RX for Wellness - IV - Brain Power Foods

Alzheimer's is a dreaded and scary disease. Although many speculate as to the causes, no one has been able to come up yet with a concrete answer.

Sometime ago the fear of cooking with aluminum was quite widespread because traces of aluminum had been found in the brain of people who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Can cooking in a pot made of a certain metal and eating the food result in getting the disease?

Aluminum is contained naturally in many of the foods we eat. Is it bad for us to eat them?

Or is it a gene everyone is born with but that is activated in some people as a reaction to outside influences as several scientists seem to think?

The scariest part for me is that the disease can start causing damage to parts of your brain years before anyone is able to diagnose it!

According to statistics, age is a big factor. From age 65 to 70 there is a 1.5% risk of being diagnosed and the averages increase every few years up to age 79 when the risk escalates to 6.8%! Another source states that genetic factors (if we have a parent or a sibling who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's) will greatly increase the risk of developing it by a margin of two or three times.

I don't know about you, but I really don't like those odds at all!

Boosting our memory and brain cells should be a concern for everyone. To this end, we should do everything that can remotely increase the brain's activity and stop doing things we know will kill
brain cells faster.

Some researchers contend that people who eat diets high in saturated fats and have high cholesterol levels may be at greater risk of Alzheimer's than those who don't and that foods high in antioxidants, Vitamins E, C and Beta-carotene, are said to help fight the onset of the disease.

The brain also feeds better on glucose and that means your body needs natural sugars found in fruit and juices and carbohydrates to increase glucose and consequently better blood flow to the brain. Yes, I said the-to-some-people, dreaded carb word!

We do know that drinking moderate amounts of red wine is good for the heart and digestion, but did you know that drinking alcohol to excess kills brain cells?

I love reading and read voraciously, sometimes as many as 3 or 4 books a week. I never leave my house without the current book in hand. I also enjoy doing crossword puzzles and crypto quotes...so I try to keep my brain active doing those activities which also bring me much pleasure, but diet can also boost your brain activity, your memory cells and also shield your system against the onset of Alzheimer's'.

Physical exercise also helps keep the body and the mind active. It also helps your body achieve better sleeping patterns and a rested body can fend off disease easier than if you are run down and tired all the time.

Many of us tend to skip breakfast, but after a long night of sleep, our bodies and brains, are starved for nourishment. We have always heard that breakfast should be the most important meal of the day. As such, and to help it feed our brains, it should be well balanced. Foods not too high in calories, not too high in sugar, and should include some protein, fiber, and a small amount of fat.

Following those guidelines will help keep us most alert in the morning hours and keep you going with lighter meals for the rest of the day.

Foods that can help achieve boosting your memory and warding off the onset of Alzheimer's are: apricots, blueberries, broccoli, canola oils, cauliflower, cherries, citrus, fish, ground flax, grapes,
mangoes, prunes, red kidney beans, salmon, sardines, strawberries, Surinam cherries, walnuts, and don't forget to always include some healthy carbs.

(*) Cherries are also said to slow the aging process.
(*) Grapes, especially red ones, enhance blood flow, also increasing
blood flow to the brain.
(*) Mangoes boost memory and also shield against Alzheimer's'
(*) Broccoli, canola oil, cauliflower, ground flax seeds and red
kidney beans, salmon and sardines all have high levels of Omega 3
oils.

Foods containing Beta-carotene are: apricots, artichoke hearts, broccoli, butternut squash, carrots, cantaloupe, greens (beets, collards kale, mustard greens, spinach and Swiss chard), mangoes,
prunes, pumpkins, red peppers, romaine and loose leaf lettuces, sweet potatoes, tomato juice and tomato sauces.

The brain needs some fatty acids to survive and we can get them from Omega 3's. Remember your mom telling you that fish is brain food? It is, and some fish are better than others in supplying your brain with food in the form of Omega 3. The fattier the fish, the better and this means eating more salmon and sardines.

Foods high in Vitamin C are: butternut squash, berries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cantaloupe, carambola (starfruit), cauliflower, citrus (orange, grapefruit, guava, pumelo and tangerines especially), grapes, greens (as listed above under the Beta-carotene list), green
peppers, green soybeans, kiwi fruit, mango, papaya, passion fruit, peapods, potatoes, red cabbage, red peppers, strawberries, Surinam cherries, Swiss chard, tomato, tomato juice and tomato sauce.

My conclusion is that exercising and feeding your brain is just as important as exercising and feeding your body.

To that effect, get rid of the remote control and pick up a pencil (a pen if you're brave!) and start working crossword puzzles, crypto quotes or math teasers such as Sudoku puzzles, and challenge yourself to reading, at least, one book every month. There are usually one or more crossword puzzles in most newspapers and lately, Sudoku puzzles are being included in many newspapers and magazines.

I don't need to remind you to eat a healthy and well-balanced diet and practice moderation by eating a little bit of everything and not going overboard on any of them!

Always remember the caution to check with your own doctor before embarking on an exercise regimen or changing your diet radically and that every diet or exercise regimen should be taken in moderation. Sometimes too much of a good thing can actually set you back instead
of helping.

Guava Glazed Sweet Potatoes
You can use your own homemade guava jelly or store bought. Either way, they will be good.

6 large sweet potatoes - cooked and peeled
1 cup guava jam or jelly
2 Tablespoons butter

Butter a 13 X 9 X 2-inch baking dish. Cut sweet potatoes into lengthwise halves and arrange in a single layer in prepared dish.

In a saucepan, heat jelly and butter, stirring constantly, until melted. Drizzle half of the guava syrup over potatoes; bake in oven at 350oF for 15 minutes. Turn potatoes; baste with remaining syrup.
Bake for 15 more minutes or so.

YIELD: 6 servings
SOURCE: my own recipe

Pure and Simple Tomato Salad

6 vine-ripened tomatoes
3 Tablespoons shallots, finely diced
1/2 cup minced chives (we used garlic greens)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (we used 25 year old....excellent!)
Finely ground fresh sea salt - (just gathered a few days before!)
Fresh ground black peppercorns

Place medium sized pot of water on high heat and allow to boil. Place bowl of ice water in close proximity.

Using a sharp pairing knife, remove the core from top of tomatoes and score the opposite end (making a cross at the bottom). Place tomatoes in the boiling water for about 30 seconds, remove and transfer to iced water. This will prevent tomatoes from further cooking. Remove from the iced water, peel skin and discard.

Place tomatoes on cutting board and slice about 1/8 inch thick. Arrange slices on serving dish or platter and sprinkle with the minced shallot, chopped chives, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive
oil and balsamic vinegar.....Repeat process with remaining tomatoes. Allow to macerate for up to an hour.

YIELD: This amount serves 6 - we made it for 50 people during a Slow Food event using heirloom tomatoes of different varieties and colors and called Pure & Simple Rainbow Tomato Salad.
SOURCE: A group of members during a Slow Food Hawaii day-long event.

c) Sonia R. Martinez is a Gather Food Correspondent.
Check out my food & garden blog at Sonia Tastes Hawaii

and other Gather articles at http://foodiesleuth.gather.com