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Eat better to Stay Smart… Readers Digest, Dec., 2000

Watching what you eat might help you avoid a heart attack, even cancer. But keep you quick-witted? Amazingly, a growing body of research is showing that the very process that clog your heart’s arteries ands cause cancerous changes in your cells can also damage the delicate communication network in your brain. All of sudden, there’s whole new meaning to the phrase “eating wisely”.

God knew what He was doing when He made fruits and vegetables,” says James Joseph, chief of neuroscience at Tufts University’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Ageing. The brain needs their treasure trove of antioxidants—powerful chemicals that disarm free radicals, the harmful molecules created when the body converts food into energy and breaks down toxic substances. Left unchecked, free radicals can injure brain cells and hamper the ability of chemical messengers to do their job. Worse, as you age, your body’s defenses weaken, so the marauders are more destructive.

But get enough of the right antioxidants, scientists believe and you might prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease. Just as important, antioxidants help keep blood vessels elastic and heart beating strong.

What does this have to with brawny brain? Plenty. Twenty percent of your heart’s output in blood goes straight to your head. Anything that impedes this flow is liable to create problems. Sometimes the damage is dramatic, as in a major stroke. Often it is gradual – perhaps a series of tiny, imperceptible strokes that causes only mild forgetfulness at first but eventually leads to vascular dementia, the symptoms of which resemble Alzheimer’s.

Two conditions linked to heart disease could also be particularly hard on the ageing brain. Excess homocysteine, an amino acid produced when the body digests animal protein, may injure their inner linings of blood vessels, leading to build up of plaque and clogged vessels. The other risk: high blood pressure at midlife. When the heart is pumping normally, blood pulses smoothly through vessels like water through a new hose. Turn up the pressure, and the rush of blood can inflame and abrade arteries and veins, constricting an environment that lets plaques develop and strokes occur.

In a study that tracked 3735 Japanese-American men for 25 years, those with high blood pressure in middle age were more likely to have difficulty with recall, abstract thinking and judgment when they got older. “Take care of risk factors when you are young or they’ll come back to haunt you,” warns neurologist Charles DeCarli

So what foods can help you lessen the risk factors and protect your brain?

Age Fighting Anti Oxidants: Easing up on salt and cutting back on saturated fat are just the first steps. A study conducted in part by the US National Lung and Blood Institute indicated that a diet brimming with fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy food could reduce blood pressure nearly as effectively as drugs. The magic probably comes from a mix of antioxidants, minerals and fibre. And eat plenty of salmon and tuna. Their omega-3 fatty acids have been associated with lower rates of both heart attack and depression.

If you want to be really smart, try loading up on blueberries and strawberries, which are rich in anthocyanins, formidable antioxidants in deep red and purple pigments. (they colour red grapes, plums and cherries, too) Studies suggest anthocyanins may protect neurons’s ability to respond to chemical messengers; they also seem to discourage blood clots from forming. Spinach, too, is an antioxidant powerhouse bursting with beta-carotene, vitamin C and folic acid.

Garlic and Soya: British and American researchers have found in eight studies that garlic reduces high blood pressure significantly. Healthy people benefit as well, since the pungent bulb seems to maintain the flexibility of blood vessels, says respected herbal authority Verro E. Tyler. His advice: Eat one or two cloves of garlic daily(raw or slightly cooked) or swallow three or four 250 milligrams capsules of high allicin garlic extract.

Similarly, more than 40 studies have shown soyabeans’ power to lower bloodstream cholesterol. Even better, explains Mark Messina, a nutritionist and Soya expert, substances in the trendy bean may inhibit the process by which LDL, the bad cholesterol oxidizes and sets the stage for clogged arteries.

Smart Pills: The benefits of folic acid and other B vitamins in the preventing birth defects and fighting heart disease have been widely touted. But they can also help your brain’s blood vessels, stay clear.

In studies linking elevated homocysteine and cognitive decline, elderly people who had trouble remembering were found to have low blood levels of folic acid, B-6 and B-12. what’s more, B-12 is important to maintaining the health of nerve cells. “A severe deficiency can lead to direct damage of the nerves and neurological function,” says Katherine Tucker, a nutritional epidemiologist at the Tufts. Even having levels of what’s considered normal may be harmful, she says.

Spinach, oranges, asparagus, fortified cereals and beans are rich in folic acid, but don’t count on them to provide the all the B’s you need. Tucker advises taking a daily multivitamin that exceeds the recommended amounts of the key B’s – say, 25 micrograms of B-12 and three milligrams of B-6.

While you are at it, swallow a capsule of vitamin E. This antioxidant superstar seems to protect your brain on two fronts. Two long-term studies, including one at Harvard involving 87000 nurses, have shown that taking E supplements can reduce the risk of heart disease. The vitamin apparently disarms LDL before it can batter arteries, while checking inflammation in blood vessels and discouraging clotting.

Meanwhile, in a 1997 study, sunjects moderately impaired by Alzheimer’s disease who took mega doses of vitamin 2000 international units a day –deteriorated moreslowly than people given a placebo.

Dr. Leon Thal, a researcher on the study, theorizes that the antioxidant may block the formation of amyloid plaques, which can inflame and distort nerve ending so brain cells can’t communicate.

But what about people who just want to stay sharp? Alas, there is no proof yet that vitamin E will keep next week’s appointments from slipping your mind. But to be on the safe side, take 100 to 400 international units a day. Check with your doctor first if you are taking any blood thinning medication.