Music
Angela Guo: So, it's the old adage on what you eat
when I eaτ sugary or caffeinated food I often find myself, like unable to focus
So, eating healthier food has a significant impact on
how well I can focus, as well as how quick I can focus.
Sanjay Gupta: That's Angela Guo.
She's a 17-year old senior at Adlai Stevenson high school
in Lincolnshire, Illinois.
And that adage she just cited, "You are what you eat",
that's been around since the 1800's.
People have known for a long time just how much food affects us.
But it's not just in term of long-term health,
but also short-term mood.
AG Food really helps us maintain a safe clarity
And sio eating healthier food has a significant impact
on how well I can focus, as well as how quick I can think.
SG: She may only be in high school but Angela has already made
the crucial connection between what she puts in her mouth
and how quickly that affects her brain.
She even believes that simple understanding
gave her a real advantage when she competed
in the National Science Olympiad tournament earlier this year.
Announcer: First place: National champions of the 2023 Science xxxx
national tournament: Adlai Stevenson high school of Illinois, let's go!!
SG: Now at this tournament earlier this year,
Angela and her team mates went up against thousands of students
from around the country.
They were competing in events highlighting chemistry, and neuroscience
and biology.
But here is the thing: the entire time on Angela's team
you really didn't see much sugar around.
Instead, there were lots of healthy snacks.
AG So, even at school, I bring my own lunch
and it's just the asset of knowing what goes into your meals
is like really important, it kind of gives you peace of mind.
SG: The team did really well, and now as they prepare for more tournaments,
Angela, who now is team captain, says, sure, they study hard,
but what they eat, how they eat, that's also top of mind.
AG: When we do travel for science contests our cook always makes sure that
we are well stocked with fruit and water.
SG: So Angela seems pretty convinced that food helps her focus
and perform well academically.
Of course, that makes sense but the question today,
"What is the empirical evidence to support that and how does it work?
How exactly does food impact the brain?
And how do we really know when our brain is well nourished?"
Uma Naidoo: Sugar is not food for brain.
But I also want people to understand we need sugar for our body and our brain,
so it's the way we get the sugar that's important.
SG: Look, a lot of people worry about how food influences the way we look,
how much weight we may gain -- I get that --
or the likelihood we're going to be high risk for diseases,
like diabetes and hypertension.
But even though it is harder to measure, food is also deeply connected
to how we feel in the moment and how well the brain functions.
Even as you listen to this podcast, your experience, right now,
is likely affected by what you ate earlier today.
So in this episode, I'm going to find out what is the best fuel for the brain,
what food we should avoid and what it really means
to have a well-nourished brain.
I'm Dr Sanjay Gupta, CNN's Chief medical correspondent
and this is Chasing life.
You know, I love hearing stories like Angela's.
They're so personal.
She's someone who's paying attention to her body and the sh'e figuring out
what makes her feel good and what it takes to do the activities she loves.
She's being really intentional with her nutrition
and that may save her from having health problems later in life
but it could help optimize her function now.
For me, food is an endless source of fascination.
The way that I think about it is this:
food is one of the most significant ways we allow our outside world to influence
and communicate with our inside world, the world inside of our body and our mind.
That is an awesome task: food does that.
So I thought today we would start with the basics.
We know that all food items have calories and calories are by definition energy
but, as you just heard, not all calories are created equal.
Some have more nutrients and do more to promote
overall health and well-being than others.
And that is especially true when it comes to the brain.
But the challenge again: that's hard to measure.
There is no brain scan or blood test that indicates that a particular food
promotes brain health.
So how do we really know?
How do you really know what works for you?
To find out, I return to someone whose work I really respect
both in the clinic and in the kitchen, someone who knows a lot
about this really intricate connection between food and brain health.
Uma Naidoo: if you want really your brain to really be optimized
lean into the foods you like, but the healthy version of that.
SG That' Dr Uma Naidoo; she's a nutritional psychiatrist,
such a cool field; she's at Harvard medical school.
What she does is that she works with patients to improve
their mental health with the help of medication and food.
She's also a professional chef, she's the author of the books
"This is your brain on food" and "Calm your brain with food."
That one is going to be released later this year.
I should tell you, this is actually Dr Naidoo second time on the show.
We spoke a few years ago about the broader concept of food as medicine.
And I was so fascinated about the conversation, so affected by it,
that I asked her to come back and discuss how food impacts brain health specifically
and brain function.
I have long said that food can be medicine, I also think that philosophically,
we consciously decide what signals we're going to give
to the inside of our body through food.
What the discussion has been primarily focused on has been calories and energy,
and are you going overweight or not.
UN: Correct SG: So what are those foods that are both
good for the brain and can actually get to the brain.
UN: What I think is good, and what I think is helpful for people,
especially in the US, is that most people are consuming the standard McCain diet
which, as you know, is called that for a reason.
So any time that we can add those lipid grains and those actual whole foods
and chocolate, you know, and think about it that way and step away
a little from those processed fast foods
the healthier we are going to become as a country and I think that that is
because processed xxxxx foods are engineered, as you know,
to trick our brain.
So we eat more, we can't stop ourselves.
SG: Yes, maybe I'm being audacious here in doing a podcast about how to achieve
a most optimally nourished brain.
As you correctly point out, we have a lot to do as a country to just
stop doing the bad things, maybe even before we can really focus
on the good things.
But the idea that food itself can be medicine and that can be quantified,
maybe to the point that someone like you prescribe, are we to the point
that what we know datawise that food can be prescriptive,
like we think of medicine?
UN: So I can't say to you, you need to eat ten blueberries, or this amount
of thyme xx to improve your mood.
But what we do know from xxxx population-based studies that
if you're consuming extra-dark natural chocolate, that it improves depression
by 70% in over 12'000 participants. 8:00