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NUTRITION FOR BRAINPOWER. · No Forking Nonsense - The Nutritionist UK

• 0:00
  @paulthenutritionist: Welcome to no forking nonsense. The podcast that slices through the nonsense and serves you straight talking nutrition advice that actually works. I'm Paul, a registered nutritionist and your host. And every episode, I'll be debunking diet myths, breaking down confusing food advice and giving you practical science backed tips to help you eat better, feel better and get your edge back. There'll be no fads, no shite, just real talk that makes sense.
• 0:28
  Let's get stuck in. Hello and welcome to another episode of No Forking Nonsense and today we are talking about brainpower. Nutrition, brainpower, how to get the most out of your brain, what the research actually says, are there any superfoods? Does lion mane make you a genius? Is MCT oil and 80 pound nootropics?
• 0:51
  What we all need, if we take these we're going get a photographic memory. We're going to be talking through all of that. I'm going talk you through how to make the most of things, give you a bit of an understanding about what our brain actually needs and see if you can hack your brain to get the most out of your concentration in your day as much as possible. First thing to say is that often brainpower is a dietary pattern problem rather than missing special supplements, obviously. So today I'm going to walk you through the foods, nutrients, the actual research and what to eat day to day.
• 1:26
  So the first principle is that your brain runs on glucose, so the brain uses 20% of your resting energy expenditure. So obviously we get glucose from carbohydrates, so if you are cutting carbohydrates, first place to start is reintroduce carbohydrates. If you're not eating enough carbohydrates that's going to impact your brain and if your brain is lagging that's going to impact your concentration, your mood, your sleep, your hormones, which we'll get into, like, don't call carbohydrates. Stable blood glucose will improve attention, working memory, but then large spikes and crashes will impair cognitive performance. So in this example, for breakfast, you could have a green yoghurt, oats, berries, nuts.
• 2:11
  You could have eggs, whole grain toast, fruit. You could have protein smoothie with smokes, because carbohydrates are literally fuel. And then protein is a neurotransmitter that of gives us the building blocks and then the fibre in it will slow a bit of a glucose release. Skipping breakfast and smashing coffee is literally just self inflicted brain fog. So it's super important that we are giving our brain what it needs.
• 2:38
  When it comes to proteins, so neurotransmitters in our brain are built up from amino acids and we get amino acids from proteins. Complete proteins ideally, so dopamine comes from tyrosine, serotonin comes from tryptophan, so we need to ensure that we are getting adequate protein to maximise our cognitive resilience and research links adequate protein intake to improved alertness, better executive function, reduced fatigue, so all the research tells us that you need a minimum of 1.6 per kilogram of body weight other than the NHS research which is mental. I don't know why it's still 1.2, it might even be less than that. Remember when I was in parliament working at kind of government level or advising, not advising on part of our all parliamentary groups. In this room we're banging on about all the time, so 1.6 ideally, 2.2 if you're an athlete.
• 3:33
  But foods that actually matter when it comes to complete proteins, amino acids, eggs, lean meat, fish, green yoghurt, tofu tempura to an extent, lentils, milk. So 45 of protein per day is not healthy at all. It's going to underpower you and leave you feeling like shit and you'll probably make up the shortfall in too much carbohydrate, refined foods and you just don't feel very good. So omega-three fatty acids and brain structure, obviously most people kind of link omega-three to a healthier brain. The brain is very liquid dense and DHA is a structural component of non oral membranes.
• 4:17
  So meta analysis shows us that DHA improves processing speed in your brain, it supports your memory, may reduce depressive symptoms so we want to be getting as much oily fish as possible so salmon, mackerel, sardines, heroin. I take omega-three supplements because I don't eat enough oily fish, I'm a massive fish fan. So I have four grams a day and that again aligns with both cognitive function but also because I have arthritis and there's a lot of research linking arthritis symptoms. Joints with having high quality EPA and DHA. So you want a high quality omega-three supplement or two portions of oily fish wheat, that is just basic nutrition.
• 4:59
  When it comes to iron, low iron, especially you ladies out there, will reduce your oxygen delivery, which obviously increases fatigue and then poor concentration. So if you're a lady of a reproductive age, you're an endurance athlete, if you're a vegetarian, it's likely you've probably got a bit of an iron deficiency even without having anaemia, which will impair attention and cognitive function. Obviously red meat, liver, which I don't know anyone who eats liver, lentils, spinach, fortified cereals. I'd say with spinach it's really hard to get enough iron in. People think, do you remember Popeye?
• 5:34
  That if you just have a tin of spinach, I don't know who's having a tin of spinach either but having spinach is enough but the quonsini is quite high so these days most cereals are fortified with iron and other key vitamins so worth having a look on there. But pair, obviously pair any clump source iron with vitamin C as well to increase the absorption. B vitamins and brain energy, so B12, B6 and folate are involved in your homocysteine, metabolism, DNA synthesis, neural function and low B12 will cause brain fog, mood changes, nerve dysfunction. So again you're at high risk if you don't eat meat or if you have low animal intake. And also older adults who often have a bit of A, B vitamin deficiencies like again meat, dairy, eggs, fortified plant milks, you can get B vitamins from those so something if needed but I'd probably test first if you're unsure about that when you get a test from your GP just say I'm a little bit unsure about my B vitamins, I've spoke to a nutritionist who says I should get my blood stand and they will do them for you, especially if you're a vegetarian.
• 6:52
  Polyphenols and cognitive protection, so this is where berries come in because you might have seen a lot of links to berries. Research links higher polyphenol intake to improve memory, reduce cognitive decline and better vascular function, so blueberries, strawberries, also 70% dark chocolate, but don't take it before bedtime. People seem to think it's a great bedtime, pre bed snack, isn't, it's got loads of caffeine in it. Obviously because of cocoa beans, green tea, coffee, a moderate intake. So these will enhance a good diet but they don't rescue a bad one.
• 7:28
  Now there are links to the Mediterranean diet and brain health for obvious reasons with content of micronutrition, healthy fats, meat, fish. So this is probably the most consistent dietary pattern associated with reduced Alzheimer's risks, better long term cognitive function, low inflammation and it's mainly because those core components are olive oil, oily fish, legumes, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, moderate dairy, minimal ultra processed foods. Although it's not that sexy, it works. So if you're someone who really wants to optimise your diet to improve your brain health and cognitive function, perhaps you've got exams coming up, perhaps you're studying, perhaps you really want to capitalise on things, then probably start eating more of a Mediterranean diet. And the other thing you definitely need to be doing is hydrating properly because even mild diet dehydration will impair your attention, your working memory.
• 8:28
  So we want to be aiming for I say about 1.5 litres per 25 kilograms of body weight or two to three litres of fluid daily, just depending on kind of what you're doing. Coffee does count but alcohol doesn't but I don't want you completely refuelling on caffeine because that's going to impact sleep and if I'm honest with you, the most, the easiest biohack here is to just get your sleep right. Listen to the podcast episode where we tackle sleep and you'll be well away. I was asked a question once about ketones. The brain can use ketones and the ketogenic diet is like one of the biggest it's really annoying the ketogenic diet for a nutritionist because people just don't get it and they think they're doing a ketogenic diet but they're not and then they tip themselves out of ketogenesis but they say I get results but they're getting results because they're not consuming enough carbohydrate and they're basically carb back loading but that's a separate conversation but usually they don't know a ketogenic diet is basically having less than 50 grams of carbohydrate a day and trying to teach your body to use ketones as opposed to glucose.
• 9:35
  Your brain can use ketones but they help certainly in epilepsy but there's no strong evidence that ketogenic diets improve cognition long term compared to a band size because our brain literally needs glucose. So most studies tell us that mental clarity needs stable high blood sugar, reduced ultra processing day so you know it's really not worth it. And also it takes twelve days to get into ketogenic medicine, those twelve days are horrendous and it's just not worth it. So practical brain power day of eating for you. So here is a simple template to become a genius.
• 10:20
  So the first thing is get some sleep, that's what I'm going say, start is wake up, have a good 500ml, of water, then for breakfast we're going to have, we need to source protein, carbs and fibres, so eggs, whole grain toast, fruit, really simple. Lunch, lean protein, complex carbs and veg, so chicken, quinoa, mixed salad, splash of olive oil, A snack between lunch and dinner, a Greek yogurt and some berries or nuts and some fruit and for the nuts that is. And then for dinner, oily fish or a lean protein, potatoes or rice, vegetables. Throughout the day, as I say, 500ml on waking, I want you to ensure you're hitting at least two-three liters a day. Have some green tea between lunch and dinner access, a little bit of research around that.
• 11:08
  Have a coffee with your breakfast because again, there benefits to cognitive performance there. And that's it. Make sure you prioritise and sleep because brainpower is literally built on stable energy, adequate protein, omega-three, micronutrient sufficiency, hydration, seed. What isn't going to help you is mushroom coffee. So if you want a sharper brain, it starts with a sharper, boring diet.
• 11:36
  But I hope that that structure there has given you something. If you've got kids who are looking to start studying, I know for me just really, really quickly, I really struggled growing up, couldn't concentrate. I had ADHD and it was only when I started to understand the power of nutrition, hydration, getting key nutrients in my body that actually decide to learn stuff so this stuff really, really does help. We are made up of the food that we eat and if your body is made up of Victoria sponge then your cells are also going to be made up of Victoria sponge so. That makes sense.
• 12:10
  Any other questions, mean please do message me, tell me if you found this useful and I shall speak to you next week. Ciao guys. That's it for this episode of No Forking Nonsense where the fluff gets binned and the facts get served. If you found this helpful, share it with with someone who could do some clarity from an expert. That's me, by the way.
• 12:25
  And make sure you hit follow so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you want more straight talking, no nonsense nutrition advice, come and find me on Instagram at Paul the nutritionist. Ist until next time. Eat smart, feel human again and stop falling for the forking nonsense. See you next time.