What is the main message of Genius Foods?

The main message of Genius Foods is that our diet can significantly impact our brain health and cognitive function.

Who is the author of Genius Foods?

Max Lugavere is the author of Genius Foods.

Personal Development

Genius Foods Book Summary - Genius Foods Book explained in key points

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Genius Foods summary

Name: Genius Foods
Rating: 4.6 (487 reviews)
Author: Max Lugavere

Max Lugavere

Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life

4.6 (487 ratings)

25 mins

Brief summary

'Genius Foods' by Max Lugavere dives into the science behind what we eat and how it impacts brain function. The book offers practical advice and recipes for optimizing brain health through nutrition and lifestyle changes.

Topics

Weight Loss Aging Diet

Table of Contents

Genius Foods
Summary of 9 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 9

What’s in it for me? Food for thought that’ll help keep your brain healthy

Dietary fads are fickle. Breathless headlines boost the latest hype-driven trend as the royal road to health and happiness, before effortlessly moving onto the next gimmick. When it comes to nutrition, quick fixes tend to be short on staying power.

The dietary advice outlined here, however, is different. It’s the result of over half a decade of in-depth research into the most up-to-date scientific data linking nutrition and cognitive health, and is focused squarely on the long-term.

As these blinks will show you, eating the right foods in the correct quantities, won’t just make you happier and more balanced in the here and now – it’ll also fine-tune your brain cells in preparation for a long life of mental agility, free from chronic neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

In the following blinks, you’ll learn

why you should be dressing your salads with plenty of olive oil;
why cholesterol isn’t necessarily bad for you, but carbs and sugar definitely are; and
how to implement a nutritional plan that’ll boost your cognitive health.

Optimizing your diet can boost your brain’s performance at any point in your life.

Ever wondered how some 90-year-olds remain so whip-smart? Chances are it might have something to do with what they’ve been eating over the last half-century.

There are plenty of myths out there about the way the brain works. One common misconception is that our brains stop developing once we hit 25. After that, it’s often claimed, it’s all downhill.

But that’s just not true. In fact, our brains can continue improving throughout our lives.

Scientists proved as much in the mid-1990s. Brains, they discovered, continue changing until death – something known in the field of neuroscience as neuroplasticity – and food plays an important part in keeping the brain healthy. Choosing the correct diet doesn’t just help prevent future illnesses like dementia, but it can also dramatically improve the function of the brain today.

The author began to notice this after researching brain health and diet in an attempt to understand his mother’s early-onset Alzheimer’s. After adapting his own diet, he became more focused, energetic and balanced.

That's because what we eat has a massive impact on overall brain health.

A study conducted by the Food and Mood Center at Deakin University in 2017 found that severe depression can be treated by making dietary changes.

When participants in the study cut sugar, fried food and processed meats from their diets, while eating more vegetables, olive oil, nuts, fish, whole grains, legumes and lean red meat, their depressive symptoms were radically reduced.

Finnish neurobiologist Miia Kivipelto, an expert on the effects of diet and lifestyle on brain health, has further found that healthy eating can boost cognitive function more generally.

Kivipelto’s study was based on 1,200 older adults deemed at risk of cognitive decline. Half the participants were enrolled in social support groups for loneliness, depression and stress, while simultaneously taking part in nutritional and exercise programs. The remaining participants received only social support.

The results? The first group saw their cognitive function rise by an astonishing 25 percent, while their decision-making and interpersonal skills improved by 83 percent in comparison to the second group.

So that’s the science behind healthy eating. Better dietary choices can make you smarter, happier and more productive.

Different kinds of fats and oils can either nourish or degrade your brain health.

Say you’re making a salad dressing – what oil should you use? Is rapeseed or extra virgin olive oil a better choice?

Let’s look at the different kinds of fats contained in oils, starting with polyunsaturated fats: these can nourish the brain, but only in specific circumstances.

Sugar compromises your brain’s functioning and often hides in unlikely places.

Sugar is a true master of disguise. Therefore, it’s essential to learn to spot it in all its various guises, but that’s easier said than done as sugar is routinely added to products in virtually every food group.

This is especially true of refined sugar – the most concentrated source of carbohydrates. It’s often found hiding in everything from juices to crackers, condiments and soft drinks.

Avoid future brain health issues by cutting down on carbohydrates.

There’s one simple and effective strategy that’s guaranteed to boost your cognitive health – cut down on grains and replace them with vegetables.

Grains are loaded with carbohydrates which push your insulin levels through the roof, and that goes for regular bread, rice and crackers as well as whole-wheat alternatives.

Cholesterol in our vascular system is an essential brain nutrient, but it can also lead to disease.

Eating healthily isn’t all about abstinence and cutting down on old favorites. On the contrary, feel free to help yourself to cholesterol-rich foods such as eggs, shrimp and other seafood.

That’s because cholesterol – a fancy term for the fats in your cells and bloodstream – are essential to your brain’s health.

Fasting and special diets help your brain access a type of clean fuel called ketones.

Nutrient-rich cholesterol isn’t the only way to give your brain a boost, and it’s a good idea to get to know other sources of food for thought.

Ketones are an especially efficient form of fuel for your brain. The best way to get them? Feasting and fasting.

Your gut’s microbiome is another biological system in communication with your brain.

There’s an old saying that “you are what you eat,” and that’s something of a motto for the microbiome in your gut.

Let’s start with the latter: the gut begins in your mouth and ends . . . well, you can probably guess that part.

Balance your mood by adopting a diet that meets the needs of your brain’s neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters have a big name. But they have even bigger responsibilities. The most important transmitters go by the names acetylcholine, serotonin and norepinephrine.

So what do these do?

Follow the Genius Plan and eliminate brain-toxic foods to eat your way to better health.

Let’s put everything you’ve learned in the previous blinks together to create an actionable plan you can start following today.

The Genius Plan starts with a 14-day period in which you focus on eliminating brain-toxic foods like processed oils and grain products.

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What is Genius Foods about?

Genius Foods (2018) makes a simple but compelling point: what we eat today is starving our brains. Drawing on the most up-to-date scientific research, it connects the dots and shows just how our diets can affect our cognitive health. But this isn’t just an academic treatise – it’s an actionable plan that’ll put you on the path to greater mental agility, balance and a happier life while safeguarding yourself against dementia.

Genius Foods Review

Genius Foods (2018) by Max Lugavere is a captivating exploration of the impact of food on brain health. Here's why this book is definitely worth reading:

With eye-opening research and expert interviews, it reveals how certain foods can optimize cognitive function and prevent brain diseases.
Max Lugavere's compelling argument for a brain-boosting diet is supported by scientific evidence, making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to enhance their mental performance.
The book's practical tips and accessible language make complex nutritional concepts easy to understand and apply in everyday life, ensuring it's far from a boring read.

Who should read Genius Foods?

Healthy eaters looking for data-driven nutritional advice
Dieticians, nutritionists and food scientists
Anyone looking to fine-tune their gray cells

About the Author

Max Lugavere is a journalist, TV personality and filmmaker covering issues related to health and science. He directed Bread Head – a documentary focused on how lifestyle choices can prevent dementia. Lugavere is a frequent guest on The Dr. Oz Show and has given lectures around the world at prestigious institutions including the New York Academy of Sciences and Weill Cornell Medicine, as well as the Biohacker Summit in Sweden.

Categories with Genius Foods

Personal Development Health & Nutrition

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