Nootropics From Food, Get Smarter With Every Bite. Part 2 [VLOG #92]

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Transcript:

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Hi Beauties,

Welcome to part two of our blog series on nootropics. Today, we’re going to be talking about Nootropics From Food, Get Smarter With Every Bite. Part 2.

Food is a foundational part of our wellness lifestyle. Food has been something we’ve talked about here in Solluna Beauty Detox for years. It’s the beginning of the healing journey for many of us, and is our first Solluna cornerstone. The others are body, emotional wellbeing, and spiritual growth.

Nootropics That Keep Your Brain Healthy

Everything really does play in and connect with each other. When we’re talking about food, we’re not just talking about maintaining an ideal body weight or the energy that we get from food. We’re also talking about how food as the ability to keep all our organs healthy, including the very important organ of our brain.

When it comes to nootropics, there are natural nootropics (ones that come from food), and there are some products that you may or may not want to add into your lifestyle right now. Today we’re going to talk about food and foods that are very important for brain health all around. That includes memory, creativity, attention, focus and so on.

Food-Based Nootropics

Lifestyle Foundation: Leafy Greens

Let’s get right into it, and I’m going to talk about the foods and why they have some nootropic qualities to them. The first is one of our favorite food groups over here at Solluna, which is, you guessed it, dark leafy greens.

Dark leafy greens are the foundational part of our lifestyle. They’re 70% of our Glowing Green Smoothie®, which we aim to drink every day if possible. Kale and spinach are two in particular I want to point out which are a top source of lutein and zeaxanthin. These are two carotinoids which have been the focus of numerous research studies of late.

Studies on Boosting Brain Function with Leafy Greens

In one study, volunteers supplemented lutein and zeaxanthin, and they found that they were able to process faster. Their brain was able to take information and synthesize it in a faster way, thereby boosting brain function.

Another study mentions people with higher levels of lutein and zeaxanthin did better on a test of working memory while their brains seemed to be working more efficiently while they were under an fMRI, which is functional magnetic resonance imaging. This is measuring brain activity as far as changes with blood flow.

We know that these compounds are very helpful to our brain, so I encourage you again to load up on your dark leafy greens. It’s going to be great for your brain. GGS, Dharma’s Kale Salad. Also cooked spinach and cooked kale is wonderful. You can saute it and put it in stir fries, and add it to bowls.

Cognitive Function: Dark Chocolate

The next is dark chocolates, one of my favorite foods. Isn’t it nice to know that there are many reasons to include chocolate in your life? There is a link between dark chocolate consumption and cognitive function, which is linked to the flavonoids found in the cocoa bean.

It’s said that cocoa has the ability to increase blood flow to the brain and quote, “Chocolate consumption has been significantly associated with better performance on cognitive tests including visual memory and organization, working memory, scanning and tracking, abstract reasoning, and mini mental state examination.“

What Kind of Chocolate and When To Eat It

The key with eating chocolate is we want to eat dark chocolate. These days I try to eat over 80%, 82%. I always go for organic chocolate. You don’t want to have cacao that is laden with pesticides, which would defeat the purpose.

These pesticides are not good for your brain health, so please choose organic and super dark chocolate. Also, you don’t want to have too much right before bed because it does have some stimulating qualities.

I love hot chocolate and like to mix it with a little bit of maca powder and hemp milk, and I water down a little bit. This is something I drink during the day and that’s how I get a lot of my cacao in, besides the chocolate bars that I love.

Brain Food: Blueberries

Next is blueberries. Blueberries are classic brain food. They contain a specific group of compounds called anthocyanins. These have been shown to protect the brain against aging, the equivalent of up to two and a half years for the highest level of berry consumption in human observational studies.

It’s a great idea to load up on blueberries as they are low in sugar and wonderful for brain health. Just remember if you put them in your GGS, your GGS will look more brown. This is okay if you’re okay with that, but maybe not the best thing for little ones you’re trying to get. I like to eat them plain, on an empty stomach, mid morning.

What is Nootropic Stacking?

There’s a term I want to talk to you about called nootropic stacking, and it’s this idea of how different nootropics may benefit different aspects of cognitive function.

Some are great for memory, some are great for concentration, and when you stack them together, you’re going to get better results. I like to do this as using a different aspects of lifestyle to really boost brain function.

How To Get Better Sleep

For me, the night before, I get off my devices. I’m not a TV person we will watch things on our computer sometimes or be doing work or be on my phone. I try to get off an hour before bed to get a deeper rejuvenation for my brain, deeper level, deeper time in level four sleep.

Calm The Brain Through Meditation

Meditation in the morning is something I always practice, which is also great for brain health to really calm the brain, calm your mind to get in and create more mindfulness. Also, deeper breathing, which is going to benefit your brain during the day. I walk on the beach for stress management.

Example of Nootropic Stacking

Healthy exercise is always going to be great for your brain health. I have my GGS with dark leafy greens in it. Then, I often have blueberries to add that little extra kick as a brain boosting food. And finally I have my chocolate every day.

This is an example of nootropic stacking. You can create a similar routines that work for you throughout the day to make sure that we’re also paying attention to our brain health in this time. It’s very critical. Our brains are very vulnerable.

They absorb a lot, are largely fat, and can get congested. The little capillaries to our brain can get clogged. Make sure that you’re choosing wisely. If you’re living our lifestyle, a lot of this is already built in.

In Closing

If you’re looking for more support, please check out a lot of the other resources here at Solluna. We have our Solluna Circle, which is great for all around lifestyle, community, emotional wellbeing, personal growth.

We have our Feel Good Podcast, supplements, and skincare, all sorts of things to really help clean up your lifestyle and dial it in. Thank you so much, Beauty, for tuning in. Sending you lots and lots of love, and I look forward to seeing you back here very soon.