This may come as a surprise, but some of the foods most likely to land on the table this Thanksgiving are really good for you and can deliver a bundle of benefits to your brain.
From stuffing to cranberries to red wine to hot chocolate, and even that last sip of coffee, there are many traditional dishes can preserve and even enhance mood, memory and other mental functions. Think of them as brain savers!
Stuffing can be rich in antioxidants since bread crust is packed with them, far more so than the softer inside of bread. Antioxidants are premiere disease-fighters and anti-aging agents. They are compounds that scavenge free radicals of oxygen, the unstable molecules given off by the body’s many metabolic actions. Free radicals are thought to be responsible for impairing memory with age.
Cranberries virtually top the list of antioxidant-rich foods. Cranberries outpulled some highly touted antioxidant rich goodies, including strawberries, spinach, raspberries, broccoli, beets, red grapes and cherries, among 11 others. Studies in animals suggest that cranberries are particularly neuro-protective, good at protecting against chronic age-related afflictions like loss of coordination and memory. They protect brain cells from the free-radical damage that normally occurs over time, thereby preserving cognitive and motor functions. Compared with animals fed a standard diet, aging animals given cranberries showed improvements in normal age-related declines in working memory, reference memory, balance and coordination.
Cranberries are so powerful in preserving brain function, researchers recently found, that by their antioxidant action they can reduce the severity of brain impairment following strokes. Exposure to a concentration of cranberry extract equivalent to about half a cup of whole cranberries resulted in a 50 percent reduction in brain cell death.
And, go ahead, finish it all off with a cup or two of coffee. Researchers have identified a new antioxidant in coffee, which we blogged about previously.
Or, savor a cup of hot cocoa. Made with about two tablespoons of pure cocoa powder, it tops both red wine and tea in antioxidant power — two times more than red wine, two to three times more than green tea and up to five times more than black tea. Something about heating the cocoa brings out the antioxidants in it!
In addition to all that guilt free eating, the socialization is a brain healthy activity too….so long as the stress inducing relatives aren’t contributing to the conversations.
Happy Thanksgiving!