Get Easy Health Digest™ in your inbox and don’t miss a thing when you subscribe today. Plus, get the free bonus report, Mother Nature’s Tips, Tricks and Remedies for Cholesterol, Blood Pressure & Blood Sugar as my way of saying welcome to the community!
Add 11 years to your brain
Mashed potatoes… stuffing… buttered biscuits… kale.
One of those foods doesn’t belong on the list, right?
But, including greens on your table regularly could help you hold on to your precious memories longer — like more than a decade!
Recently, researchers have found that consuming one or two portions of kale, spinach and other green, leafy vegetables a day can prevent the cognitive decline that steals your memories…
For better memories, go for the greens
“Adding a daily serving of green, leafy vegetables to your diet may be a simple way to foster your brain health,” says Martha Clare Morris of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Morris is the author of a study that was published in December in the journal Neurology. The study subjects were 960 people ranging in age from 58 to 99. None had dementia.
The participants were divided into five equal groups based on how often they ate green, leafy vegetables. The top group reported eating about 1.3 servings per day, while the bottom group only consumed an average of 0.1 servings a day…. almost none at all.
During the five years Morris followed the participants, she administered thinking and memory tests. All participants showed an overall decline of 0.08 standardized units per year.
However, during a ten-year follow-up period, those who ate the most green, leafy vegetables had a rate of decline that was slower by 0.05 standard units per year, or the equivalent of being eleven years younger in age.
But what if you don’t like greens?
Let’s face it: not everyone is a fan of green, leafy vegetables. And, most of us have been scared off of eating salads because of the low-fat myth…
But forget everything you’ve been told about keeping your dressing on the side… that’s because good fats are full of disease-fighting nutrients. So, if you’re avoiding salad dressings because you think they’re bad for you, think again!
The truth is that the fats in your salad dressing will actually help you to absorb the memory-saving nutrients in your salad! Read more about why you shouldn’t be skimping on salad dressing, and about the best kinds of fats to use on your salads.
Don’t like store-bought dressings? No problem! Here’s how to make a homemade dressing infused with rosemary and get all the impressive brain-protecting power of this aromatic herb.
For a fragrant dressing, simply run the following ingredients through your blender:
- 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
- 1 small garlic clove
- 2 Tbsps. water
- ¼ tsp. ground pepper
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves (or ¼ tsp. dried)
- ½ tsp. coarse salt
- ½ c. extra-virgin olive oil
(Pour the olive oil in last, in a thin stream, as the blender runs).
Add some sweetness and crunch to your salad!
Once you’ve assembled and dressed your salad, it’s time to add a little sweetness!
Nuts, especially almonds and walnuts, are considered the best brain food. They contain both riboflavin an l-carnitine, two key nutrients that can have a positive effect on neurological activity and prevent cognitive decline.
These nutrients are associated with reduced risk for the inflammation that can cause brain disorders, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Of course another way to get a dose of healthy oils is to add fatty fish to your diet. My favorite way is a true ceasar salad with anchovies or salmon with my salad.
Editor’s note: Did you know that when you take your body from acid to alkaline you can boost your energy, lose weight, soothe digestion, avoid illness and achieve wellness? Click here to discover The Alkaline Secret to Ultimate Vitality and revive your life today!
Sources:
- Will a salad a day keep memory problems away? — American Academy of Neurology
- Eating Salad Every Day Keeps Brains 11 Years Younger And Prevents Dementia, Study Shows — Newsweek
- Eating Leafy Greens May Slow Memory Loss — Consumer Reports
- 3 ways to reap rosemary’s impressive health benefits — Easy Health Options
- The best holiday food to hamper holiday weight gain — Easy Health Options
- Sugar Free Cinnamon Roasted Almonds — Rachel Cooks
- 5 ways cinnamon can keep you slim and healthy Easy Health Options
- For health’s sake, stop scrimping on the salad dressing Easy Health Options
- Nutrients and bioactives in green leafy vegetables and cognitive decline — Neurology