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"This is Your Brain...
This is Your Brain on Food!"
by Alice Osborne
Healthy, brain-nourishing food, that is. Did you know that loss of memory and acuity is NOT a natural part of aging? Celebrated neurologist, David Perlmutter says regaining and maintaining mental clarity is all about what we eat, or don’t eat.
Most of us see the tell-tale signs in our lives — we can’t remember where we put the car keys; we forget who it is we’re calling, and why (mid-dial); our shopping lists are the only things to indicate why we’ve entered the store.
 Can you relate? I sure do. One day, driving home from the college where I teach, I was struggling to remember the way home for a couple minutes. This really scared me, so I went looking for some answers. I found them in a book I read from cover to cover, The Better Brain Book, by the aforementioned Dr. David Perlmutter. He’s spent his professional life studying the brain and its needs and his book is the collection of his research.
He lists three different supplement regimens (the Three Tiers) to preventing mental decline and/or improving what decline we may have already experienced. Through a quick self-test I was able to determine how much erosion I’m dealing with and the results of the test pointed to which Tier I needed to implement. I’ve been following his program for more than three weeks now, and the brain fog is gone and my memory is better. I’ll be sticking with this supplement program!
And as mentioned above, food is a big piece of the mental clarity puzzle. Not surprisingly, the author says to remove the toxins from our life (as much as we can): mercury, aluminum (which is why I always recommend Rumford’s Baking Powder — there’s no aluminum in it), pesticides (which is why we should try to eat organic produce as much as possible), MSG, Aspartame, and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein.
To help us fish-lovers deal with the mercury issue immediately, he lists the mercury content in fish:
 HIGHEST: halibut, king mackerel, shark, swordfish, tilefish, white meat tuna
MODERATE: bass, cod, crab, flounder, grouper, herring, lobster, mahimahi, orange roughy, oysters (canned or fresh), perch, pike, Pollack, rainbow trout, scallops, shrimp (canned or fresh), snapper, sole, light tuna, turbot
LOW: sardines (canned in olive oil), Alaskan sockeye salmon, Pacific salmon, tilapia, haddock
And to help us home gardeners, Dr. Perlmutter shares a recipe for an herbal insect repellant:
Herbal Insect Repellant
 1 tsp hot pepper
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
2 qts water
Place all ingredients in saucepan and heat to boiling. Let cool; pour through strainer and fill spray bottle with mixture. This non-toxic, but foul-tasting garlic-based insect spray can be used on all vegetables as well as roses and azaleas.
 Download this recipe.
And here’s his list of Brain Busters: Foods we should avoid:
High mercury content fish (see list above)
Fatty cuts of meat (bacon, bratwurst, brisket, pastrami, corned beef, salami, bologna), full-fat pork hot-dogs, knockwurst, ground pork, pork sausages, spareribs (DANG IT!), prime rib, rib steak
Fried food
Refined grains and starches
Sweets (the doctor is adamant about this; he says a high-sugar diet accelerates memory loss and destroys delicate nerve cells; avoid cupcakes, dried fruit, frozen custard, ice cream, gelato, yogurt, fruit rolls, marshmallows, sorbet, candy, pancake syrups, honey, corn syrup, etc. etc. etc.)
Bad fats (corn oil, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, lard, margarine, peanut oil, soy oil, squeezable butter or shortening)
High-sugar condiments (be extra careful with these: barbecue sauce, most commercially prepared salad dressings, ketchup, mayonnaise)
Sugar-added beverages
Excitotoxins (aspartame, MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein—found in processed foods, frozen TV dinners and pot pies, canned soups, etc.)
Sugars and artificial sweeteners
Well holy cow, what CAN we eat? Thank goodness there’s an entire world of brain-nourishing foods to choose from. We may have to retrain our attitudes as well as our appetites, but there’s hope. Anything not on the above list will work in our favor. Why don’t you join me in this quest for a better brain? We have six months left in 2010, let’s see if through better eating we aren’t mentally sharper come Dec. 31!
Now in conclusion, here are some wonderful recipes Dr. Perlmutter shares by way of encouragement:
Avocado Salsa
 2 ripe avocados
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, chopped fine
1 yellow, red, or orange pepper, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Celtic salt to taste
In small bowl, mash avocados and combine with lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Serve with assorted vegetables or add a little more olive oil and serve as a salad dressing.
Download this recipe.
Split Pea Dill Soup with Pumpkin Seeds
 2 C split peas, rinsed
8 C water
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
4 red potatoes, diced
1 tsp dill (dried or 1 Tbsp fresh)
Celtic salt to taste
1 Tbsp per person raw pumpkin seeds
Combine all ingredients except pumpkin seeds in large soup pot. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer, lightly covered. Cook until peas are tender, about 1 hr. Add more water, as needed, if soup is too thick. Soup can be pureed in blender or food processor, if desired. Serve sprinkled with pumpkin seeds.
Download this recipe.
Apple Walnut Souffle
 2/3 C whole wheat pastry flour
3 tsp baking powder (non-aluminum, such as Rumford’s)
2 eggs
2 Tbsp agave syrup
3 tsp vanilla
2 C diced apples
1 C walnuts, finely chopped
¼ tsp Celtic salt
Plain non-fat yogurt for garnishing
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat eggs. Add agave and vanilla and beat well. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt and fold into egg mixture. Add apples and walnuts. Transfer to deep baking dish and bake in oven for 45 min. or until golden brown. Serve hot with a dab of yogurt.
Download this recipe.
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