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Our brain cells need the right fuel to operate at their best.

Have you had that time when you hear your stomach playing the equivalent of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony and realise the musical interlude isn’t just to embarrass you on front of your friends, it’s telling you, you need a fuel stop.

Busy lives and hectic work schedules can get in the way of remembering to eat. Not only that, because we’re in a hurry, we grab something quick because we need to get on with the next item on our to-do list. Feeding our brain is essential as it is so metabolically highly active, demanding 20% of all the energy our body consumes every day.

But what matters as much as remembering to eat, is to make the best food choices. If our choice is for fast or processed foods because they are quick and tasty, these are the foods least likely to provide us with the nutrients required for high performance thinking. BTW healthy food choices taste great too J

There have been a multitude of studies reporting how our food choices impact cognition, memory and mood. We are what we eat!

Many of you who know me, know that I am passionate about all things ‘brain’ and boosting mental performance through optimal brain health. I’m also passionate about supporting those I see who are bringing about change for better health. In the area of healthy food, no one comes close to the wonderful Jamie Oliver and his Food Revolution.

Jamie Oliver is well known for his great recipes, his cookbooks, his restaurants and TV shows. What he is REALLY passionate about is making it possible for every child in every G20 country to know how to grow and cook healthy food.

Why?

The stats speak for themselves

worldwide there are over 42 million children under the age of FIVE who are overweight or obese.

This puts them at increased risk of a multitude of chronic medical disorders including Type Two diabetes and a shortened lifespan.

The developed world is suffering a glut of malnutrition through consuming too much trans fats, sugar and salt.

At medical school (OK, it was a couple or three decades ago) we were taught the difference between Type One and Type Two Diabetes. Type One is (an autoimmune disease) where the body’s pancreas gland stops producing insulin, essential for regulating our blood sugar. Type Two Diabetes, was seen as a disease of midlife affecting people over the age of 40, and linked to obesity and sedentary lifestyles.

Today kids as young as 8 are being diagnosed with Type Two Diabetes.

From the brain’s perspective, obesity and Type Two diabetes are associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline. Obesity also reduces brain volume.

Poor nutrition affects brain performance, big time.

So I thoroughly endorse Jamie’s Food Revolution, because we owe it to our kids and ourselves. Saturday May 15th is the Global Food Revolution Day

To join in all you have to do is visit his website www.foodrevolutionday.com and sign the petition to get governments to take action.

To maintain our intelligence, we have to get smarter about our food choices.

There are many ways we as individuals and organisations can start to introduce healthy eating into our own lives and workplaces. Being brain fit starts with brain healthy food choices, which comes from education, awareness and taking action.

All change takes time, but time is running out for our kids and the impact the epidemic of malnutrition is having on their health and well-being. We have to start NOW.

The good news is the remedy is easy.

It’s about going back to the basics; simple, fresh unprocessed food.

We can achieve this by:

  1.  Making the decision to make the necessary changes

  2. Formulating a Game plan

  3. Chalking up the date to start TODAY, and taking that first step.

I invite you to step up, sign up and let’s make this happen.

Our kids and our brains need YOU!

Dr Jenny Brockis

Dr Jenny Brockis is a medical practitioner and internationally board-certified lifestyle medicine physician, workplace health and wellbeing consultant, podcaster, keynote speaker and best-selling author. Her new book 'Thriving Mind: How to Cultivate a Good Life' (Wiley) is available online and at all good bookstores.

One Comment

  • Amy Scott says:

    What a great article Jenny – I certainly notice if I’ve not eaten enough "greens" and have to say I was astounded at how easy it is to incorporate greens into my morning ritual – hello "green smoothie". Easy & Yummy 🙂 Thanks for the timely reminder – I’ve just realised that my morning ritual hasn’t been as good as first was when I started… 🙂

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