With regard to the events of the past couple weeks (those perfidious Section 34 e-mails, the Chaguanas West nomination nastiness, the appearance of a spy bug in the DPP conference room and wonderfully secret football settlements), it has become increasingly clear that more brains is needed in the country.In the interest of fair play, and as a supporter of neither party, here are some suggestions to the public of this great nation, as the Speaker of the Lower House is wont to say, to increase our brain-processing capacity or, at the very least, prevent the slow slide into mild cognitive impairment and or dementia that some parliamentarians and their pot-bellies seem to be taking.There is a lot of information merrily making the rounds about the health benefits of various foods and, while there is some truth to these claims, it is worthwhile to be sceptical and careful before buying into them.
Keep these things in the back of your mind:
1. When a claim sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There is no free lunch.
2. Because the claim comes from the Far East, that does not automatically make it accurate. A donkey dressed up in a suit and talking with a mysterious accent is still a donkey.
3. If your friend's great grandmother swore that some unlikely fruit juice made her live long, that's nice, but hardly proof. Find out how long her parents lived.
4. If a scientific study is done that shows strong evidence of an association between diet and health, keep in mind that association does not prove causality. Don't blame the moon because your child coughs every full moon; it may be that his mother cobwebs once a month.
Finally and most importantly, as in breastmilk it is the interplay of a wide range of nutrients within a food that causes its effect, not a single nutrient. So, if eating fish like salmon and mackerel, which have a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, has been shown to be associated with a reduction in stroke risk, that does not mean that taking little plastic capsules containing omega-3 will do the same thing. In fact it does not. It is eating the fish, with a whole other set of nutrients most of which we know nothing about, that is the reason.Pharmaceutical companies, pharmacies and smart-men dislike hearing this.
Similarly, anyone listening to Parliament runs the risk of becoming depressed. Enter the Mediterranean diet. Consumption of olive oil, avocados, nuts, whole grains, fish, and leafy green vegetables is associated with a 30 per cent reduction in depression risk, compared with meat- and dairy-heavy diets. Eat up, citizens!The olive oil also seems to be linked to a lower risk for ischemic stroke, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer disease, particularly the latter two when associated with high levels of physical activity.Oh, how those Northern European types dislike hearing this. "There go those pesky Latins again! Not only do they spend our money, eat better and dance better, they pass less gas."2012 was a good year for fruit. Various studies repeatedly demonstrated that high consumption of grapefruits and oranges is associated with a lower risk for ischemic stroke in women and a diet high in tomatoes (not the canned ones) may cut stroke risk in men. But the more pertinent one for our parliamentarians is that berries and other darkly pigmented fruits (Governor plum, sapodilla, cherries) and vegetables (bhagi, melongene) may slow cognitive decline by inducing autophagy (a process by which cells clear cellular breakdown products linked to memory loss).
All of these studies keep pointing to the importance of a healthy diet high in plant foods and low in processed foods for a range of health outcomes, both physical and mental, and that that process should start in infancy.Low to moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with a lower risk of dementia and moderate intake of red wine may protect against cerebrovascular disease. Unfortunately, "moderate alcohol consumption" is defined as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men. One drink is equivalent to 12 fluid ounces of regular beer, five fluid ounces of 12 per cent alcohol wine, or 1.5 fluid ounces of distilled spirits. However, the health costs to the brain of alcohol consumption can quickly outweigh the benefits, as heavy and long-term alcohol use can lead to alcohol abuse and dependence, impair memory function, contribute to neurodegenerative disease and hinder psychosocial functioning, obviously a risk factor to particular characters who frequent the vicinity of certain tall, tall buildings around Wrightson Road.Finally, that old colonial favourite, chocolate, and it's the dark one, not the one adulterated by milk. Individuals who eat at least 52 g of chocolate per week (a standard bar weighs 43 g) have a lower risk for stroke compared with those who eat less than 12 g a week. But always check the label as some processed chocolate contains trans-fats, which should be avoided.Nuts, grains, olive oil, vegetables, fruits, fish, wine and chocolate. Not a bad way to go. Even if it means having to leave Parliament.
