Good Nutrition, Healthy Brain

Your brain is what you eat – for better or for worse.

That’s what OHSU’s Gene Bowman found in a study on nutrition and the brain published in late December in the journal Neurology. The study has received a deluge of national and international media coverage during the last couple of weeks.

The study found that elderly people with diets high in vitamins B, C, D, and E and in omega 3 fatty acids are less likely to have the brain shrinkage and other abnormalities associated with Alzheimer’s disease than people whose diets aren’t high in those nutrients.

And the study found that people with diets high in trans fats — often found in fast, frozen and processed foods and in baked goods — were more likely to have brain shrinkage and lower scores on thinking and memory tests.

Bowman’s study immediately got and continues to get widespread media coverage, from the Oregonian to the New York Times to Time magazine, the BBC and the online Huffington Post.

Here’s just a sampling:

New York Times — ‘Nutrition: 4 Vitamins That Strengthen Older Brains’

USA Today — Study: Vitamins, Omega-3s may keep brain from shrinking

Time magazine — How Your Diet May Affect Your Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

NPR’s food blog — Is There Really Such A Thing As Brain Food?

The Oregonian — Some diets protect aging brains, others accelerate harm, Oregon study suggests

The BBC — Alzheimer’s: Diet ‘can stop brain shrinking’

The Huffington Post — Trans Fats-Brain Damage Link Suggested By New Study On Nutrient Levels

And click here to listen to Dr. Bowman’s Jan. 3rd appearance on Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Think Out Loud.