Brain Food | Diet And Brain Power

Brain food! New research indicates that particular foods can influence neurogenesis, leading to a greater proliferation of new nerve cells in particular regions of the brain.

The study focused on polyunsaturated fatty acids, derived from vegetables such as corn, soybeans, sunflowers and pumpkins as well as blue fish, and polyphenols found in tea, grapes, wine, olive oil, cocoa, nuts and other fruits and vegetables.

Spanish scientists from Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona who fed mice a diet rich in polyunsaturates and polyphenols noted greater cell proliferation in the two areas of the brain where neurogenesis is produced—the olfactory bulb and the hippocampus. (These areas become severely damaged in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that a diet rich in these antioxidants could delay the onset or slow down the progress of this neurodegenerative disease.)

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