Brain Power

a healthy brain is about feeling good

Bad diet is the leading risk factor for death in the majority of countries around the world, claiming more lives than smoking.4 Where have we gone wrong?

In , we go on to explore the idea that it isn’t just what we eat, but also when, that plays a role in staying sharp.

The brain is a hungry organ, consuming about 20 per cent of the body’s energy.

That is despite the fact that we have long known that the gut is not a standalone organ, and that it is in constant dialogue with the brain.

As for a happy brain, what we are really talking about here is mood.

By 2030, the number of people aged sixty years or over is predicted to grow by 56 per cent to 1.4 billion.2 With this ageing population, the likelihood of developing neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, will also skyrocket.

Excitingly, recent studies suggest that the environment, rather than genetics, has the most influence on how the brain changes as we age, and eventual cognitive decline,1 leaving no doubt that what we choose to do in our daily lives is crucial to our brain health.

In some areas that I cover in this book, especially the powerful influence of exercise, sleep, keeping mentally engaged and having strong social connections, the jury is in – there are definite ways to boost our brain power through our actions.

Vitamin B2 is found in foods like almonds, broccoli and eggs, of which I eat plenty, and has many known uses in the body including helping turn food into energy, and proper functioning of the nervous system.