Did you know that too much of the wrong foods can actually shrink the decision-making parts of your brain? Use these diet and nutrition tips, recommended by Dr. Daniel G. Amen, to improve your family's focus, memory and mood -- naturally.
by Daniel Amen, M.D.
Feed Your Brain
Good, healthy food is brain medicine. For people with all types of focus, mood and impulsivity challenges, nutrition can have a powerfully positive effect on cognition, feelings, and behavior. The wrong diet, on the other hand, can have a very real negative effect on attention, mood, impulsivity and ADHD symptoms in adults and children.
1. The Benefits of Brain-Healthy Food
When I convince my patients to eat a brain-healthy diet, they notice better mood stability, stronger focus, and more stamina. They also report less distractibility, less tiredness in the late morning and mid-afternoon, and fewer cravings for sugary substances. Here (are) some food strategies I use at the Amen Clinics to help my ADHD patients achieve these benefits.
2. Quality Over Quantity
Always opt for high-quality food — and be careful with calories. Thanks in part to impulsivity, ADHD is often associated with weight problems1, which are a demonstrated danger to the brain. Swapping a 720-calorie cinnamon roll for a 400-calorie salad made of spinach, salmon, blueberries, apples, walnuts, and red bell peppers will supercharge your energy and perhaps make you smarter. In one study2, animals who ate more calories than they needed had significant shrinkage in the important decision-making areas of the brain.
3. Water, Water Everywhere
Your brain is 80 percent water. Anything that dehydrates it, such as too much caffeine or alcohol, decreases your thinking and impairs your judgment. Make sure you get enough water for your brain every day. A good general rule is to consume half your weight in ounces per day unless you are significantly overweight, and then usually not more than 120 ounces a day.
4. Proactive About Protein
Protein helps balance your blood sugar and focus, and provides the necessary building blocks for brain health. Great sources of protein include fish, skinless turkey or chicken, beans, raw nuts, and high-protein vegetables such as broccoli and spinach. Protein powders can also be a good source of protein, but read the label to make sure the product isn’t high in sugar. Start each day with protein to boost your focus and concentration skills.
5. Go with Low-Glycemic, High-Fiber Carbs
This means eat carbohydrates that do not spike your blood sugar, and that are high in fiber, such as vegetables and legumes, and fruits like blueberries and apples. Bad carbohydrates, such as simple sugars, are stripped of any nutritional value. Sugar is the enemy to your brain. The glycemic index rates carbohydrates according to their effects on blood sugar. Eating a diet filled with low-glycemic foods will lower your blood glucose levels, decrease cravings, and help you focus.
6. Go with Good Fats
Good fats are essential to your health. The solid weight of your brain is 60 percent fat (after all the water is removed). Bad fats, like anything containing trans fats, should be eliminated. Focus your diet on healthy fats — especially those that contain omega-3 fatty acids — found in foods like salmon, sardines, avocados, walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and dark green leafy vegetables.
7. Eat from the Rainbow
Compose your daily meals of natural foods of many different colors, such as blueberries, pomegranates, yellow squash, and red bell peppers. This will boost antioxidant levels in your body and help keep your brain young.
Cinnamon has been shown to help attention and blood flow.6
Garlic and oregano boost blood flow to the brain.7
9. You Are What You Eat…
…So avoid the bad stuff. Things like pesticides used in commercial farming can accumulate in your brain and body, even though the levels in each food may be low. Eat organically grown or raised food as much as possible. Eat free-range and grass-fed meat that is hormone- and antibiotic-free. In addition, eliminate food additives, preservatives, and artificial dyes and sweeteners. This means you must start reading food labels. If you do not know what is in something, do not eat it.
10. Throw Out the Problem Foods
There are scientific reports of people whose brains and stomachs get better when they eliminate wheat and other gluten sources (such as barley, rye, spelt, imitation meats, soy sauce) from their meals. Children with ADHD and/or autism may do better8 on an elimination diet that's free of wheat, dairy, processed foods, all forms of sugar and sugar alternatives, food dyes, and additives.
Dr.Amen hosts Memory Rescue, a PBS presentation, on the best ways to keep one’s brain supercharged. He is also author of BrainFit: 50 Ways to Grow Your Brain.
Footnotes
1 Fleming, John. “ADHD and Disordered Eating.” Dr. John Fleming, drjohnfleming.com/adhd-and-disordered-eating. 2 Colman, Ricki J., and Rozalyn M. Anderson. “Nonhuman Primate Calorie Restriction.” Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, vol. 14, no. 2, 15 Jan. 2011, pp. 229–239. 3 Mishra, Shrikant, and Kalpana Palanivelu. “The Effect of Curcumin (Turmeric) on Alzheimer's Disease: An Overview.” Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology, vol. 11, no. 1, 2008, p. 13., doi:10.4103/0972-2327.40220. 4 Hausenblas, Heather Ann, et al. “Saffron (Crocus Sativus L.) and Major Depressive Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.” Journal of Integrative Medicine, vol. 11, no. 6, 2013, pp. 377–383., doi:10.3736/jintegrmed2013056. 5 “Herbs That Can Boost Your Mood and Memory.” Northumbria University Newcastle News, Northumbria University Newcastle, 29 Apr. 2016, www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/news-events/news/2016/04/herbs-that-can-boost-your-mood-and-memory/. 6 Rao, Pasupuleti Visweswara, and Siew Hua Gan. “Cinnamon: A Multifaceted Medicinal Plant.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2014, 2014, pp. 1–12., doi:10.1155/2014/642942. 7 Mathew, B, and R Biju. “Neuroprotective Effects of Garlic: A Review.” Libyan Journal of Medicine, vol. 3, no. 1, 2008, pp. 23–33., doi:10.4176/071110. 8 Pelsser, Lidy M., Klaas Frankena, Jan Toorman, Huub F. Savelkoul, Anthony E. Dubois, Rob Rodrigues Pereira, Ton A. Haagen, Nanda N. Rommelse, and Jan K. Buitelaar. “Effects of a Restricted Elimination Diet on the Behaviour of Children with Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (INCA Study): A Randomised Controlled Trial.” The Lancet, vol. 377, no. 9764, 2011, pp. 494
