Nutrition for the Brain

In 1983 I graduated as a nutritionist at Wageningen University but did not continue the career path of a nutritionist. It did evoke my interest in biochemistry in our body and the functioning of neurotransmitters for brain functioning. In my capacity as a professional neuro-coach, in this article, I share my never-ending passion for nutrition and some recent insights about food from the perspective of the brain. The co-author of this article is my niece, and orthomolecular specialist Jocelyn Vlaar.

Some foods caress the tongue, others caress the soul, and there are foods that delight brain cells. There is a lot of controversy around the food products we eat. Maybe that's because the food industry can make a lot of money by improving food and promoting certain products. That is not to say that those products are also good for our health.

Promoting a balanced diet may not generate enough sales, yet a balanced diet is of great importance for our well-being. Balanced food, with a variation of the right carbohydrates, proteins, fatty acids, and nutrients is especially important for a healthy and long life.

There is no food that offers everything our body needs. This also applies to the functioning of our brain cells. Nutritionists always point out that the most important strategy for a healthy diet is a varied diet. This means a lot of fruit, vegetables, fiber, and whole grains. A pattern in which you get proteins from organic meat from (preferably grass-fed) animals and fish or beans. And that you choose unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats.

In this article, we discuss six key insights about food and show what the Neurozone? assessment says about healthy nutrition.

1. Our brain is gluttonous

Our brains are constantly converting information, to give meaning to all the impressions we receive and to make plans that lead us safely through life. That takes a lot of energy. The brain uses 20 percent of our body energy, while it only makes up 2 percent of total body weight. This applies to basal metabolism, so when we are in a relaxed state.

The brain needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients for this. If you are short of oxygen, you can already pass out. Deep breathing is essential for the supply of oxygen. In addition, glucose is especially important. Our brain functions on glucose and is very sensitive to a shortage of it. We mainly get glucose from the carbohydrates in our food.

Tip: take a deep breath several times a day and make sure you eat regularly and balanced.

2. Low glycemic index

The body breaks down the carbohydrates of our food to make it the simplest chemical structure - glucose. This can then be used as a source of energy. We have to eat the right carbohydrates for that and not too many unrefined “fast” carbohydrates, which you will mainly find in white rice, white bread, and non-whole wheat pasta.

The correct carbohydrates are, therefore “slow” carbohydrates; because of their complex chemical structures, they take longer to break down. Eating this food releases glucose into our blood more slowly. Such carbohydrates are also referred to as low-glycemic. It provides a more steady flow of glucose to the brain. In this way, the peaks of energy supply do not arise, followed by dips, which are so characteristic of excessive use of glucose.

Summary: Our brain functions best with a continuous supply of glucose from food, which happens when food is eaten with a low glycemic index (GI)

3. Antioxidants

Antioxidants are substances that can attack harmful free oxygen radicals. These arise as a result of all kinds of metabolic processes in the body, but also, for example, through exposure to sunlight or smoking.

Food rich in antioxidants causes the cells in the brain and other organs to break down less quickly. Because of the high metabolism in our brain, brain cells are exposed to these oxygen radicals more than average. The brain has natural ways to protect and repair cells in the brain. Antioxidant-rich foods play an important role in these recovery processes.

4. Fried foods

If you often eat fried food, you are more likely to get inflammation in your body and therefore also in the brain. These are minor inflammations that are not visible and are therefore called low-grade inflammations. These inflammations, as soon as a certain critical limit is exceeded, cause functional damage to the brain. To prevent this, it is better to avoid as much food as possible that leads to these (neuro) inflammations. Conversely, there is also food that actually inhibits these inflammations.

5. Omega 3 fats

Omega-3 fatty acids are absolutely indispensable for a well-functioning brain. These are polyunsaturated fatty acids. For the brain, alpha-linolenic acid and long-chain docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are particularly important. They are so important because they can turn off inflammation. In the human body, DHA is present in lower concentrations in the blood, but in very high concentrations in the brain.

When damage has occurred somewhere in the body, omega-6 fatty acids ensure that an inflammatory process is started. This is necessary to initiate the recovery process. The function of omega-3 is to turn off those inflammations when the damage is repaired. OMega -3 and omega- 6 are therefore both important for solving damage, but the mutual relationship is very important. In many people's current diet, the balance has jumped too much to omega-6 due to eating too much convenience food. It is therefore important to add more omega-3 to our diet.

Omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid) are, for example, found in fatty fish, linseed oil, walnut oil, and omega-6, mainly in vegetable oils, baking and frying fats, and margarine. There is also Omega-9, which is mainly found in olive oil.

6. Water

We can live without food for longer than without water. It is said that we should drink 6 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated. Maybe that, together with all the water we take with our food, is a bit exaggerated. It has not been proven that drinking so much water daily makes sense. The brain-body system is extremely refined to keep us hydrated.

In general, our body intervenes immediately if there is a problem in the water balance of our body. The idea that we only have to drink when we are thirsty is gaining increasing acceptance in science. There are studies that indicate that we can even drink too much water, but we will not naturally do that. We will have to make sure that we drink enough water.

When you drink too little, at some point the body no longer gives you a thirst stimulus. That is why the elderly often drink too little. If you start drinking more again, you will initially become even more thirsty.

In this article, we will not discuss how specific nutrients promote the functioning of the brain. An easy way to get healthy food is to pay attention to the color of the food. A "rainbow of food" in your daily food ensures that you get the right vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, etcetera

Furthermore, it is important for our brains that food stimulates the metabolic processes that are necessary for the production of the growth factor. That is a substance that we need to form new neurons (nerve cells) and the connections between neurons. This promotes the neuroplasticity of the brain.

Food products

Below we list a number of food products that are important for the brain. Research shows that the best food for the brain is the same food that is also good for the heart and blood vessels, such as:

• Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, green cabbage, and broccoli. These products are rich in nutrients such as vitamin K, beta carotene, and folic acid.
• Berries, like blueberries. These contain many flavonoids and according to research, they support memory capacity.
• Whole grains: For a slow and continuous flow of energy, you better eat whole grains (and not white bread and pasta).
• Fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, trout, sardine, anchovies, and herring. These fish have a lot of high in unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids.
• Avocado and walnuts, also have a lot of omega-3 fatty acids.
• Pumpkin seeds: Contain a lot of zinc, and zinc is good for our memory and thinking ability.
• Tomatoes: rich in lycopene and thus they attack the free radicals that are harmful to the brain cells.
• Coffee: Is caffeine healthy or not? It is also about balance. On the one hand, it has antioxidant properties. But if you take too much of it, you will produce stress hormones. One or two cups in the morning are okay, but more and in the afternoon are counterproductive and can keep you awake at night.
• Moderate alcohol consumption. Too much alcohol is not good. It is said that one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men can't hurt. But there is more and more research that says that this is even too much and that you better not drink alcohol at all. It is also often said that red wine is good because of its antioxidant effect. They would attribute that to the dust of resveratrol in it. But you do have to drink a lot of red wine to get the antioxidant benefits of the resveratrol in the red wine.

Neurozone? Assessment

Based on neuroscientific research, Neurozone has identified a number of drivers that influence resilience and your readiness for performance. One of these drivers is the power supply.

The Neurozone? assessment identifies eight aspects of eating behavior that are important in optimizing resilience and performance readiness. These aspects are a continuous supply of energy, a balanced diet, avoiding fried foods, intermittent fasting, sufficient eating of fruits and vegetables, moderate consumption of caffeine, water consumption, and alcohol consumption.

My personal Neurozone? advice

The advice from the report of my own Neurozone assessment with an overview of 8 aspects related to nutrition indicates that I can improve my eating behavior on two important points in order to improve my 'performance readiness'.

I should fast periodically (what I didn’t do yet at that time of the assessment) and eat less fried foods. The assessment is a snapshot and that was in a week that I ate the irresistible Dutch “bitterballen”. The interactive assessment also explains why I should not eat oil fried foods. This contains AGEs (advanced glycation end-products). AGEs are connections between sugars and proteins, which arise when food is strongly heated and which - in the long run - lead to minor inflammation in the brain.

After this assessment, I started fasting periodically. Jocelyn has previously written an interesting blog about this "Intermittent fasting, what is it and what does it do for you".

The full Neurozone? assessment provides insight and tips, not only about nutrition but also about sleep, exercise, creativity, learning ability, etc. It provides information and tips about all drivers that are important for optimizing your resilience and performance readiness. ".

Are you interested in your personal  Neurozone? assessment and neuro-coaching? Analyses and reporting are completely online. For more information, send an email to [email protected].

“Jocelyn Vlaar and Sonja Vlaar are nieces and both eager to learn. They are constantly looking for new and better ways to deal with stress and to stay healthy and fit mentally and physically. They enjoy sharing their personal and professional experiences. Vlaar and Vlaar offer various perspectives. As an orthomolecular therapist, Jocelyn focuses on the effect of stress and nutrition on the physical body, while Sonja (as a (neuro-) coach t looks at stress and performance. Sonja Vlaar is also certified for the Neurozone? assessments.”