We all want our brains to be sharp, to be able to think clearly, remain independent and preserve the lifetime of memories we’ve created.
Yet, too often we hear about memory loss and other cognitive problems as being a normal part of aging.
But, that doesn’t have to be the case.
You already know nuts are good brain food. But a new study at Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center has actually measured their powerful effect in the form of brain waves…
The antioxidant answer
The study was performed using people who ate six types of nuts: almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans, pistachios and walnuts.
Electroencephalograms (EEG) were taken to measure the strength of their brainwave signals, during sensory awareness tasks. These sequences of tasks were varied so that the EEG could measure wave activity across nine different brain regions.
Here’s what they found…
All of the nuts tested were beneficial for strengthening brain waves. In other words, eating nuts on a regular basis can actually strengthen your brainwave frequencies to improve your cognition, healing, learning, memory and other key brain functions.
According to the researchers, that’s because nuts have high concentrations of flavonoids —antioxidants believed to have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous and heart protective effects. Previous research has shown that these flavonoids can enter areas of your brain’s hippocampus that are responsible for learning and memory.
In your brain, flavonoids are thought to have neuroprotective effects, leading to “neurogenesis,” or the “birth” of new neurons, as well as improving the blood flow to your brain.
The researchers also found that some nuts stimulated some brain frequencies more than others.
For example, pistachios produced the greatest gamma wave response, which is critical for enhancing cognitive processing, information retention, learning, perception and rapid eye movement during sleep.
And, peanuts, which are actually legumes, but were still part of the study, produced the highest delta response, which is associated with healthy immunity, natural healing, and deep sleep.
Nut power
Thanks to this research, you now know how important it is to incorporate nuts into your daily diet to boost your brain power.
Here are some ways, you can enjoy more nuts:
- Spread nut butter on your morning toast instead of butter or cream cheese.
- Sprinkle chopped nuts on cereal or yogurt.
- Toss nuts into a green or fruit salad.
- Add halved cashews to your Asian stir-fry.
- Top fruit or crackers with nut butter.
- Try nut-encrusted fish or chicken, such as pecan-encrusted trout.
- Make your own nut and seed mix by lightly toasting almonds, walnuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds in a 160-170 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Add extra flavor by mixing your favorite spices, like cumin, cinnamon, turmeric and cayenne pepper.
- Finely chop almonds and walnuts and add them to your favorite soup.
- Toss chopped almonds or pecans and steamed green beans in a bowl with olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper for a tasty side dish.
- Add pine nuts or walnuts to your coleslaw for an extra crunch.
- Soak walnuts for six to eight hours then chop in food processor with parsley, onion, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil for a perfect pate.