[Stitcher]

smartkit...Sharpen Your Mental Edge
http://www.smart-kit.com

Ranking of fruit antioxidants for brain protection

During the last 2 months, I’ve made several posts that highlight the brain enhancing power of antioxidants. Basically, as we age, all parts of our body degenerate and rot. This sort of cumulative damage is called ‘oxidative damage’, and is inescapable because it derives from our body’s use of oxygen. If you’re consuming and using oxygen, you’re rotting- whether you’re 2, 15, 30, or 60 years of age.

Since the brain uses about 25% of the body’s oxygen, the brain is highly susceptible to oxidative damage.

The good news, however, is that the rate at which this occurs can be slowed down by eating foods that are high in antioxidants.Here’s the list that ranks the antioxidant power of fruits. It based on a USDA study from 2004, and is thought to be the largest, most comprehensive analysis to date.

* wild blueberries
* blueberries
* cranberries
* blackberries
* raspberries
* strawberries
* red delicious apples
* granny smith apples
* sweet cherries
* black plums
* gala apples

Unfortunately, fruits like watermelon, mangos, papayas, kiwis, and oranges were not included. This study, however, highlights what other studies also seem to show: that berries contain the highest concentration of antioxidants.
You may also want to read this related post on how new studies seem to indicate that oxidative damage plays a large role in Alzheimer’s disease.

941_rouge350.gif

Memory Decline can be reversed with blueberries

As we get older, every part of the body slowly degenerates. The brain is no different: as you age, you will lose brain power slowly but surely. No one can escape this. For those of you in your 20’s or 30’s, it is even happening to you right now as you read this.

Some people, however, will age slower than others. I’ve seen many 90 year olds in clinic who have the mind & brain of a 60 year old. And I’ve seen some in their 40’s who’s brains are as less sharp than those in their 70’s.

Do you want to slow down the rate at which your brain degenerates? It can be done.

First, you must first understand that a large part of brain decline is thought to be due to ‘oxidative damage’. This sort of damage is inescapable, because it simply arises from your brain using oxygen. Ironic, isn’t it- The very thing that gives your brain life, also destroys it.

The good news is that there are special chemicals that can limit and reduce the amount of this ‘oxidative damage’. These special chemicals are called ‘anti-oxidants’.

Where can you get these ‘anti-oxidants’? The best sources are from certain types of fruits and vegetables.

Berries, in particular, contain very powerful ‘anti-oxidants’ called ‘flavonoids’. And there have been numerous studies that show how powerful blueberries can be in putting the brakes on brain rot.

[ZucchiniFlower]

Walnuts have more antioxidants than blueberries!
So do pecans.

http://health.msn.com/centers/cancer...52031&GT1=9086

I eat some walnuts everyday, usually with an apple.

I add 10 finely chopped almonds to my hot cereal, when it's done cooking (steel cut oats or 8 grain). It's great. (I also add raisins or cranberries or apple and crystallized ginger.) I cook the steel cut oats in skim milk. Tastes like rice pudding.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...dspice&dbid=20

[reverett123]

As ZuchinniFlower points out, walnuts are high in antioxidants. There was a study a couple of years ago that found that the top three foods tested for such activity were in ascending order: walnuts, pomegranate, and rose hips. Coffee is also high and is, in fact, the leading source in many of our diets - which may explain why coffee is linked to lower PD rates.

Perhaps even more important, walnuts are an excellent source of fatty acids that are far more important to the nervous system than once thought. If they are out of balance, dopamine levels drop across the board for starters.

And pomegranates are a phytochemical treasure trove. That deep color is the giveaway. The pigments, like those in berries, are multifunctional magic.