Maintaining brain health involves following a healthy lifestyle that includes a good diet and exercise. While you cannot control some of your risk factors, such as family history or age, you can make a difference in your brain health by avoiding the foods that may negatively impact its function. Your choice of proteins is one example of a part of your diet that can increase your risk of impairment of brain function. The problems lies with the amount of saturated fat you consume and its effects on the cardiovascular system.
Saturated Fats
Brain health is linked with cardiovascular fitness. The latter ensures adequate oxygen and energy for brain function. The risk of brain damage increases with the development of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Diets high in trans and saturated fats can accelerate the formation of plaque lining the openings of blood vessels. Should a clot break off, a risk exists for stroke and brain damage. Some meats such as organ meats and certain cuts of beef contain high amounts of saturated fats. The American Heart Association recommends keeping your saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of your total daily calorie intake.
Cholesterol
Eating meats high in saturated fats will raise your cholesterol, a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease or dementia. It also contributes to high blood pressure, another condition that may affect brain health. High levels of bad cholesterol, or LDL, cause your blood vessels to constrict, according to a 2002 study by Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. This action increases the pressure within arteries. LDL also shows thrombogenic, or clot-forming, properties. Taken together, your risk for a stroke increases.
Statin Drug Dilemma
Adding to the complexity of the issue of meat and brain function lies within a common form of treatment for high cholesterol. Statin drugs work by lowering LDL and total cholesterol. While some drugs have no effect on brain function, some statins, such as Lipitor or Zocor, can get past the blood-brain barrier that protects the brain. The brain produces its own cholesterol to produce neurotransmitters for transmitting nerve impulses. If your unhealthy diet has forced you to control it with medication, you may unintentionally be impairing brain health by lowering the essential cholesterol in the brain.
Controlling Cholesterol Naturally
To reduce your risk of adversely affecting brain health, stick with the American Heart Association's recommendation for saturated fats. You should also focus on healthier meat choices, such as poultry. Including fish in your diet will also improve brain health and reduce your risk of heart disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends fish oil as part of a healthy diet to reduce your risk of heart disease. Fish oil will also improve platelet or clotting function to further reduce your risk, according to a 2010 study by Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease in Baltimore. With good choices, you can enjoy meat in your diet without adversely affecting brain health.
References
- American Heart Association; Fats and Oils: AHA Recommendation; Sept. 29, 2010
- Mayo Clinic; Dementia -- Risk Factors; April 16, 2011
- "Journal of Human Hypertension"; Effects of LDL Cholesterol on Vascular Function; C. Rosendorff; March 2002
- Harvard Medical School; Cholesterol, the Mind, and the Brain; Feb. 23, 2007
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration; FDA Announces Qualified Health Claims for Omega-3 Fatty Acids; Sept. 8, 2004
- "Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine"; Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention; A. Defilippis, et al.; August 2010
