Well, it depends.
There are many foods that can benefit brain power, including foods that contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
But what about foods that might harm the brain?
Well, that’s also fat . . .
. . . but of a different kind.
The risk in this case is of developing dementia, and this risk can vary depending on the type of fat you eat.
Dr. Olivia Okereke and her colleagues at Harvard studied 6,183 women over the age of 65 and compared their fat intake with changes in their cognitive abilities.
Fat consumption was determined by a dietary questionnaire at the beginning of the study while mental ability was assessed periodically over the next four years.
Changes in memory and abstract thinking were given a “change score” with greater decline indicating a lower score.
Turns out, women who consumed the greatest amount of saturated fat were 60% more likely to have greater mental decline than those who consumed the least amount of saturated fat.
Conversely, women who consumed the greatest amount of monounsaturated fat were 44% less likely to have greater mental decline.
That’s pretty impressive – swapping saturated fats for monounsaturated fats may help protect our brains as we age.
Now please keep in mind that we have to be careful about the conclusions we draw from this study because it was correlational. However, the researchers did control for many health and socioeconomic factors.
Our brains are incredibly complex – so many things can help or harm our body’s most precious organ. That’s why it’s crucial for practitioners to know the latest research.
How do you use the latest brain research in your work with patients? Please share your comment below.
By the way, the full study was published in the Annals of Neurology in July 2012.
I felt the article was a shallow one, once again inditing the hazards of saturated fats. Saturated fats provide essential short-chain fatty acids. I think fats, like other nutrients, should be balanced in the foods we eat.
Aloha! The study or at least the info posted about the study is really lacking substance. Do the authors of this post really still believe in the evils of saturated fat? The study probably did show what was reported and they in my opinion left out a lot of other considerations. No wonder my clients are so confused, they are getting only half the information!
I wholeheartedly agree with Yaelah Gal’s comment above.
Aloha!
Very frustrating to me when studies like these are published without revealing the sources of the fats! The source can make all the difference in the world! Another possible consideration is whether the source is from a processed fat. Virgin Olive oil as well as Virgin coconut oil may have produced a completely different result. I’m convinced it would.
I find the information on the brain fascinating, but I believe it is better received by patients if taught in simple terms. I was impressed by the PBS show featuring Dr. Daniel Amen teaching on the brain. However, in the end, it sounded like a tease with just enough information to make people want to buy his book . Some of your programs have felt the same way to me and I would like there to be more practical, applicable information in each program. I liked the way you came back with an application of mindfulness series for patients after the Mindfulness series. I would prefer having just the practical aspect.
Good General Info
The problem with the saturated fats is not those fats themselves, which are also needed for good health, but their source, and especially polysaturated fats or trans-fats. All vegetable oils besides Olive oil and coconut oil are harmful as they oxidize in relatively low temperature and are full of polysaturated compounds. Unfortunatey they are consumed in great quantities, such as Canola oil, which is a commercial name for an oil that was found 50 years ago to be unfit for human consumption. Fats that come from traditional real food sources, such as avocado, nuts, eggs and dairy derived from grass-fed animals are essential for good health – without which, the liver will not have the necessary building blocks to produce some of the hormones, myelin for the nervous system and all that is needed for brain health. Bon Apetite
Please, oh please check out Dr Mary Newport’s work
Interesting of course, but when it comes down to Nelson Mandella, who must have had a lousey diet for 30 years…how much is diet so important relative to the desire to get things right for yourself and others?
So this is the first time I have followed through to an article, and the article is really a tag, not much better than the many eHow articles. I also went to read further (or so I thought) to the free resources, and this too, was just to get my email address — which you already have — but this is used-car-salesperson mentality.
For those interested in substantive articles with no ulterior motive, ever, I recommend Rodales.
Geesh. This from a 35-year practitioner.
We know that DHA (Omega 3 essential fatty acids) is critical to the successful development of the brain from infancy. Could this study not just be revealing the increased Neroplasticity associated with its intake versus a normal rate of brain function decline in its absence ? Were all other prescribed medications, and non controlled substances factored in to this study? Was exercise a component? Even simple stretching increases blood flow to the brain and might not even be reported by subjects for instance as well as there overall fitness levels and sense of “we’ll being”.
I understand that this is a correlational study, but findings like this are so difficult to incorporate seriously without all the data.
Thank you for your Mindfulness Series however, it was really exceptional.
A few years ago I recall attending a Heart and Stroke conference in which one of the subjects discussed was the function of fats for optimal brain function and optimal levels of LDL Cholestrol levels.It was noted how frequently physicians focused on the numbers setting goals of 1 mmol/ltr . (Cdn.) in high risk heart disease pts. not realizing that in achieving these numbers many patients suffered moderate to severe depression! Great numbers ..bad results for the overall wellbeing of the patient.This is something that must be monitored very carefully!