Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power Paperback – Illustrated, December 31, 2019

There are many books about nutrition and cognitive functions. The authors ground their nutrition protocol on what humans ate during the paleolithic era. Often these authors contradict each other. For some, we were better hunters than gatherers so we ate mostly meat. For others, we were better gatherers and ate primarily nuts, plants, fruits. Others advance our digestive system can’t tolerate grains because it was a modern invention of the first agricultural revolution (about 10,000 years ago).However, anthropology suggests that paleolithic diets were dependent of where people lived. Close to shores, they ate more fish; within the forest they ate plants; in areas with herbivores they ate more meat. Also, humans ate grains millions of years before the agricultural revolution. And, we can digest those just fine because of an enzyme earmarked to digest grains (amylase). So, paleolithic diets were as varied as they are today.Mosconi gets the anthropology right. Her foundation is based on two empirical findings. The first one is her studying of the “Blue Zones” or the five areas in the World associated with the greatest proportion of centenarians. And, her second one is her experience as a neuroscientist. She has seen thousands of brain MRIs while knowing what diet her patients ate. She uncovered a link between brain health and diet. The ones who ate a Mediterranean diet had far healthier brains (per MRIs) than the ones on an American diet. She also observed that 2 out of the 5 Blue Zones eat a Mediterranean diets. And, the three other ones have major overlapping components with a Mediterranean diet including complex carbohydrates (fresh produce) that have a lot of fiber, starches (sweet potatoes), nuts, fish, and not much meat and animal protein.By eating fish just twice a week, elderly can reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s (AD) by up to 70%.Mosconi uses a pragmatic approach to improve your diet for brain health. The book is divided in three parts. The first one provides information regarding the brain nutritional requirement. The second one teaches you how to eat better. And, the third part tests you to find out where you are in terms of feeding yourself well. This includes an 80 question test that grades you as either Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced. “Beginner” entails you have little food awareness. You eat a lot of processed food. “Advanced” entails you eat very healthily, mainly organic foods. And, “Intermediate” falls in between.Mosconi states that based on one’s result on the test, she has a good idea of what your brain looks like. She has seen a correlation between people’s diet and their brain’s MRI.Mosconi clarifies a few concepts. Other authors have advanced that the brain needs fat, including saturated fat, and cholesterol to function properly. Not so, Mosconi indicates that the fats we eat (saturated fat from animal protein) and cholesterol can’t even cross the blood-brain barrier. The brain needs a completely different type of fat: essential Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs). They include Omega-3s and Omega-6s fatty acids. Good sources of Omega-3s include fish, oils, eggs.Saturated fats are not good for the brain. They are associated with a 4 x increase in the risk of developing cognitive deterioration later in life.Also, brain cholesterol is very different from the cholesterol we eat. High cholesterol level (> 240 mg/dl) leads to 3 x the risk of cognitive issues and dementia later in life.The low-carb & high-fat diet (includes keto-diet) are not good for you because the brain needs glucose for fuel. It can burn fat. But, the brain’s preferred energy source is glucose. The key is to provide the brain with glucose without raising glucose/serum blood level. You do that by avoiding sugar and eating complex carbohydrates (fresh produce) that convert into glucose.Keto-diets have other negatives. An increase intake of saturated fat increases cholesterol levels (more than eating cholesterol directly). Also, fat-rich foods are often low in fiber, which is hard on your digestive system, and high in protein which is hard on your kidneys.A healthy diet has to include a lot of prebiotics food (good for microbiome). They include onions, asparagus, artichokes, garlic, bananas. These foods are rich in carbohydrates called oligosaccharides. The latter lower cholesterol, prevent cancer, and detoxify your body.Probiotics (foods that include live good bacteria) are also key. They include yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, and other fermented foods.Regular meats are really bad. They are loaded with antibiotics and antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.So far there is no evidence that eating grains is associated with any cognitive decline. One can verify that at PubMed.Mosconi imparts information regarding food codes (small labels with codes stuck on fresh produce). A number starting with a 4 means a produce is not organic (has fertilizers and pesticides); Starting with an 8 means GMO; and with a 9 means organic.Exercise is important too. Vigorous, frequent exercise can reduce your risk of AD by 43%. However, daily activities like walking, gardening, can reduce your risk of AD by 35%.There are three mechanisms that clean up the internal infrastructure of the brain: 1) sleep, especially during the deep sleep zone (that activates the cleaning glymphatic system); 2) aerobic exercises that boosts enzymatic activity that dissolves AD plaques in the brain; and 3) Intermittent fasting (12 hours +) that cleans up amyloid in the brain.

Really a great book! Very informed, and concise new look at what’s best for your brain.

There are some great ideas for improving brain health in this book. Mostly involve eating and lifestyle habits. However there wasn't a whole lot that I haven't read before. Especially regarding nutrition and exercise.I did learn some new things about the critical power of sleep. And some things about how to identify regular versus organic produce by the labels.I am knocking this down a star because of the author's insistence on organic and difficult to find ingredients. If you live outside a major metropolitan area, you won't be able to get these items except to order online. Carbon footprint, folks. Also, the people she sites in the studies mostly live in rural areas. Eating the food that is available to them. My suggestion is to plant your own garden.Overall, a pretty good read, especially if you haven't studied the subject before.

A MUST READ IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUTH HEALTH AND BRAIN.Dr. Mosconi’s book is keystone book for advancing the dialogue and practice of integrative brain health. This is the book I’ve been waiting for. As someone who is obsessed with nutrition, it’s very hard to find REAL research and sound logic. There’s a lot of people who proclaim to be health experts, but few people who can say they are trained in both scientific and holistic approaches. Dr. Mosconi’s book FINALLY gets to the bottom of what we all need to know to take care of our brains.Several things I love about the book:*She incorporates her own research from her experiences of running some of the most cutting edge Alzemeihr’s research programs in the world.*She is also a certified integrative nutritionist, so she gives practical executional advice on how to eat better - so it’s not just “here’s all this research,” but she’s all saying “here’s what to buy and book.”She is very clear in her thesis that is preventable and/or is possible to halt/slow-down through nutrition and lifestyle changes.*She actually tackles the heart of the paleo-gluten debates with logic - it can be a nasty, confusing field but Dr. Mosconi doesn’t shy away from sorting through the hype to give us practical advice.*And she also includes a quiz for you to self-assess where you are on the brain health spectrum.PS - And if you are already a fan of integrative health experts such as Dr. Terry Wahls, Dr. Sarah Ballentyne, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Colin T. Campbell, Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Dean Sherzai and Dr. Ayesha Sherzai - then this is a beyond worthy book to add to your collection.

Add - Eat right breathe correctly and exercise. And plenty of details to back it up as well as great recipes

Easy to read and full of useful information about the food we need for brain health. Dr. Mosconi writes in a way that displays her knowledge of the subject and at the same time it is understandable for those that may not be scientifically minded. A must read!

I loved this book and wanted to give it 5 stars - but I was very disappointed that the author talks about avoiding heavy metals but also recommends eating large quantities of fish and cocoa powder. Cocoa powder has been shown to contain both cadmium and lead, while fish contains mercury and lead. Tea and coffee (which she also mentions) have also been shown to contain lead, depending on the origin.This issue is simply not discussed at all in the book but readers need guidelines on safe limits of these foods. The author would do well to address it in her next edition or on her blog.

This book is very interesting and talks about our brain and its functions. It’s an excellent book to read if you know someone that has Alzheimer’s.Highly recommend