Once upon a time, it was commonly believed that the brain was in control. The commander of our body, it was widely considered an overlord, one that told everything else what to do while also thinking noble thoughts or, more likely in my case, daydreaming.
As time and studies advanced, it became obvious that that wasn’t the case, that our brain wasn’t a series of slimy ropes sending electrical impulses around, coldly directing the organs and muscles and sinews, but rather in communication with them. Especially our gut.
Actually, according to the Clinical Nutritionist Dr Stephanie J Moore, our gut is, if anything, the master of our brain: “four times more information passes up from the gut to the brain than from the brain to the gut.”
So convinced is Moore that the gut is the cradle of good brain health – and by extension good mood, good energy levels, good mental health, and so on — that she has devoted her latest book, Eat Your Brain Happy, to the pursuit of fostering a better brain via the gut.
This intrigued me. Not only because I’ve long suspected the brain fog that becomes my constant companion at the end of the year is the result of popping many mince pies, and wanted to know for sure — but also because the idea of catering my diet to make me more alert appeals. So I wanted to know exactly what I should be loading up on.
Moore’s response to my mince pie dilemma was fortunately, not to tell me that I shouldn’t have had any at all (sacrilege), but rather to focus on getting enough nutrients. “Without these, the brain simply cannot function well, never mind thrive — and short-term that could mean brain fog, inability to concentrate, poor memory recall, general fatigue, but if it persists there’s a risk of neurodegeneration, where over decades, a poorly nourished brain can develop dementia or Parkinson’s.”
So more kale it is. And, chewing, apparently. Moore recommends bearing these rules in mind if you want to give your brain a hand.
As a woman with a robust appetite, this filled me with glee, Moore advising that “The brain is incredibly nutrient and energy hungry, so if you’re under-eating, or eating nutrient-poor foods, the gut and the brain are likely to suffer.” She suggests making sure at least one of your daily meals contains “mostly wholesome, unprocessed foods, a range of colourful plant foods, and natural protein sources such as fish, eggs, meat, soy, beans, and lentils.”
“A dehydrated brain is an anxious brain,” Moore says. The answer to this isn’t just to lay off dehydrating factors like booze, but also to hydrate well in the morning after having been asleep for hours. “That’s really key, so before you have any coffee or tea, make a commitment to yourself to have a large, room temperature glass of water with a little lemon or line juice and a tiny pinch or salt.”
Moore says this is “imperative”, that “our brain is cleaned of toxins and plaques that build up each day during good quality sleep.” You may not like reading this, but she repeats the oft-issued maxim that you do really need to move away from digital devices to prep for that all-important sleep; “our digital devices can be over-stimulating to the nervous system, and they’re one of the most common causes for a poor night’s sleep and sluggish brain the next day.”
If you’re anything like me, you’ll have some go-to vegetables, and you’ll buy them every time you do a shop. Moore says this is a mistake, that keeping your gut microbes happy and well-balanced requires “as diverse a range of plant-based foods as possible, so rather than eating the same one or two over and over, include a variety.” She encourages richly-coloured fruits (including berries, kiwi, and green apples), as well as bitter leaves like rocket, watercress, or chicory because they contain “potent prebiotic fibre that feeds your keystone gut microbes.”
Every single good medical clinic I’ve ever been to bangs on about chewing, but that doesn’t mean it happens in practise. I’m going to redouble my efforts. “However great your diet, if you’re not chewing thoroughly and taking time to focus on your food, you’ll impair your ability to digest and absorb the essential nutrients from your food, and you are far more likely to have large, undigested food particles being passed into the intestine, which can upset digestion and cause bloating and discomfort due to dysbiosis, where ‘unfriendly’ gut bugs outcompete the good ones – and this is especially true of poorly-digested proteins.”
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The best five foods for brain health:
Years ago, Moore told me that eggs are the best on-to-go food you could carry around, and I’ve since had a hard boiled egg on me every time I travel or might be in a situation where I can’t get my hands on the sort of foods I like. Beyond being easy to chuck in your handbag, they’re particularly good for the brain, she says: “they’re highly-absorbable protein, which is required for mending our tissues, making enzymes for good digestion, and core ingredients for brain chemistry — and yolks are an exceptional source of choline, which is needed for the brain to make acetylcholine, a key neuro-chemical for anxiety and general brain health.”
Think mackerel, sardines, and herring. “These small fish don’t have the heavy toxic load of large fish like tuna, and contain good amounts of the essential and brain healthy fat: omega 3.” They’re also an excellent source of protein.
This family of foods — which include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, and, the brassica superstar, broccoli sprouts — “are nutrient-rich, full of great prebiotic fibre to feed your gut microbes, and their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties help protect the brain from oxidative damage.”
Scatter liberally! “Pumpkin seeds are fab for their zinc and magnesium content, which are both important for the gut and brain.” They also contain healthy fats, which Moore says the brain is largely made up of and therefore appreciates being a part of your diet.
… or cacao nibs/very dark chocolate that’s more that 75 per cent cocoa, for that matter. Very good for the brain, says Moore, because, “with high levels of magnesium to calm the nervous system, polyphenols that feed the gut microbes, plus tryptophan, a precursor to the ‘happy’ brain chemicals serotonin and anandamide (which is known to increase oxytocin, which is our love and connection brain chemical).”
