Focus On Folate
In a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control, it was reported that folate intakes have deceased, despite folate fortification in certain foods. Findings from the National Health and Examination Survey from 1999-2000 through 2003-2004 were analyzed to assess folate status in women of child bearing age... potentially a group highly motivated to eat the right diet. During the study period, median blood levels of folate fell 16%.1
Another recent study published in The Lancet found that folate can slow cognitive decline. Healthy adults, 50-70 years old, who were given folate supplements over 3 years, had improved areas of memory and information processing speed.2 The one thing all of these individuals had in common was elevated levels of homocysteine in their blood. These authors are the first to show a vitamin can really improve memory. How much folate did they consume? They took an amount equivalent to 2.5 pounds of strawberries daily.
Other folate rich foods include orange juice, green leafy vegetables, dried beans, fortified cereal, nonfat milk and yogurt, whet bran, seafood poultry and whole grains. Your smart food strategy should include colorful foods such as dark colored fresh fruits and vegetables– 5 to 9 servings each day.
Why are antioxidants called smart foods?
Antioxidants, necessary to balance free radicals, reduce the damage of oxidative stress in the body and most importantly, in the brain. While the body produces antioxidants such as glutathione, often, the body requires an additional supply to prevent the damage of oxidative stress. Many antioxidants are found in the foods we eat. Thus antioxidants are a smart food choice.
Richly colored vegetables such as broccoli, peppers, carrots and tomatoes are high in antioxidants. Fruits including blueberries, raspberries, oranges and grapefruit are smart antioxidant choices. Antioxidants are found in many unexpected food sources such as potatoes, artichokes, beans, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, cinnamon, ground cloves and oregano.3
Your brain consumes 30% of your daily calories.4 The right foods provide the fuel your brain requires to think, concentrate, remember and react. Even as you sleep, your brain is consuming fuel. That is why eating a good breakfast is important and refuels your body and your brain. At least one fruit, a whole grain and a protein source make an ideal combination. Eating a well balanced diet is not always possible.5
As individuals increase in age, their internal antioxidant production declines. This paves the way for increased risk for disease and age-related conditions. No matter how healthy, fit or nutrition-conscious an individual has been, bombardment with environmental contaminants provokes the formation of free radicals. Free radicals are byproducts of energy generation in normal metabolism and they increase during infection and inflammation, exercise and stress, overexposure to sunlight and radiation, and exposure to external pollutants such as auto and diesel exhausts, emissions from power plants, cigarette smoke, pesticides, lead from old paint, and asbestos to name a few thus producing some degree of oxidative stress. This increases the demand for antioxidants at a time when the body is producing less. The body has a natural antioxidant defense system that includes glutathione. Glutathione is the body's most potent antioxidant, and particularly important to the brain. Glutathione levels have been shown to decrease with aging which may leave brain cells vulnerable to oxidative stress and subsequent damage.
Boosting levels of this antioxidant powerhouse may mean taking an oral supplement. Glutathione levels cannot be increased by orally ingesting glutathione because glutathione is manufactured inside the cell. Supplements that increase glutathione must provide cysteine. Glutathione levels cannot be increased by ingesting oral cysteine because oral cysteine is potentially toxic and very quickly destroyed in the gastrointestinal tract. N-acetylcysteine is the bioavailable form of cysteine and dramatically increases the body's production of glutathione, the brain's most important scavenger of free radicals.
Recent studies have shown that people who more closely follow the Mediterranean Diet reduce their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by 40%.*
The Traditional Healthy Mediterranean Diet Pyramid
© Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust www.oldwayspt.org
* Scarmeas N, Stern Y, Tang M-X, Mayeux R and Luchsinger Jose. Mediterranean diet and risk for Alzheimer's disease. Annals of Neurology. 2006;59(6)912-921.