One of the major building blocks of the brain, the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is critical for optimal brain health and function at all ages of life. Researchers are now finding that DHA provides brain-boosting benefits in infants and aging adults.
It doesn't matter how brainy you are or how much education you've had - you can still improve and expand your mind. Boosting your mental faculties doesn't have to mean studying hard or becoming a reclusive book worm. There are lots of tricks, techniques a
Tofu and cognitive function: food for thought.
Grodstein F, Mayeux R, Stampfer MJ.
J Am Coll Nutr. 2000 Apr;19(2):207-9. Review.
PMID: 10763901
In addition, a plausible biologic hypothesis is generally an important part of judging epidemiologic relations. While high tofu intake may lead to lower plasma estrogen levels [12], we do not know how tofu influences estrogen levels in the brain; we also know very little about estrogen effects in men. Furthermore, data have not even consistently indicated that low endogenous estrogen levels are directly related to cognitive function in non-demented subjects [13]. The authors also posit a non-estrogen mediated hypothesis for the effects of tofu, namely that soy inhibits hippocampal tyrosine kinase and may block long-term potentiation (the likely mechanism by which humans learn and remember). Still, considerably more work must be done to substantiate this hypothesis.
Finally, the single measures of outcome used in this study may have limited value, as cognitive function and brain structure change over time. Factors which predict these measures at one point may or may not be the same as those which predict decline over time; fundamentally, the public health interest is in preventing cognitive decline, as the steepness of the decline trajectory likely provides an early marker for risk of the more clinically relevant result-dementia.
Vitamin D and cognitive performance in adults: a systematic review.
Annweiler C, Allali G, Allain P, Bridenbaugh S, Schott AM, Kressig RW, Beauchet O.
Eur J Neurol. 2009 Oct;16(10):1083-9. Epub 2009 Jul 29.
PMID: 19659751
DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2009.02755.x
This systematic review shows that the association between serum 25OHD concentrations and cognitive performance is not yet clearly established. The inconclusive results of the reviewed studies could be due to methodology, types of the cognitive tasks used and/or the cellular mechanisms of vitamin D.