Age-Proofing Your Brain – Macronutrition, 5

Dietary guidelines issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommend that forty-five to sixty-five percent of one’s total calories come from carbs, preferably from healthier high-quality sources, of course. 

Andrew Weil MD has said that it is important to eat some carbohydrates at breakfast because the brain needs to boot up in the morning after the ‘fast’ during sleep, and it does that best with carbs. The brain consumes a quarter pound of glucose per day—more glucose (fuel) than any other organ in the body except for muscles used during heavy physical exercise. According to Benjamin V. Treadwell MD, most glucose in the body is used to manufacture neurotransmitters, the substances needed to propagate electro-chemical signals via the electrical circuitry of the nervous system.  Plan meals on a regular basis for your brain’s sake. Select a variety of nutritious and primarily plant-based foods: fruits, ancient grains, nuts, and vegetables that contain vital macronutrients to power your brain and body. Eat them in as natural a state as possible. Choose carefully what you ingest—and where and when and how—as if your life depends upon it. Because it does! (For more information see “Age-Proofing Your Brain” by Taylor and Briggs.)