"Food for Thought: Nutrition and the Aging Brain" presents and analyzes
the research on nutrition's impacts on the aging brain, on
possibly-declining cognitive abilities, and on changing emotional
dispositions.
With 40 pages of references, the depth of coverage of the underlying
science makes the book appropriate for scientists in fields such as
nutrition, geriatrics, and psychology. However, the book was also
designed to be understandable for lay readers wanting a deeper
understanding than can be found in typical books on food-brain
relationships. To make this book useful for non-scientists and for
students, the first three chapters provide background. They sketch
relevant brain structure and neurochemistry, and then discuss in only
slightly more detail how aging and stress affect neurochemistry, brain
structure, cognitive capacities, and resilience. The third chapter
introduces basic nutrition research issues, and the extensive Glossary
provides additional explanations of scientific concepts.
The subsequent 14 chapters consolidate modern research on impacts of
nutrition on brain and cognitive capacities. The research shows how much
various nutrients can affect cognition in aging people, and then how
those impacts are achieved-that is, how genes are affected that in turn
have impacts on neural structures and neurochemistry. That series of 14
chapters begins with analyses of general diets such as the Mediterranean
and the MIND, but subsequent chapters examine impacts of specific
classes of nutrients. Chapter 18 describes nutrition that affects
resilience, interpreted as stress tolerance, and resistance to both
anxiety and depression.
Chapter 19 describes how other types of activities that affect brain and
cognition, such as programs of physical exercise and cognitive
stimulation, can interact with nutrition to build brain and sharpen
cognition. The final chapter summarizes the information on nutrition
impacts on brain and cognition, and extends the discussion of
interactions of nutrition with other brain-enhancing activities.
