Many of us indulge in taking good care of our bodies, such as going to the gym and/or maintaining a healthy diet capable of fulfilling all our nutritional needs.
But when we look at the mirror, the only assessment we make of our physical health is whether or not we look as toned as we want, completely disregarding how our internal state of being looks like.
While other organs do reveal through pain that something is wrong with them, the brain is much more complex than that.
The brain does not give warning signs or shooting pains to indicate that something is wrong, it simply starts to fail in performing core functions, such as memory, coherence, etc.
The Deteriorating Brain Health In America
It is estimated that by the year 2050, around 14 million Americans would be suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease (lest we find a cure) and needing full time care. For perspective, that is a number equivalent to the combined populations of NYC, LA, and Chicago.
Around 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety disorders, hence it has now raised alarms about the dire need to address brain health from both a physical and psychological perspective instead of shelving it.
But surprisingly, brain health is not that difficult to maintain. While a disease which has already taken over will definitely require medication to treat, for someone who is still young and safe from the onset of any brain-related illnesses, maintaining optimal brain health may not be as difficult as you perceive. In fact, all it takes is just the consumption of one thing: fats.
The Connection Between Fats and Optimal Brain Health
To figure out how consumption of fats relates to brain health, we need to dive into a bit of scientific research.
We’ve already established that Alzheimer’s disease has emerged to become a major concern in the US considering the ever-increasing number of people who are suffering from it.
You know what is another major cause of concern in the US? Diabetes. And, you may be shocked to know this, research has established a connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s, with the latter even being called the third type of diabetes.
Basically, the same principles apply to Alzheimers as do a person suffering from diabetes, with the only difference being that the Alzheimers patient takes a hit on the brain caused by insulin resistance.
This brain damage is multi-faceted, as it results in oxidative damage, neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline. All of us know what causes diabetes: a superfluous consumption of carbohydrates and sugars, combined with unhealthy fats.
Why The Sudden Spike In Brain Health Issues
The problem arose when the country shifted all of its attention on fat. Since people who suffered from diabetes or other weight-related issues had great stores of fat in their body, it was naturally assumed that consumption of fat was the culprit behind their ailments.
Hence, many people began to shy away from consuming any fat altogether, while carbs and sugars continued to remain an integral part of our diet.
However, in hindsight, it was absolutely not the right thing to do, considering that our current state of elevated insulin levels finds roots in that shift in dietary habits.
Not only that, but less consumption of healthy fat meant we became hungrier more quickly, and consumed more carbs and sugars to compensate for that hunger, becoming even fatter than we were before.
So What’s The Solution?
As we hinted before, the solution to maintaining a healthy physical state lies in the consumption of something which we abandoned during the ‘60s: healthy fats.
While it may sound strange that fats have anything to do with maintaining physical fitness, truth is, our body needs healthy fats to function properly.
Which Healthy Fats You Should Be Consuming?
For optimal brain health, we recommend Omega-3 fats which are abundantly found in fish, and also in chia seeds and walnuts.
We also recommend staying as far away as you can from regular home cooking oils derived from canola, soybean, or corn, as they are not healthy for the body.