7 Rules for Brain Healthy Eating

Food is medicine and can help you be trim, vibrant, happy, and focused, or it can make you plump, sluggish, sad, and stupid. In this section, you will discover how to eat right to think right and get some very simple tools that will help you adopt brain healthy eating habits.
To help you navigate your way to the best brain foods that will help you slim down, boost your cognitive function, and lift your mood, I have come up with Brain Fit Life’s 7 Rules for Brain Healthy Eating. These rules apply to everybody, regardless of your brain type.
Rule #1. Think high-quality calories in vs. high-quality energy out. Don’t let anyone tell you that calories don’t count. They absolutely do. But it is not as simple as calories in versus calories out. I want you to think about eating mostly ‘high-quality calories.’
One cinnamon roll can cost you 720 calories and will drain your brain while a 400-calorie salad made of spinach, salmon, blueberries, apples, walnuts, and red bell peppers will supercharge your energy and make you smarter.
‘High-quality energy out’ means you need to rev up your metabolism in a healthy way. Exercise, new learning, and green tea help. Diet pills, sugary caffeinated energy drinks, excessive coffee (green tea has half the caffeine as coffee), caffeinated sodas, and smoking are low-quality energy boosters.
Rule #2. Drink plenty of water and not too many of your calories. Your brain is 80% water. Anything that dehydrates it, such as too much caffeine or much alcohol, decreases your thinking and impairs your judgment. Make sure you get plenty of water every day.
On a trip to New York City recently I saw a poster that read, ‘Are You Pouring On The Pounds… Don’t Drink Yourself Fat.’ I thought it was brilliant.
A recent study found that on average Americans drink 450 calories a day, twice as many as we did thirty years ago. Just adding the extra 225 calories a day will put 23 pounds of fat a year on your body, and most people tend to not count the calories they drink.
Rule #3. Eat high-quality lean protein earlier in the day because it helps balance your blood sugar, boosts concentration, and provides the necessary building blocks for brain health. Great sources of protein include fish, skinless turkey or chicken, beans, raw nuts, low-fat or nonfat dairy, and high-protein vegetables, such as broccoli and spinach. Did you know that spinach is nearly 50% protein? I use it instead of lettuce on my sandwiches for a huge nutrition boost.
Rule #4. Eat low-glycemic, high-fiber carbohydrates. This means eat carbohydrates that do not spike your blood sugar that are also high in fiber, such as those found in vegetables and fruits, such as blueberries and apples, and whole grains. Carbohydrates are NOT the enemy. They are essential to your life. Bad carbohydrates are the enemy. These are carbohydrates that have been robbed of any nutritional value, such as simple sugars and refined carbohydrates. If you want to live without cravings, eliminate these completely from your diet. I like the old saying, “The whiter the bread, the faster you are dead.”
Sugar is NOT your friend. Sugar increases inflammation in your body, increases erratic brain-cell firing, and has been recently implicated in aggression. In a new study, children who were given sugar every day had a significantly higher risk for violence later in life. I don’t agree with the people who say “everything in moderation.” Cocaine or arsenic in moderation is NOT a good idea. The less sugar in your life, the better your life will be.
Rule #5. Focus your diet on healthy fats. Eliminate bad fats, such as ALL trans-fats and most animal fat. Did you know that fat stores toxic materials? So when you eat animal fat, you are also eating anything toxic the animal ate. Yuk. Did you know that certain fats that are found in pizza, ice cream, and cheeseburgers fool the brain into ignoring the signals that you should be full? No wonder I used to always eat two bowls of ice cream and eight slices of pizza!
Focus your diet on healthy fats, especially those that contain omega-3 fatty acids, found in foods like salmon, avocados, walnuts, and green leafy vegetables. High cholesterol levels are not good for your brain. A new study reports that people who had high cholesterol levels in their forties had a higher risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease in their sixties and seventies. But don’t let your cholesterol levels go too low either. Did you know that low cholesterol levels have been associated with both homicide and suicide? If I am at a party and someone is bragging to me about their low cholesterol levels, I am always very nice to that person.
Rule #6. Eat from the rainbow. This means put natural foods in your diet of many different colors, such as blueberries, pomegranates, yellow squash, and red bell peppers. This will boost the antioxidant levels in your body and help keep your brain young. Of course, this does not mean Skittles or jelly beans.
Rule #7. Cook with brain healthy herbs and spices to boost your brain. Here is a little food for thought, literally.

  • Turmeric, found in curry, contains a chemical that has been shown to decrease the plaques in the brain thought to be responsible for Alzheimer’s disease.
  • In four studies a saffron extract was found to be as effective as antidepressant medication in treating people with major depression.
  • Sage has very good scientific evidence that it helps to boost memory.
  • Cinnamon has been shown to help attention. It has also been found to help regulate blood sugar levels, which improves brain function and decision-making.