Power Foods for the Brain: An Effective 3-Step Plan to Protect Your Mind and Strengthen Your Memory by Dr. Neal D. Barnard
Just in case you missed the wonderful Dr. Neal Barnard talking about Alzheimer’s disease on yesterday’s episode of the CBS Morning News, I thought I’d provide you with this recap.
Dr. Barnard appeared on CBS Morning News with Gayle King and Charlie Rose to promote his new book “Power Foods for the Brain: An Effective 3-Step Plan to Protect Your Mind and Strengthen Your Memory.” Significantly, Dr. Barnard stated that the foods you eat could influence your risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s Disease.
“There’s nothing more frightening than losing your memory and your connections. Most people have thought, well, it’s just part of aging and I’m going to spend the last 5 or 10 years of my life not knowing anybody,” said Dr. Barnard. “The beautiful news is we now know what seems to be triggering that so that we can avoid it.”
Dr. Barnard advised us to avoid trans-fats and saturated fats, and to pay attention to metals that could get into our bodies. In this regard, he suggested use of stainless steel pans, as opposed to cast iron which may rust over time causing metals to leech into the body.
There are many foods that actually help ward off the disease, according to the good doctor, including dark berries, leafy greens, almonds and other foods with high amounts of vitamin E. People who got the most vitamin E had 60 percent less risk of Alzheimer’s disease compared to other people.
“Everybody should be focusing on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans. When people look at vegetarians, they live longer, they have less heart disease and it looks like they have an edge in mental health, as well. There is less risk of dementia,” said Dr. Barnard.
Dr. Barnard also suggested exercising and getting enough sleep to help keep your brain functioning by increasing the flow of oxygen. “Research has shown that even 30 to 40 minutes of exercise, a brisk walk three times a week, changes the brain physically,” he said.
Click here to see the video clip of Dr. Barnard on yesterday’s show.
This all makes perfect sense Debby, and it’s great advice. The only thing that sounds “new” to me is that stainless steel is better than cast-iron. I always heard that using cast-iron is beneficial because it helps our bodies obtain iron, which is a good thing. Once again, my head is spinning!!!!
I believe Dr. Barnard. If he says don’t use cast iron, then I will stop using cast iron!