2 Surprising Ways to Boost Brainpower at Any Age

What are you feeding your kids?!?! I was in a meeting with our son’s teacher as well as the gifted programming instructor. Both were amazed at the pattern of academic achievement my 3rd and 5th graders have demonstrated. While I’m hesitant to share what may sound like bragging, I do feel that we have learned a lot that may be of use to others.

Both boys are now leaving their classes to work with the grade above in math. The school already has the entire school working a year ahead of the standard Saxon math textbook, so they are essentially two years ahead of the standard curriculum. My kindergartner tests in the 99th percentile in math and all are reading well above grade level.

I don’t want to deny that many factors are at work here, including some positive gene expression. I would be amiss not to recognize the power of daily seeking Divine Guidance ¹. I recognize that many have special challenges in this area, and they work 10 times as hard to just come close to the average. But regardless of our starting point, our small daily choices can have either a positive or negative impact on our brain and therefore our productivity and achievement.

The Impact of What We Eat

While I appreciated this New York Times article about a study linking student’s brainpower to their sleep, exercise and screen time, the glaring missing factor to me was nutrition. We all know that nutrition has an effect on our brains (hello post-Halloween craziness!), but most of us underestimate the impact it can have.

I wish the study had spent some time at Public School 244 in Queens, NY, the nations first non-charter public school to serve only vegetarian and vegan food. Since the change, teachers and administrators have reported that BMIs have gone down, the kids get sick less often and are more attentive and less sluggish in the afternoon. Perhaps most amazingly, the school’s standardized test scores were #11 in the state. All the other schools with higher test scores have no English language learners, and they all have gifted programs. PS244Q does not have a gifted program and does have English language learners, so it was an incredible achievement. ², ³

Another fascinating example is Victor Valley Correctional System in California. Terry Moreland offered inmates the option of a new start program, one that involved a high-nutrient vegan diet, bible study, anger management, and occupational training. Amazingly, 85% of inmates chose to voluntarily give up animal products and join the program. While the 15% who stayed on the normal prison food continued to have the typical fights and bad behavior, one of the prison officials observed: “There is a noticeable difference in the personalities of the vegetarian inmates. They smile more, are fully racially integrated, attend religious classes and anger management classes eagerly. Within 10 days (they) express improvement in how they feel.”⁴

Large Scale Studies

While these examples are fascinating yet largely anecdotal, the large-scale studies do exist to teach us the power of our food choices. In addition to the astounding evidence that diets rich in plants and low in animal products promote optimism and decrease depression, psychological distress, mood, and anxiety problems and lead to overall improved mental health⁵, they also promote better cognitive abilities at any age.

Prenatal

DHA often comes up as an important nutrient for the developing brain. And a Google search for “brain foods” will inevitably include salmon or other fish for it’s DHA. While seafood is one of the only food sources of DHA and EPA, our bodies can make DHA and EPA from ALA, widely available in flaxseed, walnuts and other foods. It’s unclear however how efficient this process is, and some studies show a decreased ability to convert as we age.

It turns out that eating fish to boost the brain may actually have a negative overall effect due to mercury exposure. One study showed that in mothers who consumed large amounts of fish during pregnancy that DHA offered a small gain in IQ, it was significantly outweighed by the losses associated with mercury content. ⁶

Kids

Further, toxic industrial pollutants have contaminated our oceans and in a study looking at the toxins in children’s over-the-counter supplements containing fish oil, all contained PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls – manufacturing leftovers and probable human carcinogen). It’s sometimes advised to get your fish oil from small fish such as anchovies since they don’t have as much opportunity for toxic build up, but this study found no significant difference in PCB levels based on the type of fish. ⁷ Fortunately it’s possible to get DHA and EPA from the same place the fish get it: algae.

In his video, Benefits of Blueberries for the Brain, Dr. Michael Greger describes a “randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study comparing the cognitive abilities of kids after consuming about one cup of blueberries, to two cups, to zero cups. What did they find? “‘[C]ognitive performance improve[ments] across all measures,’ and the more berries, the better. And, this wasn’t after twelve weeks of eating berries, but within hours of just a single blueberry meal.” If just one blueberry meal can have a difference in cognitive performance, what does that mean for everything else we are eating?

Adults with Cognitive Decline/Alzheimer’s

Dr. Dale Bredesen performed a fascinating study that showed notable improvement in the cognitive abilities of 9 out of 10 patients, 6 of whom were struggling to work because of cognitive impairment or early signs of Alzheimer’s. All six were able to return to work or continue working with improved performance. So what did he do to bring about such a dramatic improvement? Among other things, test subjects stopped eating refined carbohydrates and processed food and replaced it with more fruits and vegetables, sometimes including non-farmed fish as a condiment. He also included vitamin B12, D3, and DHA in their supplementation routine, noting that lab-specified so-called normal levels of these nutrients are based more on statistical norms than what is known to be a higher optimal range. ⁸

Dr. Greger also points out that the levels of Alzheimer’s differ greatly in varying parts of the world, with the lowest rates in Africa, India and South Asia, and the highest rates in North America and Western Europe. In Japan and China, the single dietary factor that accompanies rates of increased Alzheimer’s over the past 50 years is an increase in the consumption of animal fat. “Globally, the lowest validated rates of Alzheimer’s in the world are rural India, where they eat low-meat, high-grain, high-bean, high-carb diets.”⁹

Plant-Based Diet

The impact of a plant-strong diet on our cognitive ability is just one of many factors that keep us on the plant-based path. Nearly every nutrient the body needs is found abundantly in plants, and plants are accompanied by powerful disease-fighting components. A plant-based diet is also associated with lower risks of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and has even been shown to reverse these diseases in many instances.

A plant-based diet is missing just a few essential nutrients. I used to think that eating a little meat here and there was the best way to get these important nutrients. Now I’ve realized that whether you eat meat or not, supplementing B12, D and DHA/EPA can be a huge boost to your brain and overall health.

Appropriate Supplementation

With his tremendous knowledge of current research, Dr. Greger is one of the best sources for nutrition information. He recommends supplementing vitamin B12 and D as part of his daily dozen checklist¹⁰ of things we should try to consume every day. When I had my Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D both tested last spring, both were low and I knew my own efforts to keep them up were insufficient for me and most likely for my family as well.

Vitamin B12 is a vitamin found in the soil, presumably our ancestors got this by eating plants not as clean as we like them or from drinking stream water. Even if we did want to eat dirty plants, our soil is largely depleted and even farmed animals are supplemented due to insufficient B12 in their diet. Why skip the risks that come with farmed animals and just supplement directly?

Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin is actually not a vitamin at all, but produced by our skin when we receive sufficient sunlight. Even a PhD makes it difficult to discern if you are getting enough, as it depends on where you live, the time of day and the time you spend outside. Knowing that vitamin D levels well-above the statistical norms found on your lab results are associated with better mood, cognitive ability, and lower cancer rates, it’s a good idea to supplement and make sure your levels stay high, particularly in the winter months.

The last time I tried to have my Omega 3 levels tested, the medical staff had no idea what the test was even called. I left not knowing whether my body was creating enough DHA and decided it simply wasn’t worth the risk to avoid supplementing.

The vitamin spray Complement has been the absolute perfect solution. Regardless of whether you eat animal products or not, chances are you will benefit from boosting these important nutrients. The spray avoids a number of fillers and toxins and is very quickly distributed among our morning smoothies. It is the best quality supplement I have seen and the cost is comparable to buying good-quality vitamin B12, Vitamin D3 and algae-based DHA/EPA separately. Add to that the convenience of the spray and it’s been a slam dunk.

I’ve been super impressed with the creators of Complement–it’s clear they are doing everything they can to offer the best possible product based on all available research. They have kindly agreed to offer my readers 10% off their order when you use the code MYPLANTSTRONGFAMILY. So don’t make the mistake I did and put it off, subscribe today and begin boosting your brainpower.

Order and read more about Complement here. As an affiliate, using this link will also support My Plant Strong Family.

Checking 6 off Dr. Greger’s items in the Daily Dozen App is a cinch with our daily smoothie habit. More tips about creating a streamlined smoothie system here.

I’ve learned that even with our best efforts to eat well, perfect days are hard to come by. But even our smallest efforts at every meal can have tremendous effects over time on our mental well-being, our cognitive ability, and overall health. My boys still eat plenty of things I wish they wouldn’t, but I am starting to see and point out the benefits of healthy choices and they are too. We haven’t lost until we give up.

Filed Under: Plant Strong Families, Vegan

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