By Bonnie Jenkins, Advanced Natural Wellness

We all know that a diet full of high-fat foods can pack on the pounds and take a toll on heart health. But eating too much junk food and red meat does more than just wreak havoc with your waistline. A growing body of research suggests that diets loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat are also bad for your brain.

New evidence from the Medical University of South Carolina and Arizona State University support a strong link between diet and brain function. The researchers reported that middle-age lab rats fed a high-fat, high cholesterol diet for just eight weeks showed a significant decline in their working memory.

Dumb and Dumber

The rats eating this unhealthy diet were found to have detrimental inflammatory changes in their brains. The scientists concluded that this diet-induced inflammation might also contribute to the loss of hearing and eyesight that typically occurs with advancing age.

Earlier research demonstrated that mice fed a high-cholesterol diet had high levels of beta amyloid protein. Beta amyloid protein is a sticky substance that accumulates in the brain and interferes with critical cognitive tasks, including thinking, learning and remembering.

These results suggest that as we age, memory and other brain functions might be improved – or at least maintained – by lowering our intake of foods high in cholesterol and saturated fats. As an added bonus, eating a low-fat diet can dramatically reduce the risk for other age-related afflictions like high blood pressure and type-2 diabetes.

Your AHA Moment

According to the American Heart Association, your intake of saturated fat should be limited to less than seven percent of total daily calories. Based on a typical 2,000 calorie diet, that means only 140 calories of this artery-clogging fat per day. The organization also recommends a daily intake of no more than 300 mg. of cholesterol daily for good health.

While you’re cutting back on your intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, it’s a good idea to rid your diet of trans fats too. Found in many snack foods, pastries and fast foods, trans fats can trigger inflammatory changes in the brain and body.

Gobble Up The Good Guys

Of course, not all fats are bad for you. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are considered to be beneficial because they are both rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Known to help reduce inflammation, omega-3 fatty acids are found in nuts and seeds, avocados and olive oil. They’re especially abundant in fatty fish, including tuna, mackerel and salmon.

So, does that mean fish really is brain food? When scientists at Tufts University evaluated the diets of nearly 900 men and women, they found that those whose diets were highest in fatty fish had a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Another study published in the Archives of Neurology showed that people who consumed fish at least once weekly had a 60 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared with those who rarely or never ate fish.

Eating more curried foods can also be good for your brain. Turmeric, a spice used to flavor curry powder, has been shown to help boost brainpower and combat Alzheimer’s disease. In a recent study of more than a thousand elderly adults, researchers evaluated performance on a standard test of cognitive function. Those who ate curry even occasionally scored significantly higher than those who rarely or never consumed the spice.

One Last Thing . . .

If you’re not a fan of fish or curried foods, adding more fresh produce to your diet is an excellent brain-boosting strategy. While most fruits and vegetables are wonderful sources of disease-fighting antioxidants, recent research suggests that the antioxidants in blueberries, known as anthocyanins, are especially potent.

When researchers at the University of Reading in Pennsylvania and Peninsula Medical School in England fed blueberries to lab rats over a 12-week period, the rats exhibited an 83 percent improvement on memory tests within just three weeks. Scientific evidence suggests that the anthocyanins in blueberries can help prevent or even reverse some age-related memory decline in humans, as well.

So whether it’s reducing bad fats, eating fish or loading up on produce, the take away message from all of these studies is that memory loss isn’t an inevitable part of aging. Making a few simple changes in your diet can go a long way toward boosting your brainpower and improving your overall health – both now and as you grow older.

This Just In . . .

If you are a long-time reader, no doubt you’ve noticed that I tout the powers of fish quite often. But fatty fish isn’t the only source of omega-3s. Alpha linoleinc acid (ALA) is an omega-3 fatty acid derived from plants like flaxseeds. Our bodies convert ALA to the same beneficial compounds found in fatty fish – EPA and DHA.

For years though, it was thought that ALA was inferior to the omega-3s found in fish. Now, however, a new review has found that – while ALA doesn’t have the same benefits as fish – it has some pretty impressive heart benefits, especially for women. It turns out that consuming ALA-rich foods like flaxseed, soy, wheat germ and green leafy veggies, improves vascular tone, heart rate, blood lipid levels and blood pressure. It also reduces inflammation and hardening of the arteries.

So, in your quest to get enough omega-3s, don’t forget to include foods rich in ALAs. It could just be the missing link to a healthier heart.

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References:

Granholm AC, Bimonte-Nelson HA, Moore AB, et al. “Effects of a saturated fat and high cholesterol diet on memory and hippocampal morphology in the middle-aged rat.” Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2008;14: 133-145.

Ng TP, Chiam PC, Lee T, et al. “Curry consumption and cognitive function in the elderly.” American Journal of Epidemiology. 2006;164:898-906.

Schaefer EJ, Bongard V, Beiser AS, et al. “Plasma phosphatidylcholine docosahexaenoic acid content and risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease: the Framingham Heart Study.” Archives of Neurology. 2006;63:1545-1550.

Stark AH, Crawford MA, Reifen R. “Update on alpha-linolenic acid” Nutrition Reviews. 2008; 66: 326-332