Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life (Genius Living Book 1)

HDL particles are thought to benefit your health because they are sort of like the cleanup trucks. They pick up excess cholesterol from the far reaches of your body and deliver it back to your liver, where it is converted to bile and passed.

You should in short order notice a spicy feeling in the back of your throat: that’s a compound called oleocanthal. Oleocanthal is a type of phenol—plant compounds that powerfully stimulate our bodies’ own repair mechanisms when we consume them (phenols are usually found linked together in the form of polyphenols).

These nutrients require fat to be piggybacked into your body’s circulation, to the degree that when a salad is consumed, the absorption of carotenoids is negligible unless eaten with a source of fat.43 A generous splash of extra-virgin olive oil is an excellent choice, or simply add a few whole eggs to your salad.

Resistance training is one of the best known means of improving overall insulin sensitivity, but the post-workout period in general has the additional benefit of turning muscles into a sponge for sugar in the blood.

Sugar-Rich Sugar-Poor Wheat (whole and white) Grass-fed beef Oats Almonds Potatoes Avocado Corn Fatty fish Rice (brown and white) Poultry

For the first time in history, there are more overweight than underweight humans walking the Earth.5 With our bodies constantly in a “fed” state, an ancient balance has been lost, one that has set us up for low brain energy, accelerated aging, and decay.

Polyunsaturated fats, vulnerable to oxidation, can either be your best friend or worst enemy. Avoid grain and seed oils like corn and soy, as well as fried foods that use recycled vegetable oils. Make your own salad dressing. You really don’t want 200 calories of suspect polyunsaturated fats served with your healthiest meal of the day. Store-bought

Dirty—Should always be organic Clean—Needn’t be organic Kale Asparagus Collard greens Avocados Spinach Cabbage Strawberries Cauliflower Cucumbers Onions Bell peppers Eggplant Cherry tomatoes

During the fasting window, you may drink as much water as you want, along with tea or black coffee, neither of which contain any calories.

be vigilant in your avoidance of polyunsaturated oils—corn, soy, canola, and other grain and seed oils—and ensure that you’re getting preformed EPA and DHA from whole-food sources like fish (wild salmon and sardines are great, low-mercury choices), pastured or omega-3 eggs, and grass-fed beef. On days that you are unable to get your dose of preform