Nature, Nutrition and this Precious Mind
I just listened to the "Almost30 " podcast featuring Max Lugavere, a science journalist whose career took a new turn once his mother was diagnosed with dementia.
He recently released a book called "Genius Foods" that discussed how to employ food as an asset rather than a hindrance to both treatment and prevention. Here is a quick list compiled from his research:
1) salmon - wild
2) berries - organic
3) egg yolks -pasture raised (MAJOR choline supporter)
4) extra virgin olive oil (polyphenols)
5) dark chocolate - 80 percent and higher (polyphenols)_
6) avocado
7) dark leafy greens -organic
8) raw or dry roasted nuts
9) brocolli and cruciferous vegetables
10) grass-fed beef (the human brain developed due to high quality cooked meat)
While searching for Lugavere's recommendations I learned about another diet that is more known in the medical community: the MIND diet, which is all over the internet.
While the MIND diet has shown a 53% increase in cognitive function, many nutrition experts see doctor recommended diets as flawed when it comes to meat and grains. In general, says Lugavere as well as many serious food thinkers (such as Bulletproof founder Dave Asprey who also has a very helpful dietary at-a-glance on his website bulletproof.com), grains and sugar should generally be avoided. Yet, as represented by the MIND diet albeit in a somewhat misleading way, whole grains are better than white flour.
Unfortunately most meat and eggs are poor quality and detrimental to many areas of health. As this is becoming less and less possible for the medical institution to deny in spite of a booming industry, they simply advocate moderation. Paleo enthusiasts as well as many modern nutrition researches say contrarily, that it is not about moderation, it is about quality. Lugavere's research supports this perspective.
You might recall the CHINA study which seemed to prove the massive toxic effects of eating animal products. But the critics of the CHINA study point out there was no differentiation made between organic vs. not organic and other quality differences in meat. This country makes a lot of money via mass production of meat and dairy through unnatural animal conditions that create poor quality nutrition, but increasingly it becomes necessary for us all to admit that the way animals are raised and fed makes all the difference when it comes to their healing ability. And meat probably has the most potential to both harm and help, compared to other foods.
Meats that are organic, free range, and grass-fed (and only these meats) are extremely strong supporters of mental functioning. After all, scientists believe prehistoric's man ability to eat cooked meat is what allowed our brains to develop in the first place.
The emphasis on high quality red meat and organ meat in the paleo community is understood to be part of a larger plant based, low sugar diet. It is no longer about "meat and potatoes" vs "vegetarian". Meat and vegetables are friends, whereas grain may be an enemy.
A ketogenic (less than 20 grams of carbs per day) diet is often recommended for increasing brain efficiency but is difficult to stick to. Intermittent fasting, or even not eating for two hours before and after sleep can help in a similar way.
Lugavere acknowledges that it can be difficult to push dietary changes on another person, and of course diet is only part of the picture, but knowing the nutrition assets can only help those in need and is also a crucial preventative tool for everyone.
That concludes what I learned from Lugavere, but listening to him piqued my curiosity about a few other nutritional treatment potentials.
CBD oil is an anti-inflammatory that eases anxiety and is gentle enough for a baby yet so therapeutic that in some cases it can stop grand mal seizures. Ever since a dad experimented on his epileptic toddler out of desperation with stunningly curative results, institutional professional have been forced to take this non-psychoactive derivative of the marijuana plant seriously. It is still new so there isn't much research but it's even lower impact in terms of side effects than marijuana and I think definitely worth a try. Studies have helped mice:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170508112400.htm
Another popular "food cure" is the surprisingly controversial coconut oil. Even though there is much divergent opinion about the impact of its fats on the body, the effect on the brain while the body is observing a ketogenic diet do show promise, although there are not currently conclusive studies.
https://www.dementiablog.org/coconut-oil-alzheimers-separating-fact-fiction/