Breakfast and the brain
Health & Fitness By KEMI ILORI
Most people now know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
This column also dealt with that topic in detail. This is a specific look at
how it affects our control house; our brain. It is particularly important for
children whose brains are developing as well as are learning. When we eat; our
food is digested and we are able to obtain energy from our food. This is in
addition to other things supplied in the food. Our interest at this time is
the energy that we obtain from the food and other nutrients that enable the
brain to function well.
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are a very important part of breakfast. Energy
in food is obtained mainly from carbohydrates, fats & proteins in that order
of precedence. Carbohydrates include starches, naturally occurring and refined
sugars, and dietary fiber. Foods rich in starches and dietary fiber include
tubers like yams, cassava, sweet potatoes; grain products like breads, rice,
pasta and cereals like millet, especially whole-grain products; fruits; and
vegetables, especially starchy vegetables like potatoes. Foods rich in refined
sugars include cakes, cookies, desserts, candy, and soft drinks. All these foods
are digested and converted to glucose.
I had taken the time to explain in previous articles that glucose is the like
the food currency unit that our body uses for generating energy. This is because
our food has to be broken down into glucose before our body can use it as energy.
The supply of energy to the brain in the form of glucose is extremely important
for the brain to function well. Our brain cells need two times more energy than
the other cells in our body. It is estimated that the brain alone uses about
30% of a person’s energy intake (i.e. from food) at rest.
This is why thinking can be tiring, even exhausting. As the primary source of
energy in the human brain, glucose can be rapidly used up during mental activity;
it fuels the brain. Carbohydrate is a must for school children as well as adults
who want to function well. A research by scientist, Prof. Gold concluded that,
"Glucose enhances learning and memory not only in rats but also in many
populations of humans," He further stated that, "For schoolchildren,
this research implies that the contents and timing of meals may need to be coordinated
to have the most beneficial cognitive effects that enhance learning."
EAT RESPONSIBLY
Complex carbohydrates are a better source of glucose for the brain. This is
because they release glucose slowly into the blood stream, thereby ensuring
a slow release of insulin from the pancreas. This is in contrast to simple carbohydrates
and sugary foods. The later cause a quick release of glucose into the blood
and thereby a quick release of insulin to mop up the glucose from the blood.
This initially gives a high supply of glucose to the brain which then drops
sharply not too long after. When levels of circulating glucose drop, the initial
sugar-high turns into an energy crisis for your brain. (Neurons; the brain cells
cannot store glucose, like body cells can.) An hour or two after drinking a
sugary soft drink, you feel the need for another boost.
The long term prognosis is worse. Repeatedly overloading the bloodstream with
sugar can diminish the body's ability to respond to insulin, and type 2 diabetes
may develop. This is not good for the brain, because diabetes causes a narrowing
of the arteries and makes the brain more susceptible to gradual damage. People
with diabetes are more vulnerable to depression and are more likely to suffer
a decline in mental ability as they age.
Fats: Fish that are high in omega – 3 series are now described as "brain
food". These are healthy essential fatty acids. It is consistent with the
goals of good health to stick to the advice of eating unsaturated fats whilst
reducing saturated and trans fats. Fish sauce made with mackerel, tuna, etc
is a good for breakfast foods as sauce for yam, etc.
Proteins: Essential amino-acids are proteins which cannot be made by our bodies
and we need to eat them in our diet for our body to have them. Protein intake
and intake of individual amino acids can affect brain functioning and mental
health. Many of the neurotransmitters in the brain are made from amino acids.
The neurotransmitter dopamine is made from the amino acid tyrosine. The neurotransmitter
serotonin is made from the amino acid tryptophan.
If the needed amino acid is not available, levels of that particular neurotransmitter
in the brain will fall, and brain functioning and mood will be affected. For
example, if there is a lack of tryptophan in the body, not enough serotonin
will be produced, and low brain levels of serotonin are associated with low
mood and even aggression in some individuals.
Traditional Nigerian breakfast seem to be extremely suited to the brain’s
needs. Such combinations are corn or millet pap and akara (fried bean balls),
moin-moin (steamed bean pudding), bread and beans porridge, yam and beans, etc.
Western breakfast meals sometimes contain too much saturated fat e.g. eggs,
sausages and bacon on buttered toast. The sodium load in these foreign breakfasts
is also usually considerably higher. Corn pap has much little or no additives,
unlike cornflakes.
The irony is that the vitamins that are added to processed food are now subject
of a lot of criticsm in the West. The important fact is that the natural vitamins
and minerals in cereals like corn and millet are better absorbed by the body
than commercial charcoal derived ones added to processed foods.
B vitamins: Whilst Glucose is the brain's primary energy source, the B vitamin
group (B-1, B-2, B-3, B-6, B-12) are very important for the proper functioning
of the brain. Most of us have smelled thiamin several times and did not like
the smell (that is the odour you perceive from ofada rice. A lot of us have
percieved it from dried yeast as well).
Thiamin is needed to make several neurotransmitters. A deficiency of Niacin,
another B vitamin, produces many mental symptoms such as irritability, headaches,
loss of memory, inability to sleep, and emotional instability. Vitamin B-6 deficiency
is characterized by mental changes such as fatigue, nervousness, irritability,
depression, insomnia, dizziness, and nerve changes. These mental changes are
related to the body's decreased ability to manufacture neurotransmitters with
vitamin B-6 deficiency. Vitamin B-12 is needed to maintain the outer coating,
called the myelin sheath, on nerve cells. Inadequate myelin results in nerve
damage and impaired brain function.
Vitamin B-12 deficiency can go undetected in individuals for years, but it eventually
causes low blood iron, irreversible nerve damage, dementia, and brain atrophy.
Studies suggest that folic acid deficiency leads to a range of mental disorders,
including depression. Folic acid deficiency can lower levels of serotonin in
the brain.
Minerals: Iron, magnesium, manganese, selenium, copper and zinc are all very
important for proper functioning of the brain. You do not need to start RACKING
YOUR BRAIN ON HOW TO INCLUDE THEM IN YOUR BREAKFAST OR OTHER MEALS. They occur
naturally in the quantities that we need them in grains like millet; corn is
a good source of selenium, etc. A proper balanced meal will contain most of
your nutrients.
A good breakfast is one of the best tonics for your brain, it will serve you
well for a very long time. It is most important for growing and learning children
to eat the right type of breakfast daily.