Editors at Readers Digest - Brain power cookbook: 175 great recipes to think fast, keep calm under stress, and boost your mental performance

The human brain is a complex and intriguing organ that we are only just beginning to understand. Not only is it the seat of our consciousness and individuality, it enables our thoughts, emotions, movements, sleep and vital functions. Our brains require a lot of energy to function well, and a healthy diet is essential for providing our brains with power. As a clinician and a researcher, it is an exciting time to be working in the field of neuroscience, since we now know that the brain is capable of changing in response to the environment, and that we can influence the health and well-being of our brain throughout our lifespan.

In my clinical role, I have for many years faced the unfortunate task of informing people of irreparable brain damage. It is imperative that we take whatever steps we can to prevent damage and to bolster the resilience of our brains against disease. We need to take a multifactorial approach to keeping our brain healthy, and we must implement these strategies as early as possible, preferably no later than midlife. Nutrition is just one aspect of a healthy lifestyle preventative approach. It is also important that we exercise regularly, get adequate sleep, reduce stress and tackle depression, keep our brain active and maintain a balanced social and working life. In addition, the role of vascular risk factors in terms of maintaining brain health cannot be understated. In general, what is good for your heart is good for your brain. This means that we must strive to keep our blood pressure in check, keep our cholesterol and blood glucose levels down, and maintain a healthy weight. A healthy, balanced diet can help to tackle all of these factors, while also providing protection against free radicals and other harmful substances.

The Brainpower Cookbook will provide you with the inspiration you need to take control of your diet, your lifestyle and your brain. It not only covers the essentials behind the science of healthy nutrition, but provides recipes that are thoughtful, tasty and practical. It may even provide you with some interesting brain trivia to discuss at your next dinner party. The vast range of recipes incorporates a wide variety of fresh ingredients that will promote optimal vascular health, boost antioxidants, reduce levels of brain inflammation and, most importantly, promote a sense of well-being. This book is a must-have for any person, at any life stage, who values a healthy brain as much as indulging in culinary delights.

Associate Professor Sharon Naismith

Clinical Neuropsychologist and Head, Healthy Brain Ageing Program, Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, Australia

We all want to keep our brain in top condition, and it is becoming clear that nutrition makes a big difference. Optimal brain function relies on a good supply of just about every vitamin and mineral youve ever heard of, as well as a healthy cardiovascular system and a reliable fuel source. The best way to guarantee all of these is a healthy, balanced diet, rich in a wide variety of unprocessed foods. Increasingly, research is suggesting that supplements dont give us the same benefits as eating micronutrients in whole foods, so this book has assembled a great collection of recipes based on whole grains, fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, fish and lean meats. Of course theyre healthy, but theyre also packed with flavor so you can enjoy feeding your brain.

The brain is at the center of almost everything we do, yet for many years little was known about how the brain actually works. Thats changing now, due to technological advances in imaging and scanning that have allowed researchers to watch the brain in action.

Inside your skull, your brain is a mass of nerve cells, or neurons twenty billion or more in just the cerebral cortex, the part that thinks. Each neuron has a long tail called an axon that acts like a communications cable, covered with a layer of insulation (called myelin ), and carries electrical signals by branching and linking to perhaps a thousand other neurons. At each junction point, or synapse , chemicals called neurotransmitters take the message to receptors on the next neuron before being recycled or destroyed. The strength of the message can be increased or decreased by a variety of factors, such as chemical substances, hormones and your own behavior and thinking.

Some foods naturally contain substances that are similar to neurotransmitters in their structure and may have similar effects; other substances may help stimulate neurotransmitter production, block a receptor, or promote or inhibit the destruction of particular neurotransmitters, altering the duration of their action. This can be a very complex process (for an example, see ).

Many of the substances that travel in our blood are prevented from entering the brain by the bloodbrain barrier. This barrier exists thanks to the cells lining the brains blood vessels, which are wedged tightly together so that their membranes form a wall to exclude intruders. Only substances of a particular size, shape or composition can cross this wall. There are particular doors (transport carriers) that let in hormones, proteins and substances that we need for normal functioning.

It may seem odd to think that at any given time, your mood is the result of a combination of brain chemicals. Different substances are stimulated by events both in and out of your body. They can be affected by things that happen to you, such as winning a prize, losing your wallet, hearing a favorite song or being shouted at by a passing motorist. They can also be affected by what you eat.

These mood-affecting substances include the monoaminesneurotransmitters such as serotonin, melatonin, dopamine, noradrenaline and adrenaline (sometimes known as epinephrine), as well as related amine chemicals that can also affect neurotransmission. Each of the monoamines is transported into your cells by a specific transporter. Each has a particular role in the body, and each contributes to your overall mood and even perhaps some aspects of your personality.

Make time for a tea break. The many flavonoids and antioxidants in tea have been linked to the prevention of dementia.

The calm, feel-good message of the brain is serotonin. One of the building blocks of protein, an amino acid called tryptophan, is used to produce serotonin, so foods that are high in tryptophan, such as dairy foods, soy foods, eggs, meats and poultry, tend to promote a pleasant, relaxed state ready for sleep. Omega-3 fats also promote the production of serotonin.

Insulin helps tryptophan enter the brain, so foods that contain carbohydrate, which stimulates insulin secretion, may also help boost brain levels of serotonin. Carbohydrate also has the benefit of helping to prevent blood glucose levels from dropping overnight, which can cause a cranky mood and poor sleep. When it gets dark outside, the brain converts serotonin to melatonin, to promote sleep. Vitamin B6 and niacin are involved in serotonin production, too. Some antidepressant medications lift the mood by stopping serotonin from being broken down or removed too quickly.

Dopamine activates the pleasure/reward centers in particular parts of the brain, but it also appears to be involved in regulating the daily sleepwake cycle, helping to switch off melatonin when it is morning and time to be awake.

Adrenaline and noradrenaline are involved in the bodys emergency response to danger and promote a fight or flight reaction, enabling the heart to beat faster and giving a surge of energy to the muscles. Ideally, this is a short-term process that switches off when the danger has passed. During prolonged stress, this response causes problems as it inhibits the normal digestion of food, interferes with sleep and brain function (such as memory), and prevents a happy, contented mood, increasing the risk of depression.