Carbohydrates are the most essential part of your diet for long-term health and brain function. But not the doughnuts, bagels, and sweets we typically think of as carbs. These are highly processed foods, stripped of their nutrients and fiber.
When I say carbohydrates, I mean real, whole plant foods containing all the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients that create health.
Create meals high in lowglycemic legumes such as lentils, chick-peas, and soybeans (try edamame, the Japanese soybeans in a pod, quickly steamed with a little salt, as a snack). These foods slow the release of sugars into the bloodstream, helping to prevent excess insulin release leading to insulin resistance and its related health concerns, including dementia, depression, poor heart health, obesity, high blood pressure, high LDL or “bad” cholesterol, and low HDL or “good” cholesterol.
Eat a cornucopia of fresh fruits and vegetables teeming with phytonutrients—carotenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols— associated with a lower incidence of nearly all health problems, including dementia, obesity, and aging.
Use more slow-burning, lowglycemic vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, kale, spinach, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts.
Berries, cherries, peaches, plums, rhubarb, pears, and apples are optimal fruits; cantaloupes and melons, grapes and kiwifruit are suitable; however, they contain more sugar. Organic frozen
berries (from Cascadian Farms) can be used if you make protein shakes (this is a good way to get protein in the morning).
A diet high in fiber further helps to stabilize blood sugar by slowing the absorption of carbohydrates and supports a healthy digestive tract. Try to gradually increase fiber to 30 to 50 gm a day and use predominantly soluble or viscous fiber (legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, vegetables, and fruit), which slows sugar absorption from the gut
Minimize starchy, high-glycemic cooked vegetables, such as potatoes, corn, and root vegetables, such as rutabagas, parsnips, and turnips.
CONTROLLING YOUR GLYCEMIC LOAD
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The glycemic load of a food or meal is defined as the total effect that food or meal has on your blood sugar. The food or meals you eat can have either a high glycemic load or a low glycemic load.
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Controlling the glycemic load of your meals is essential. It is easy to do. Simply combine adequate protein, fats, and whole-food carbohydrates from vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and fruit at every meal or snack. It is most important to avoid eating quickly absorbed carbohydrates alone, as they raise your sugar and insulin levels. And any large meal will raise your blood sugar, so smaller meals help keep your blood sugar even.
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Phytonutrients—Hidden Brain Protectors: Healing Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, and Detoxifying Foods
Healing chemicals in foods may, in the end, be more important than the protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals they contain.
Practically the only thing
everyone
agrees about in nutrition is that eating five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day can reduce your risk from almost every known disease of our “modern” civilization, including heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and all of the brain and mood disorders so many suffer from.
One of the reasons phytonutrients are so powerful has to do with their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and detoxifying properties. To get enough phytonutrients in your diet, try the following:
Focus on anti-inflammatory foods, including wild fish and other sources of omega-3 fats, red and purple berries (these are rich in
polyphenols), dark green leafy vegetables, orange sweet potatoes, and nuts.
Eat more antioxidant-rich and energy-boosting foods, including orange and yellow vegetables, dark green leafy vegetables (kale, collards, spinach, etc.), anthocyanidins (berries, beets, grapes, pomegranate), purple grapes containing trans-resveratrol, blueberries, bilberries, cranberries, and cherries. In fact, antioxidants are in all colorful fruits and vegetables.
Include detoxifying foods in your diet such as cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, kale, collards, brocollini, broccoli rabe, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, Chinese broccoli), green tea, watercress, dandelion greens, cilantro, artichokes, garlic, citrus peels, pomegranate, and even cocoa.
Use hormone-balancing foods such as whole soy foods and ground flaxseeds.
