THIS latest diet comes from France, a country renowned for its cuisine and art of living. Jean- Marie Bourre, a neurotoxicologist specializing in the brain’s nutrition, claims that our brain hates slimming diets and that in order to think well, we should eat well. In a best-selling book on food for the brain, this outspoken researcher, advises his readers to eat red meat and starchy as well as fatty food!
Many of us do exactly the opposite as we have become diet addicts. We are happy to follow blindly any consumerist diktat. We feel permanently guilty; we can only justify eating non-fattening food; we do not cook anymore because we have become culinary chemists. Furthermore, a crazy belief, fueled by the mass media, leads us to think that only a slim person is desirable. Recent studies have shown that 37% of 11 year-old girls want to diet and that number increases gradually reaching 55% among 15 year olds.
“Today, our eating behavior is characterized by anxiety and the pleasure of eating is considered forbidden” says Jean-Marie Bourre who discovered the famous omega-3 essential fatty acid. Contrary to popular myth, the human body needs fat — but the right kind. The Omega-3 and Omega-6 essential fatty acids are so-called because they cannot be made by the body. They are found in high concentrations in the brain. They help in the transmission of nerve impulses and are needed for the normal development and functioning of the brain. They are also essential for rebuilding and producing new cells. Furthermore, they reduce blood pressure and also lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Omega-3 essential fatty acids are found in fresh deepwater fish, fish oil and certain vegetable oils such as flaxseed and walnut oil. Omega-6 essential fatty acids are found in raw nuts, seeds, and legumes and in grape seed oil, primrose oil, sesame oil and soybean oil.
“We need a lot of essential fatty acids, specially our neurons! A lack of omega-3 or omega-6 has a direct impact on the brain. It can prematurely age the brain, affect our vision, hearing, psychomotivity and even trigger depression,” says Bourre.
Jean Marie Bourre does not want people to stop eating meat, milk products and fatty fish simply because they cause a weight gain and increase heart problems. He strongly advises us not to eliminate fats from our diet, especially the good kind — unsaturated fats. It is interesting to learn that a third of the unhealthy fats known as saturated fats are found in snacks, candies, chocolate bars, potato chips, biscuits and fast-food. He also reminds us that our brain needs sugar. It thrives on glucose which acts as the brain’s only source of fuel. We burn as much as 100mg of glucose per minute. Glucose is mainly found in carbohydrates. The best kind is found in complex carbohydrates which, like simple carbohydrates, are also made of sugars but the sugar molecules are strung together in longer, more complex chains.
Complex carbohydrates include fiber and starches found in vegetables, whole grains, peas and beans. We should consume complex carbohydrates at every meal, especially dinner, because at night the brain is even more active than during the day. If we do not have an evening meal, we might lack sugar during the night. This can affect the quality of our sleep and eventually impact mental activity and memorization. It is interesting to know that the brain consumes even more glucose when we dream!
Diets devoid of meat, iron, fats, and eggs can eventually cause depressions. Soya, an excellent vegetal protein, very popular with women, is not equal to animal protein because it lacks an essential amino acid. Women often go on a strict vegetarian diet to lose weight but that, explains Bourre, “triggers a form of self-cannibalism! The brain should never cease to function. When it lacks its essential fuel, it takes its necessary proteins and acids from the muscular cells of the heart.”
There exists a vital link between food and the brain. The brain represents only 2% of the body’s total weight but it uses 20% of the oxygen and 20% of the food consumed. The brain consumes approximately as much energy as the heart. The amount of oxygen consumed by the human brain is similar to that produced by an oak tree with its 300, 000 leaves! And to reach the brain, oxygen needs iron. Iron is found in lentils, cocoa, peas and beans but not in spinach as we have been led to believe. However, our main source of iron remains animal products. Animal products provide us with iron and vitamins indispensable for the proper functioning of our brain. “The human body needs animal proteins and their amino acids for the formation of cells, neurons, neurotransmitters and neuroreceptors. It cannot get them only from proteins, especially animal proteins. In the name of our brain, I defend the pleasure of eating fish and red meat, “concludes Jean Marie Bourre.