How the food you eat affects your brain - Mia Nacamulli
How the food you eat affects your brain - Mia Nacamulli
Transcript
00:00If you sucked all of the moisture out of your brain
00:12and broke it down to its constituent nutritional content,
00:16what would it look like?
00:18Most of the weight of your dehydrated brain would come from fats,
00:22also known as lipids.
00:25In the remaining brain matter, you would find proteins and amino acids,
00:29traces of micronutrients,
00:31and glucose.
00:33The brain is, of course, more than just the sum of its nutritional parts,
00:37but each component does have a distinct impact
00:40on functioning, development, mood, and energy.
00:45So that post-lunch apathy, or late-night alertness you might be feeling,
00:50well, that could simply be the effects of food on your brain.
00:54Of the fats in your brain, the superstars are omegas-3 and 6.
00:59These essential fatty acids,
01:01which have been linked to preventing degenerative brain conditions,
01:05must come from our diets.
01:07So eating omega-rich foods like nuts, seeds, and fatty fish
01:11is crucial to the creation and maintenance of cell membranes.
01:16And while omegas are good fats for your brain,
01:19long-term consumption of other fats, like trans and saturated fats,
01:24may compromise brain health.
01:27Meanwhile, proteins and amino acids,
01:29the building block nutrients of growth and development,
01:32manipulate how we feel and behave.
01:36Amino acids contain the precursors to neurotransmitters,
01:40the chemical messengers that carry signals between neurons,
01:43affecting things like mood, sleep, attentiveness, and weight.
01:49They're one of the reasons we might feel calm
01:51after eating a large plate of pasta,
01:53or more alert after a protein-rich meal.
01:57The complex combinations of compounds in food
02:00can stimulate brain cells to release mood-altering norepinephrine,
02:05dopamine, and serotonin.
02:07But getting to your brain cells is tricky,
02:10and amino acids have to compete for limited access.
02:13A diet with a range of foods helps maintain a balanced combination
02:17of brain messengers,
02:19and keeps your mood from getting skewed in one direction or the other.
02:23Like the other organs in our bodies,
02:25our brains also benefit from a steady supply of micronutrients.
02:30Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables strengthen the brain
02:33to fight off free radicals that destroy brain cells,
02:37enabling your brain to work well for a longer period of time.
02:41And without powerful micronutrients like the vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid,
02:47our brains would be susceptible to brain disease and mental decline.
02:52Trace amounts of the minerals iron, copper, zinc, and sodium
02:56are also fundamental to brain health and early cognitive development.
03:01In order for the brain to efficiently transform
03:03and synthesize these valuable nutrients,
03:06it needs fuel, and lots of it.
03:09While the human brain only makes up about 2% of our body weight,
03:13it uses up to 20% of our energy resources.
03:17Most of this energy comes from carbohydrates
03:20that our body digests into glucose, or blood sugar.
03:24The frontal lobes are so sensitive to drops in glucose, in fact,
03:28that a change in mental function
03:30is one of the primary signals of nutrient deficiency.
03:35Assuming that we are getting glucose regularly,
03:37how does the specific type of carbohydrates we eat affect our brains?
03:42Carbs come in three forms, starch, sugar, and fiber.
03:47While on most nutrition labels, they are all lumped into one total carb count,
03:52the ratio of the sugar and fiber subgroups to the whole amount
03:56affect how the body and brain respond.
04:00A high glycemic food, like white bread,
04:02causes a rapid release of glucose into the blood,
04:05and then comes the dip.
04:08Blood sugar shoots down, and with it, our attention span and mood.
04:12On the other hand, oats, grains, and legumes have slower glucose release,
04:18enabling a steadier level of attentiveness.
04:21For sustained brain power,
04:23opting for a varied diet of nutrient-rich foods is critical.
04:27When it comes to what you bite, chew, and swallow,
04:30your choices have a direct and long-lasting effect
04:33on the most powerful organ in your body.
04:38Transcription by ESO. Translation by —