Feed your brain
2018 is fast approaching and we only have a few days left before a new year starts unfolding. This is typically the time when we start drawing conclusions about the 365 days we just spent on the planet, and possibly what we want to do differently over the course of the next 12 months.
A good place to start for your New Year’s Resolution is food: today more than ever we are aware of the impact that what we put on our plates has on us and this is something we can easily control with minimum effort, all we need is the willingness to do so. Although the right nutrients can be beneficial for the whole organism, I am vastly concerned about the brain, which I consider one of my most valuable working tools as an interpreter. If ageing and decay are inevitable, I still want to do my best to preserve this biological jewel for as much as possible, maintaining mental plasticity and agility, together with memory functionality and learning abilities – features that we all know are most invaluable within the small confines of a booth.
Food and nutrition are indeed strongly connected to cognitive functions, both from a more “mechanical” perspective (i.e. the cognitive process that triggers hunger and regulates the whole digestive system) and from a “performance” point of view. A correlation has been found between the food that we consume and some psychiatric diseases, as it happens in the case of fish: the higher the intake, the lower the risk of suffering from depression. Additionally, metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity have a higher rate among people affected by psychiatric diseases compared to the general population. Our diet can contribute to synaptic plasticity and promote verbal intelligence, learning abilities and boost memory capacity – sounds to me like the perfect deal for us interpreters. Moreover, is has been shown that a reduction of the calorific intake, even by up to 40%*, can reduce the oxidative damage to cell proteins- in laymen’s terms this means that all the structures that make up the cells of our body remain intact and work longer. What can we say, apparently less is indeed more.
Of course, we have to remember that diet is just one of the pillars, and it has to be coupled with exercise and sleep. These three factors combined have more powerful consequences than we expect as they impact our body at a molecular level within the inner workings of our cells. Maybe we should make “Eat, sleep, exercise, repeat” our motto for 2018.
Let’s now look at what we have to put in our shopping bags next time we go to the market (better food quality, better prices than you conventional supermarket!) in order to bring about the change in our bodies and minds:
Avocados: rejoice, oh millennial interpreter – you are officially allowed to devour avocado after avocado and claim it is for the good of your career. Some researchers go as far as saying this is possibly the most perfect food of all, and we would not disagree. Besides being a great source of vitamins, avocados are 75% mostly monounsaturated fats, the same healthy kind found in olive oil, which support the production of acetylcholine, the element that stimulates memory and learning. Let’s make some guacamole and dip away during a break.
Dark chocolate: this option surely comes in handy when the cravings are haunting you! Dark chocolate (with at least 75% cocoa) contains all sorts of good stuff to boost your brain activity: it is one of the few dietary sources of anandamide, the neurotransmitter called for many understandable reasons the “bliss molecule”, and it is also a source of tryptophan, the amino acid that leads to the production of serotonin, the hormone that makes us feel so good. Surprise surprise, chocolate is an appreciable source of the anti-stress mineral magnesium, which we will look into more details a couple of points down the list. Adding to the list, the amount of caffeine is just right - enough to boost concentration, memory, and mood yet not enough to make you wired. Chocolate is high in neuroprotective flavonoids which promote brain plasticity and help brain cells live longer, stimulating blood flow to the brain to aid memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem solving. Stock up and bring it to the booth!
(Blue)berries: besides looking beautiful on top of cupcakes, berries are bursting with flavonoids, those potent antioxidants that protect brain cells from oxidative damage. Research suggested that they can improve memory, learning, and decision making. Sign me up.
Tea: as if we needed one more reason to put the kettle on and brew a cuppa. Freshly-brewed tea is rich in antioxidants, and its caffeine content will help us concentrate and learn more without keeping us awake at night with our hearts racing if we have one too many. Also, it tastes pretty awesome.
Magnesium: not a conventional foodstuff, but I have decided to include it in the list as it plays a fundamental role in naturally reducing stress, which we all could do with right? A couple of added bonuses to having the right level of magnesium in our blood are better sleep and less migraines. It can be found in green leafy veg, yoghurts, bananas and almonds.
Please try to buy sustainably-sourced, environmentally-friendly, locally produced and fair trade produce whenever possible – not only to protect our brains and fulfil our goals but to also have a responsible attitude to our planet!
Whether you used them to create recipes or possibly just as a snack through the working day, these will give you and your brain an extra push to make it till the end of the day.
*in mice.
