have nearly 250,000 people living with dementia and 1300 new cases being diagnosed every week.

And for every one person living with the disease there are family members affected in that they will have to provide care and support to that person.

I was recently looking at migration figures of people moving into different States each week. For example there are currently 999 people moving to West Australia every week.

So currently more people nationally are being diagnosed with dementia each week than there are new migrants moving to WA to live and work.

It is anticipated by 2050 there will be 7400 people being diagnosed with dementia each week.

Will our national migration numbers be able to keep up?

With the ever increasing number of people being diagnosed, how re we going to cope with the significant economic and social burden?

Cognitive decline is not an inevitable part of ageing.

We can all make a significant difference in lowering our risk of developing dementia in the following ways:

• Eating a healthy diet that includes lots of green leafy vegetables, red skinned fruits, fish, nuts and chocolate
• Taking part in regular physical activity at least three times a week
• Stimulating our brain with new learning.
• Not smoking.
• Adopting a positive attitude to desiring healthy ageing and being involved in social activities.
• Drinking less alcohol.
• Protecting our brain from injury such as head injury.

It’s not rocket science and it’s not stuff we don’t know.

Somehow we just have to “do it” Perhaps that is the greatest challenge for us all.

The reality is that we are all likely to be touched by dementia in some shape or form whether as a diagnosis for ourselves or through our involvement caring for a family member or friend.

The time to take action is now.

The more we can protect ourselves by choosing to improve our lifestyle and make the healthy choices, the greater our chance of maintaining a healthy brain.

So what are you going to choose to do?

Chocolate: My favourite brain food.

Mmmm, chocolate. I really enjoy eating good chocolate as a treat. How boring would life be, without being able to savour end enjoy some really good quality chocolate from time to time.

And it would appear I am not alone.

Australia as a nation ranks ninth in the world consumption of chocolate stakes with each of us eating around 6kgs each year.

(Don’t feel guilty; the Swiss eat 10kgs per head!)

So, having consumed those 30,500 calories, 1750g of fat, 1270g of cholesterol, 4950g sodium, 3550g of carbohydrates and 540 grams of protein, do we need to be concerned with our health as a result?

Does chocolate contribute to disease?

The results of a study from Harvard, reported recently that men over the age of 65 who ate chocolate several times a month actually lived longer than those who overindulged or denied themselves any chocolate at all.

So that would appear to indicate that abstinence is worse than enjoying some chocolate occasionally.

And let’s get rid of the acne myth. Chocolate has absolutely no bearing on acne at all. Even though your mother may have told it eating chocolate would give you pimples. It’s not true. But eating a healthy diet with lots of fruit and vegetables and some chocolate would be the best way to go to keep your skin glowing and healthy.

Obesity. Yes, if you eat too much of anything including chocolate which is a high calorie food, then that can contribute to weight gain which is not good for your general health and may predispose you to diabetes which is definitely not good for your brain. So, hey moderation in all things!

Chocolate is best enjoyed as a small (eg 40 grams) regular treat and make sure it is good quality chocolate preferably dark.

Should chocolate be eaten for health benefits and is it good for our brain?

Chocolate is packed full of goodies.

It contains some important minerals such as magnesium and iron and has lots of antioxidants including Vitamins A1, B1, C, D, E as well as potassium, sodium and calcium.

Over three hundred active substances have been identified in chocolate.

Flavenols and dark chocolate

Cocoa or chocolate contain powerful antioxidants called flavenols. (Also known as phenols and found in blueberries, green tea and red wine) Dark chocolate contains the highest concentration of these. Studies have recently showed some potential benefits of these on blood pressure, as well as providing us with an energy boost and an anxiolytic effect so we feel less stressed.

Sunil Kocher at the Nestle Research Centre in Switzerland (sounds a great place to work!) did a study on 30 men and women where they consumed 40g of dark chocolate a day for 14 days. He measured their stress hormones and the results indicated that eating chocolate may help modulate stress levels.

I could have told him that. Doesn’t everyone eat extra chocolate when feeling stressed?

Another study in the UK by Professor Ian McDonald from Nottingham University using a particularly concentrated flavenol cocoa drink showed increased cerebral blood flow (for a couple of hours) to key areas of the brain in subjects.

This suggests the increased blood flow and hence oxygen supply may be associated with increased brain performance in specific tasks and a boost to general alertness. All sounds promising and a good reason to enjoy some chocolate.

The people who live on Kina Island in Panama have been found to experience virtually no problems with elevated blood pressure. They apparently consume at least 5 cups of cacao drink each day as well as incorporating it in their diet. It’ s also been found that if the inhabitants move to live elsewhere they lose the protective effect for their blood pressure as it is often accompanied by them no  longer drinking and eating the same high amount of cacao.

It appears there is a substance in cacao, which helps the body to process nitric oxide which is essential for healthy blood vessels and hence helps to regulate blood pressure.

Why chocolate makes us feel good.

Chocolate contains other bioactive compounds including caffeine, theobromine, phenylethylamine which are associated with stimulating neurotransmitter production and keeps us alert.  Tryptophan helps to elevate serotonin levels so we feel good and less anxious.

Andapamide (meaning Bliss in Sanskrit) is a neurotransmitter that the brain produces naturally and is also found in chocolate. This works on the brain receptors associated with dopamine release, which is associated with a feeling of well being.

So what’s the verdict on chocolate as a brain food?

It appears that there are some suggested health benefits of eating chocolate.

As with all things just because having some is good for you, doesn’t mean having lots is better. Certainly eating a lot of chocolate adds a significant calorie, sugar and fat burden, which could be of significant detriment to our health.

The evidence appears to support that eating a small (40g) amount of good quality dark chocolate several times a month may be good for our health as a food for our hearts and brains.

So now we don’t have to feel guilty about indulging in and enjoying some chocolate.

And if anyone is wondering, my particular favourite chocolates are the 70% cocoa ones with chilli or orange. Yum.

References:

University of Nottingham (2007, February 22). Boosting Brain Power — With Chocolate.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2008-02/26/content_6485069.htm

http://www.nutralegacy.com/blog/general-healthcare/breaking-news-eating-chocolate-improves-your-brain-activity/

http://hubpages.com/hub/chocolateaginghealthbenefit