These Foods That Stabilize Blood Sugar Are Good For The Brain, Too
Plus, does the order you eat food really matter? And the latest on intermittent fasting
Hello, everyone. Thank you for all the well wishes while I was battling the flu. One of the worst things about whenever I’m sick is losing my appetite. The flipside is that once I’m on the mend, my food enthusiasm comes back in full force! I’m channeling my resurgence of appetite for the menus I’m planning for my classes at Rancho La Puerta in a few weeks. I’ll also be collaborating with the Ranch’s chef Reyna Venegas on a brain-healthy dinner featuring regional Mexican foods. (If you want to join me at Rancho La Puerta this November, I have some special discounts available for BHK subscribers. Details at the end of this post.)
This year, one of the focuses for Brain Health Kitchen is the importance of fostering a healthy metabolism as part of maintaining a healthy brain.
A few takeaways from last time:
Your brain thrives on glucose as its primary source of fuel, but it only needs a small dose for optimal function.
Too much blood glucose in circulation becomes a source of chronic inflammation in the body and the brain.
Abnormal glucose metabolism progresses from insulin resistance to pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes, which doubles the risk of Alzheimer’s.
The brain’s memory center—the hippocampus—is especially vulnerable to the impact of metabolic diseases. Insulin resistance here can be an inciting factor in developing Alzheimer’s.
Which brings us to today’s discussion of which foods are best for fending off metabolic diseases. We’ll also delve into the issue of how and when you eat. Is it advisable to enjoy your food in a certain order? And what about fasting? Intermittent fasting has been in vogue for a while now, but does this practice actually contribute to metabolic health? We’ll look at the evidence.
One Big Takeaway: There is no “superfood” for metabolic health
Just like with eating for better brain health, it’s not really about one food. There is no “superfood” for metabolic health. What matters most is dietary pattern—what you eat most of the time in your everyday life. So let’s take a look at the backbone of a brain-healthy dietary pattern to see if eating this way also serves you well for metabolic health.
In a nutshell, when you are eating for brain health:
Most of the food you eat is in its whole form or minimally processed.
You limit or avoid ultra processed foods such as refined carbohydrates and sugary drinks.
You include foods from these food groups on a daily or weekly rotation: beans and legumes, berries, vegetables, leafy greens, nuts and seeds, and whole grains.
Your eating pattern is a lifestyle not a diet, it includes: staying active, enjoying the foods you love in the company of others, and eating to optimize good quality sleep and reduce stress.
So, if you already have a brain-healthy eating manifesto, do you need one for your blood sugar, too? Perhaps. Keeping that metabolism humming along gets more difficult with age.