Jun 9, 2020
Food and the Brain - How They Impact Each Other
In putting this podcast together I learned so much about how food can affect our brains as well as how our brains control and influence satiety, overeating, and obesity. I found so many different kinds of studies dealing with food and our brain that I couldn’t even include them all.
Colorful fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, avocados, oily fish, coffee, and green tea are so important to maintaining our brain health. Eating them is linked to better memory, cognition, and a lower risk of Alzheimers, heart disease, and strokes.
Obese people have been found to have similar brain activity patterns to people who abuse alcohol and drugs. It isn’t just a matter of not having any self-control. There is research trying to see if the same treatments for opioid addiction can be used for food addiction and obesity.
Another study is using “cognitive behavioral therapy” to help adolescents learn how to control their cravings for certain foods that are not good for them. It’s helping them to lose weight and improve their health.
Overall the Mediterranean Diet ticks off all of the foods that the studies have shown to be healthy and health maintaining - especially as we age! We can get away with eating a bad diet when we are young because our bodies are so much better at cleaning out the bad stuff. As we get older our bodies slow down and can’t clear junk out as easily. They need more of the good stuff to feed our health and our brains.
That’s where the Mediterranean Diet comes into play. It has all of the fruits, vegetables, grains, coffee, tea, and red wine that will make us happier and healthier because we will feel better. Check the podcast out and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did in making it. How healthy is your diet?? Comment below.