Health Tips: Eat Your Way To Better Brain Function

Health Tips: Eat Your Way To Better Brain Function Super-brainy super-athletes like Wimbledon champ Marion Bartoli with an IQ of 175, Ryan Fitzpatrick, a Tennessee Titan quarterback, who scored 1580 on his (old-school style) SATs out of 1600, and former Knicks’ small forward, U.S. Senator and Rhodes Scholar Bill Bradley have all used their smarts to figure out what’s good and bad in their diets to come out stronger.

Research shows that the foods you choose have a big impact on the structure and health of your brain, influencing how your brain functions and how it maintains its sharpness over time. Some eats — especially the saturated fat in red meat — can make you sluggish and slow your reaction time. Others support both short- and long-term brain function.

spinach, orange vegetables, and strawberries — promote new neural connections, boosting memory and learning while lowering inflammation, which, unchecked, can contribute to cognitive problems and stroke.

Nuts are loaded with brain-loving inflammation-fighters like vitamin E and omega-3s. Drinking up to five cups of coffee daily, according to a study in Practical Neurology, can help protect your brain from cognitive decline, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and stroke.

For a more comprehensive list of tasty brain foods, watch Dr. Mike’s Public Broadcasting Service special “What to Eat When and How to Do Intermittent Fasting Right,” or read that section in his book, “What To Eat When.”

Stand up (straight) to stress and fatigue

Celebs often parade poor posture down the red carpet like it were a prerequisite for paparazzi attention: Kim Kardashian’s swayback is definitely in your face. Emma Watson’s slouch with shoulders forward seems demure, but she’s not doing herself any favors, and Justin Bieber often juts his head forward as if he would like to crawl right into the superlenses that are tracking him.

What these folks may not know is that your posture affects more than your appearance. It shapes your psychological well-being. Health Tips: Eat Your Way To Better Brain Function

Research shows that if you are feeling a lot of stress, one good remedy is to put your shoulders back (and down) and look the world straight in the eye. A study out of New Zealand found that in addition to being associated with reduced fatigue and an enhanced feeling of being.

in control, good posture promotes a significantly healthier systolic blood pressure. And a study in Health Psychology found that if you’re feeling stressed and you make yourself sit upright, you can better maintain your self-esteem and a more positive outlook on life.