
Eat, drink and be Brainy
More and more studies continue to appear in Benefits for the brain as food and drinks. The best part is that some of these are foods and beverages that many of us like. We all know that fruits and vegetables help our overall Health, but what other goodies to help brain function and could be part of our brain training program?
A new study in the Journal of Nutrition evaluated the cognitive performance of over 2,000, seventy to seventy and four years of age who regularly eat chocolate, drink tea, wine or drink. The researchers compared these findings to adults on a battery of cognitive tests to adults of the same age who do not participate in any or all of these culinary delights.
The study concluded that eating chocolate, drinking tea or wine drinking was associated with a better performance on tests of learning, memory, word association and other types of intellectual function. What's more is that eating and drinking the three is best one or two. Now we will reach a small part of the heart of the matter.
Chocolate - How much and what type.
performed eat chocolate better than non-chocolate eaters, but do not go and stuff your face too. First, the benefits are limited mostly to the black chocolate and the highest concentration of cocoa better. This is where most of the beneficial flavonoids derived from this dish in particular. As for the amount, about 10 g per day did the trick, which is about one-third of an ounce of non-metric types. Just a little square after dinner will.
Tea Time
Tea drinkers did better than those who drank no tea at all cognitive tests as well. Researchers in this study were not able to separate the green tea black tea drinkers. Both types of tea have more or less equal concentrations of flavonoids anyway, but green tea has been more strongly associated with cognitive performance in the past. This may be due to the fact that he has more of a specific ingredient called catechins. However, most tea drinkers in this study population particular, probably drank black tea - So pick your poison, or in this case, its antidote.
Wine & Dine
Wine has the greatest effect on cognitive performance in this study. However, it was a relatively modest amount that had the greatest effect on the order of about half a glass per day. Thereafter, there was really no additional benefit. The study did not include heavy drinkers to assess how much is too much. However, previous studies have indicated that about one to two glasses per day may be fine. White and red wines were not separated in this study either, and many previous studies have implicated more strongly red wine in health in general. However, several studies have also implicated any alcohol in moderation for best cardiovascular tone, which probably translates into health neurovascular well as (the blood supply to the brain).
A big caveat to all this is that these older adults had probably been eating chocolate and tea and wine for a long time. It is unclear how long it takes to see the beneficial effects for any of these, but as most things, most likely sooner the better, but it is never too late to start. Of course, these studies also are associative, which means we can not say sure that the chocolate, tea and wine because better cognitive performance, but those who use them seem to do better.
So this holiday season snuggle by the fire with a glass of wine, a cup of tea or dark chocolate and thinking about thinking about things more clearly.
Reference:
Journal of Nutrition (2009) 139:120-127
About the Author
Dr. Simon Evans holds a PhD in molecular biology with 15 years research and teaching experience in neuroscience and a current faculty position in the Psychiatry Department at the University of Michigan. He is a member of the Society for Neuroscience, the American Society for Nutrition and the Michigan Metabolomics and Obesity Center; with expertise in neurochemistry and nutrition. He is the author of dozens of scientific publications on stress, depression and brain function as well as the acclaimed book, BrainFit for Life, published in the Spring of 2008.
Dr. Evans also holds a national coaching license from the United States Soccer Federation and over two decades coaching experience, which enables him to help people find and use their full potential. Dr. Evans has merged his interests in brain function, health, and performance coaching into public seminars and workshops designed to educate audiences about brain health and motivate them to take action to achieve it.
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