Mccabe Feed Your Brain

The Cookbook
1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-1-77559-357-7
Verlag: PublishDrive
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 240 Seiten

This is the ultimate collection of quick, easy and delicious recipes to keep your brain in tip-top shape. Following on from the highly successful , Delia McCabe shares all her tips and tricks for preparing meals that will nurture not just your body and soul but also your brain. Best of all, they're recipes the whole family will love, from delicious cookies to tasty Thai stews. Learn to gather, prepare and eat food with purpose and intent!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mccabe, Delia

Leseproben

INTRODUCTION: FEEDING YOUR HUNGRY BRAIN

There are very few people who ever think about feeding their brain — and there are even fewer books to show you how to accomplish this with enjoyment and ease. When you feed your brain what it needs to work optimally, other health challenges, such as stubborn weight gain, blood-glucose imbalances, rapid ageing, low energy levels and sleep challenges, fall away naturally. Why? Your brain is your primary survival organ, therefore it is also the hungriest and most nutrient-demanding organ that you possess. It gets first choice of the nutrients that you eat, and if you are short-changing it by eating the wrong foods and avoiding the right ones, you can’t solve any health challenge. In other words, if your brain is malnourished, you can be sure that the rest of your body is going to battle to maintain health.

Fortunately, I’ve been researching what you need to feed your brain for over 20 years, and now you can enjoy the fabulous domino effect of great overall health by following my simple approach. This recipe book focuses on delicious foods, prepared with ease, which will improve your memory, mood, focus, concentration and learning capacity — and as fabulous side effects allow you to lose weight or maintain your ideal weight with ease, enjoy increased energy levels, sleep soundly, and generally just become a happier person. And, if you’re wondering if it’ll also help children reach their potential, the answer is yes! My ongoing research and 7-step approach started because of the children in my initial research group, and then I started to apply the principles I had discovered to feed my own children, my husband and of course myself. Over the years I’ve refined this approach to include all the latest findings related to feeding our precious brains. If you want your transition to a healthier eating pattern to be simple (and delicious), you’ve found the right book. Over time, I’ve simplified and perfected the process of making delicious ‘brain’ food quickly.

In this complex, competitive and often overwhelming world we have created for ourselves, maintaining optimal mental wellbeing is of great importance — in fact, it can make the difference between feeling moody and negative, with slow, unclear thinking and feeling emotionally stable and positive with quick, focused thinking. Unfortunately, this wellbeing seems to be challenging to attain and sustain, despite the attempts that many people make to find balance and wellbeing through a huge variety of healthy eating and exercise patterns. For example, the use of prescription medication — such as anti-depressants for people suffering from depression, anxiety, insomnia and social phobia; as well as medication used to manage childhood inattention, a lack of focus and behavioural challenges — has been increasing over the past few decades and there is no sign of this abating. Something is obviously wrong with how we are living, managing and experiencing our lives, and although poor food choices aren’t the only reason for these challenges, improving food choices should be the foundation of all the other helpful approaches. Why? Because thinking occurs across a complex and sophisticated network of cells, chemicals, membranes and molecules within our brain, all of which require vast quantities of nutrients to function optimally.

Weighing in at about 1.3 kilograms (2.8 pounds) — a mere 2 per cent of your ideal body weight — and containing 160,000 kilometres (99,419 miles) of blood vessels, while using up a fifth of the heart’s output of blood and 25 per cent of the oxygen you breathe, your brain is an amazingly active and demanding organ. The human brain is hungry for whole, nutrient-dense food with which to fuel its never-ending demand for energy and sophisticated functioning. It shouldn’t, therefore, come as a surprise that psychological challenges due to nutrient deficiencies are experienced before physical ailments are noticeable. For example, moodiness, depression, an inability to focus and concentrate, and poor learning and memory capacity are psychological challenges that many people face regularly, if not daily, and simply brush off as normal or just part of ageing.

Although more and more research is being directed towards the importance of good nutrition for mental health, which I address in my book , most people are still largely unaware of the impact of nutrition on brain function, probably due to the brain’s performance still generally being shrouded in mystery. This is not surprising, because it takes about seventeen years for research to filter down from academics to the general population, and possibly longer with a subject as complex as nutritional neuroscience. However, the research is accumulating: what we eat directly affects brain function. If we want to cope in this busy, complex world, which includes the multitasking and brain-draining tasks we demand of our busy brains, we need to consider this issue seriously. Unfortunately, despite all the technological advances that we enjoy today, we have less and less time to spend on preparing tasty and nutrient-dense foods while, ironically, we need them more than ever because a stressed brain uses up more nutrients than does a calm brain.

Thankfully, you do not need to swallow horrid concoctions, consume vast quantities of expensive supplements, or eat boring, bland food to support your brain’s optimal health. When you keep in mind that the best food is unprocessed, and you learn how to make it tasty and enticing with the right fats, herbs and spices, you will enjoy supporting your busy brain and the benefits that this approach provides. This book is full of recipes, tips and tricks to make eating to support your brain’s health a pleasure. In addition, the brain loves stimulation in the form of flavour, texture, colour and variety, so it’s important to ensure that food smells, looks and tastes great. Enhancing the brain’s enjoyment of eating can also help stimulate digestive juices, which in turn aids optimal digestion and absorption. When these aspects of eating are provided along with nutrient density and variety, food can be very satisfying, healthy and delicious.

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Over the past decade, there has been so much excitement about supplements for brain health and the introduction of exotic new superfoods, that many people have forgotten that real, easily accessible foods should form the foundation of optimal brain nutrition. Foods that are easy to find, don’t travel halfway around the world from exotic destinations, have been eaten and enjoyed for millennia and contain a wealth of nutrients that are essential for both our physical and mental health need to be the cornerstone of our brain nourishment approach.

The majority of the recipes in this book are simple to prepare and allow you to mix and match according to your specific taste preference, the seasonal availability of produce and what you have in your pantry and refrigerator. As you get into the habit of preparing and eating these meals your energy levels will naturally rise and you will feel satisfied for longer after each meal. This will automatically help to stabilize your blood glucose levels, which naturally leads to fewer food cravings and can lead to weight loss over time if you need to shed weight. Feeding your brain allows your body to find your ideal weight, which for some people may mean weight gain — for example, people who have had challenges with appetite or food intolerances — or for children who are fussy eaters. In addition, your brain will get more of the nutrients it needs to function optimally, so you will be able to focus and concentrate more effectively, which leads to improved memory. On top of this, nutrient-dense foods have also been linked to improved mood. Supporting your sophisticated brain by eating the best possible nutrients is the simplest way to achieve these goals. You just need a simple understanding of what the brain needs to work effectively — and the recipes, tips and tricks in this book will guide you.

Feeding your brain what it needs to function optimally is not challenging, although it does take some planning and forethought. But rest assured that the benefits far outweigh the changes required — and they last a lifetime.

We need to use the knowledge we have about what our brains require to function optimally to support their wellbeing and health into old age. In order to feel the benefit of a fully functioning and healthy brain — which can impact your ability to live your best life and age well — you must take your food choices seriously and make good decisions.

These decisions can do two things: they can either support us in fulfilling our dreams and goals, or they can undermine us, because what we choose to eat can support our thinking, the choices and decisions we make, how we manage challenges and adversity and, ultimately, the quality of our lives. Enjoy living your best life by feeding your brain!

SUMMARY OF THE 7 STEPS TO A LIGHTER, BRIGHTER YOU!

In I delve deeply into the science behind how feeding your brain leads to improved mental wellbeing, which includes the ability to improve focus and concentration, naturally improve learning and memory capacity as well as mood, and weight loss over time if you need to lose weight. Here is a quick summary of those seven steps.

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