gut microflora so as to stay healthier both physically and mentally.
Fat is not always ugly
Not all fats are bad fats. Cholesterol, which has typically been portrayed as the Dr Evil of the fat world, is essential to the brain for synaptogenesis (the formation of new synapses) and hence critical for brain plasticity, learning and memory. Saturated fats, as found in meat, dairy, nuts and olive oil, benefit brain function when consumed in moderation.
Our brain has a very special relationship with cholesterol. The brain synthesises its own, retaining it and effectively shielding it from the rest of the body behind the blood–brain barrier. Twenty-five per cent of the body's total cholesterol is found in the brain, mostly as myelin, the fatty coating around nerve cells that speeds up the transmission of electrical impulses.
Cholesterol is needed also for the formation of dopaminergic neurons, involved in our brain's reward response system and motivation. Feeling good and being mentally rewarded for our efforts are critical for maintaining engagement and performance.
Minding your mind includes minding your weight
Obesity shrinks the brain. It reduces brain volume. It is also a risk factor for cognitive decline. With 30 per cent of the world's population either overweight or obese, there are now more than 2.1 billion people at risk of cognitive decline through this factor alone.
Having a smaller brain volume affects brain function (see figure 1.1, overleaf):
▪ in the hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with learning and memory
▪ in the frontal lobes, the area associated with higher-level thinking, including paying attention, planning and organising
▪ in the anterior cingulate gyrus, the area associated with decision making, empathy and emotion
▪ in the thalamus, the area associated with coordinating other areas of brain function.
Figure 1.1 : parts of the brain affected by obesity
Obesity affects our cognition because greater effort is required to complete complex decision-making tasks. Encouraging all staff to watch their weight not only helps them to stay fitter and healthier; it is a way to maintain their cognition.
We reach our cognitive peak for motor performance around the lofty age of 24. But before you slump into a deep depression about being ‘over the hill’, although your speed of processing may have slowed down, your increasing ability to use your experience and growing wisdom enables your brain to take a few mental shortcuts.
It's a bit like discovering the disguised cut-throughs that enable you to escape the Ikea store more quickly without having to follow the illuminated arrows for the 30 kilometres required to reach the checkout, when all you wanted was to buy a nice new office lamp.
A study in 2014 by Thompson and others analysed the influence of age on performance in 3035 players (aged 16 to 44) of the video game StarCraft II and found that while cognitive motor decline starts early, it is compensated for by the continuing adaptability of our massively plastic brain.
Hurrah!
One of the things we want to be able to do at work is focus on what matters, so we stay on task and get our work done. In some instances, the modern workplace seems to conspire against us by presenting us with ever-increasing levels of distraction.
We can help boost our focus by paying attention to which foods we choose to eat. It really is as simple as focusing on eating ‘real food’. The following foods have been shown in nutritional studies to assist in boosting focus, and this list is by no means exhaustive. Just think of fresh, minimally processed foods and you will be on the right track, but consider especially:
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