How Does Food Affect Our Brain?

How Does Food Affect Our Brain?

Main Topics:

• Fat
• Cholesterol
• Sugar
• Antioxidants

Our brain consumes 22% of our energy we obtain from food.

I need ¼ of your food

to stay strong!

Fat

Good fat can be found in:

• Avocados
• Nut and seed butter
• Olive oil, coconut oil, and safflower oil

A recent study conducted on seagulls eating a low-fat diet showed a decrease in intelligence.

Saturated and Trans Fat

When people think of fat they often think of:

• Deep fried Oreos from the state fair
• French fries and burgers from McDonalds.
• Ice cream from the local ice cream shop

What this fat does to your brain:

• Impairs short and long term memory
• Decreases our learning ability

Neurotransmitters:

Small threadlike structures that send signals throughout the brain to the rest of the body.

Good Fats

• DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)
• EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid)
• Linolenic acid
• Monounsaturated fat

• Omega-3 fats found in seafood
• Fatty acid found in green leafy vegetables, nuts, and flaxseed
• Found in olive oil

By consuming good fats you are:

• Increasing your memory
• Improving your learning abilities
• Protecting yourself from diabetes

Development of a Child's Brain

Fat and Cholesterol are Vital

• Improves memory
• Prevents diabetes
• Supports the brains functioning ability
• Aids in development of young brains

Sugar is Detrimental

• Promotes a decline in the brain’s learning ability
• Decreases the ability to form, store, and retrieve memories properly
• Causes inflammation of the hippocampus

Hippocampus:

The sea-horse shaped region of the brain that plays a key role in forming memories, organizing, and storing information.

It is also responsible of the connections between the emotions and senses of memories.

The hippocampus is such a critical brain region for memory function. In many ways this region is a canary in the coal mine, as it is particularly sensitive to insult by various environmental factors, including eating foods that are high in saturated fat and processed sugar.

-Dr. Scott Kanoski from the University of South Carolina

According to a poll in Family Circle, the American teen’s diet consists of 34 teaspoons of added sugar daily. This is roughly five times what the American Heart Association recommends, which is less than 6.5 teaspoons a day.

Oxidation: Antioxidants:

The production of free radicals, which are harmful to your body and increase aging

Molecules that prevent oxidation of other molecules

Fruits that have a high antioxidant content:

Antioxidants, like vitamin C and beta-carotene, play an important role in your diet as you age by increasing memory function.

This is why eating an apple a day can help keep the doctor away!

• Apples
• Blueberries
• Prunes