Alzheimer's Info: Dark Chocolate, Red Wine, and Nuts Can Help "Maintain the Brain"

They got some of it right way back in the fifties. "Drink your milk." Eat your liver." "Fish is good brain food, all the things that your Grandma told you. Milk, while high in fat, has a lot of calcium. Liver is a good source of iron and other minerals, and now we know that some kinds of fish is high in Omega 3 fatty acids. Some of the other practices of that time period have been found out to be not so good, like smoking cigarettes and eating a lot of red meat. Of course I think that a balanced diet and lots of exercise is the best advice and this has been pretty consistent, except for a few rumblings in the food pyramid. This doesn't mean, however, that you can't indulge in the latest food that's been shown in some study to be beneficial in one way or another. There is something that many of the health fads in food seem to leave out: the food should taste good. But, the latest hot trend is one that I, as well as most people, can sink their teeth into.

Recently the Alzheimer's association has suggested that consuming dark chocolate, wine, and nuts can reduce your chances of developing dementia later in life. This year the local chapter of the Alzheimer's association here in St. Louis has introduced the "Maintain Your Brain' program. In addition to their annual wine tasting event, the Alzheimer's association has also included a gift basket of dark chocolate and nuts. They maintain that dark chocolate, red wine, and nuts are not only good for your brain, but heart health as well.

There are over 300 chemically active compounds in the cacao bean, from which pure chocolate is made, making it one of the most complex health-promoting foods in the world. Cocoa powder is also rich in flavonoid plyphenols. These compounds are not only one of the richest sources of antioxidants, but they have also been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti microbial, and cancer preventing properties as well. We all know about the nasty business of free radicals, the end result of oxidation, but with all of the talk recently of how certain proteins can cause inflammation which can lead to scaring of the arteries and heart disease, a little anti-inflammatory regimen may be just what the doctor ordered.

Two other foods that you may want to consider adding to your brain and heart health diet are blueberries and a little berry from the Amazon called the Acai berry. The natives have been using all of the plant; the roots, stems, heart, and leaf fronds for years. One of the healthiest parts of the plant is the berry itself. For years the Acai berry was very hard to get, you had to paddle down the river for days into the heart of the rain forest, but now they are much more accessible, even making their way onto the Oprah Show recently. One company, called MXI has combined dark chocolate, blueberries, and the Acai berry into one easy to eat piece of chocolate. The stuff tastes pretty good too. You can get more information by visiting mxi.myvoffice.com/rmb.

So now I have my bowl of dark chocolate, some walnuts, and a big bottle of red wine. Can life get any better? The only thing left to do is to get a corkscrew and a nutcracker.