Food+and+the+Brain

Food and the Brain
**Almost everything we consume affects the brain. So before you take another bite of something, think about its impact on your health. Wither it is a slice of pizza, four shots of 1800 or a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, it all affects the brain. Yes, the shots of alcohol will rush to the brain faster and affect the brain even more but the poor food choices will do just the same. Alcohol affects the brain in many different ways such as blurred vision, slow reaction time, difficulty walking and impaired memory. There are foods such as the pizza, donuts and eggs that affect the brain over a period of time. It is usually called “precursor-loading” and would include tryptophan and lysine. Their purpose is to ﻿﻿ bias ﻿ the function of a specific transmitter system; usually to enhance its function in the brain. Both tryptophan and lysine are essential in the nutrition of humans and animals. ** **“The omega-3 fatty acids in fish might protect you from depression, which could keep the memory center of your brain from shrinking -- literally. About half of those with major depression release large amounts of glucocorticoids into their blood stream. These are the same steroids released by prolonged stress. The longer the depression, the more severe the shrinkage. The rate of depression in the U.S. has increased 100-fold in the past century. This increase coincides with Americans deserting omega-3 fatty acids in favor of omega 6 fatty acids, the kind found in soybean and corn oil. This is the major oil in processed and junk foods. Boost your omega-3 intake. Eat fish two or three times a week and switch to olive oil in your cooking and baking.” The benefits to eating omega 3 include improving memory and learning and helping us fight against mental disorders. Everything is always good in moderation and fatty acids are essential for normal brain function. “Researches have proved that children that have had omega 3 foods improve in reading and spelling and had fewer behavior problems.” **

 **__Bibliography __** "Essortment Articles: Free Online Articles on Health, Science, Education & More..." //Essortment Articles: Free Online Articles on Health, Science, Education & More.// Web. 9 Dec. 2010. <[]>. "Brain Food | Belly Bytes." //Belly Bytes//. Web. 9 Dec. 2010. <[]>.