Your Brain on Food If you sucked all of the moisture out of your brain and broke it down to its constituent nutritional content, what would it look like? Most of the weight of your dehydrated brain would come from fats, also known as lipids. In the remaining brain matter, you would find proteins and amino acids, traces of micronutrients, and glucose. The brain is, of course, more than just the sum of its nutritional parts, but each component does have a distinct impact on functioning, development, mood, and energy. So that post-lunch apathy, or late-night alertness you might be feeling, well, that could simply be the effects of food on your brain. Of the fats in your brain, the superstars are omegas 3 and 6. These essential fatty acids, which have been linked to preventing degenerative brain conditions, must come from our diets. So eating omega-rich foods, like nuts, seeds, and fatty fish, is crucial to the creation and maintenance of cell membranes. And while omegas are good fats for your brain, long-term consumption of other fats, like trans and saturated fats, may compromise brain health. Meanwhile, proteins and amino acids, the building block nutrients of growth and development, manipulate how we feel and behave. Amino acids contain the precursors to neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that carry signals between neurons, affecting things like mood, sleep, attentiveness, and weight. They're one of the reasons we might feel calm after eating a large plate of pasta, or more alert after a protein-rich meal. The complex combinations of compounds in food can stimulate brain cells to release mood-altering norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. But getting to your brain cells is tricky, and amino acids have to compete for limited access. A diet with a range of foods helps maintain a balanced combination of brain messengers, and keeps your mood from getting skewed in one direction or the other. Like the other organs in our bodies, our brains also benefit from a steady supply of micronutrients. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables strengthen the brain to fight off free radicals that destroy brain cells, enabling your brain to work well for a longer period of time. And without powerful micronutrients, like the vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid, our brains would be susceptible to brain disease and mental decline. Trace amounts of the minerals iron, copper, zinc, and sodium are also fundamental to brain health and early cognitive development. In order for the brain to efficiently transform and synthesize these valuable nutrients, it needs fuel, and lots of it. While the human brain only makes up about 2% of our body weight, it uses up to 20% of our energy resources. Most of this energy comes from carbohydrates that our body digests into glucose, or blood sugar. The frontal lobes are so sensitive to drops in glucose, in fact, that a change in mental function is one of the primary signals of nutrient deficiency. Assuming that we are getting glucose regularly, how does the specific type of carbohydrates we eat affect our brains? Carbs come in three forms: starch, sugar, and fiber. While on most nutrition labels, they are all lumped into one total carb count, the ratio of the sugar and fiber subgroups to the whole amount affect how the body and brain respond. A high glycemic food, like white bread, causes a rapid release of glucose into the blood, and then comes the dip. Blood sugar shoots down, and with it, our attention span and mood. On the other hand, oats, grains, and legumes have slower glucose release, enabling a steadier level of attentiveness. For sustained brain power, opting for a varied diet of nutrient-rich foods is critical. When it comes to what you bite, chew, and swallow, your choices have a direct and long-lasting effect on the most powerful organ in your body.
Vaš mozak pod utjecajem hrane Kada biste iz svog mozga isisali svu vlagu i rastavili ga na njegove osnovne hranjive sastojke, kako bi to izgledalo? Većina mase vašeg dehidriranog mozga sastojala bi se iz masti, koje još zovemo lipidima. U preostaloj masi mozga našli biste bjelančevine i aminokiseline, tragove mikronutrijenata i glukozu. Naravno, mozak je više od samog zbroja svojih nutritivnih dijelova, ali svaka komponenta ima jedinstven utjecaj na funkcioniranje, razvoj, raspoloženje i energiju. Ta apatija nakon ručka ili budnost kasno noću koju možda doživljavate, to bi jednostavno mogli biti učinci hrane na vaš mozak. Od masnoća u vašem mozgu, superzvijezde su omega-3 i omega-6. Ove esencijalne masne kiseline, koje povezuju sa sprječavanjem degenerativnih bolesti mozga, moraju dolaziti iz prehrane. Prehrana bogata omega kiselinama poput orašastih plodova, sjemenki i masne ribe, ključna je za stvaranje i održavanje staničnih membrana. I dok su omega masti dobre za vaš mozak, dugotrajno konzumiranje drugih masti, poput trans i zasićenih masti, može ugroziti zdravlje mozga. U isto vrijeme, bjelančevine i aminokiseline, hranjivi gradivni materijali našeg rasta i razvoja, manipuliraju time kako se osjećamo i ponašamo. Aminokiseline sadrže prethodnike neurotransmitera, kemijskih prenositelja signala između neurona, utječući na raspoloženje, san, pozornost i težinu. One su djelomično razlog zašto se osjećamo smireno kada pojedemo tanjur tjestenine, ili pozornije nakon obroka bogatog bjelančevinama. Složene kombinacije spojeva u hrani mogu potaknuti moždane stanice da otpuste norepinefrin, koji mijenja raspoloženje, dopamin i serotonin. Dolazak do vaših moždanih stanica je složen i aminokiseline se moraju boriti za ograničen pristup. Prehrana raznovrsnim namirnicama pomaže održanju uravnotežene kombinacije prijenosnika signala do mozga i sprječava da vaše raspoloženje ode iz jedne u drugu krajnost. Poput drugih organa u našem tijelu, i naši mozgovi imaju koristi od stalnog priljeva mikronutrijenata. Antioksidansi u voću i povrću jačaju mozak u njegovoj borbi protiv slobodnih radikala koji uništavaju stanice i omogućuju mozgu da dobro funkcionira kroz duže vrijeme. Bez moćnih mikronutrijenata, poput vitamina B6, B12 i folne kiseline, naši mozgovi bili bi podložni moždanim bolestima i propadanju. Tragovi minerala željeza, bakra, cinka i natrija, također su ključni za zdravlje mozga i rani kognitivni razvoj. Kako bi mozak učinkovito transformirao i sintetizirao ove dragocjene nutrijente, potrebno mu je dosta goriva. Iako ljudski mozak čini samo oko 2% naše tjelesne težine, on koristi i do 20% naših energetskih resursa. Većina ove energije dolazi iz ugljikohidrata koje naše tijelo razbija u glukozu, odnosno, šećer. Zapravo, frontalni režnjevi su toliko osjetljivi na pad glukoze, da je promjena mentalnih funkcija jedan od osnovnih signala nedostatka hranjivih tvari. Pod pretpostavkom da redovito dobivamo glukozu, kako određeni tip ugljikohidrata koje jedemo utječe na naše mozgove? Ugljikohidrati dolaze tri oblika: škrob, šećer i vlakna. Iako su na većini deklaracija zbrojeni u jedan zajednički broj ugljikohidrata, odnos podgrupa šećera i vlakana u ukupnoj količini utječe na to kako reagiraju tijelo i mozak. Hrana visokog glikemijskog indeksa, poput bijelog kruha, izaziva munjevito izlučivanje glukoze u krvi, a onda slijedi pad. Šećer u krvi pada, a s njim i naša pozornost i raspoloženje. S druge strane, zobene pahuljice, žitarice i mahunarke sporije otpuštaju glukozu, čime se dobiva stabilnija razina održavanja pažnje. Za održivu snagu mozga, ključno je odabrati raznovrsnu prehranu bogatu hranjivim tvarima. Kada se govori o onome što grizete, žvačete i gutate, vaši izbori imaju izravan i dugotrajan utjecaj na najmoćniji organ u vašem tijelu.