Quick Foods For A Quick Mind

The poet may say “The eyes are the window to the soul”. But today we’ll learn about how the doctor says “The macula are the windows to the brain’s carotenoid reserves”.

Ok, so the poets win the battle as far as words that roll off the tongue, but today we’re going to use some interesting new research breakthroughs to learn how we can preserve brain health and fight off some of the worst effects of aging.

As researchers gain access to better and better scanning technology, they have discovered that even low-grade inflammation can be very damaging to brain tissue. You may have heard about ‘free radicals’: substances that promote inflammation in the tissues of the body. Essentially, when our cells operate the way they do to keep our body going, there are leftover substances. Think of it as a body- we eat, our body takes what it needs, and we excrete the rest. The same happens in our cells- it takes in the substances it needs and leaves what it doesn’t. It is through our diet, our movement, sweat, and daily bathroom breaks that we get rid of those.  We’ve talked in previous posts about how much free radicals can be mitigated by the consumption of antioxidants. If our body cannot keep up with getting rid of those free radicals, they become toxic to the body and cause inflammation. This is where nutrition comes in. Most plant-based foods are FULL of antioxidants, and there are thousands of types that serve different roles in the body. As a quick rule of thumb, some of the best dietary sources for antioxidants are fresh, raw, fruits and vegetables that are brilliant in color, such as orange bell peppers, blueberries, deep green broccoli, etc.

It is unfortunate but true that much of the modern American diet carries with it many of these troublesome free radical substances, thus promoting systemic inflammation. Most processed foods contain so many chemicals and substances the body doesn’t need, that after the cells pull in what little nutrition there is, there are plenty of free radicals left in the body. The brain is our focus today since it is the organ of the body that researchers are finding to be the most sensitive to the kind of chronic inflammation, even at rather low levels, that free radicals can cause.

Brain tissue has a relatively high-fat content and (pound for pound) a large amount of metabolic activity. This means the brain is a vulnerable target to free radicals since a large amount of blood flows through the brain, and also that only certain antioxidants can help the brain since they need to be fat-soluble to assist. Broadly speaking the antioxidants most useful in the fight to preserve the brain from inflammation are called carotenoids. The particular carotenoid that the brain loves more than any other is lutein.

To better understand the link between lutein and brain function, researchers studied brain tissues from exceptionally old study participants (after they were deceased, I hope).  They found lutein levels to be the primary positive correlate, meaning that those elderly study participants who had reportedly higher brain function before death had a correspondingly higher level of lutein in their brain tissue. This approach helped researchers to see this role in those who are already of advanced age, but these results led to the follow-up question: what about younger brains?

Well, since brain biopsy isn’t an option for younger study participants, researchers found a better option. You see, the eyes have a small spot in the back where the central nervous system (brain structures) extends. This area called the macula, has testable lutein levels that correspond to lutein levels in the rest of the brain.

A lot of research still needs to be done to firm up these relationships, but it looks more and more like we can draw the following conclusions:

• Consuming lutein-rich foods increase lutein levels in the blood.
• Higher lutein levels in the blood lead to increased lutein levels in the brain, as measured by analyzing the macula.
• Higher lutein levels in the brain do correspond with higher cognitive test scores. This effect holds for both old and young. 

As we said, there is a lot of ground still to cover in this research, but it is very exciting to see the impact that lutein levels in the brain can have on brain function, particularly to protect us from the effects of aging. And, that lutein levels in the blood are controllable through diet!  Many critical nutrients are difficult for the body to absorb in greater quantities, but lutein seems to lack that difficulty.

So, what can we do to increase our lutein? Well, avocados and eggs have their place on this list. Both of them carry a good supply of this key nutrient, but the real kings of this list are dark green leafy vegetables. A half-cup of kale can have as much as 50 times more lutein than an egg.

It’s important to remember that when it comes to providing the brain with a steady supply of this critical nutrient we need to look for ways to consistently incorporate lutein-rich foods into our diet. Two weeks of kale consumption followed by twenty years of donuts won’t do our brains any good.

The eyes truly are windows to our minds and health. Who knows what other poetic wisdom that medical science will prove to be true next??