6. Eat more fruits and vegetables

As mentioned above, fruits and vegetables are your main source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Besides, fruits are excellent source of potassium, which protects you from the risk of hypertension that in tum would negatively affect your brain performance. Moreover, some fruits mentioned in the Qur' an or the Sunnah have specific mental benefits, for example: •!• Bananas are a good source of tryptophan, which is the source of the mood elevating neurotransmitter serotonin. 57 Smolin & Grosvenor, 1994. •!• Raisins are exceptional antioxidants. According to the ORAC scale, (oxygen radical absorbency capacity) raisins are one of the best antioxidants found in the plant kingdom. 58 •!• Watermelons are rich in lycopene, another very helpful antioxidant. Lycopene is abundant in many other red fruits like tomatoes for example. 7. Eat your eggs! I have a hard time convincing my eight-year-old son to eat his egg every morning. "I can't believe that what is in this egg I can't get from any other food!" He screams each day at the breakfast table. Actually, egg yolks are the richest and most compact source of what we call phospholipids: these constitute an essential part of the myelin sheath surrounding our nerve cells. The myelin sheath form a kind of insulation for the transfer system among nerve cells: the better the insulation, the more efficient the transfer will be. Phospholipids play a major role in memory function, mood elevation and general intellectual ability. 59 They are especially important for children in their growing years when their brain is still developing. Other rich sources of phospholipids are organ meat (liver, spleen and kidneys). As mentioned in Chapter Two, Prophet Muhammad (~) said: «We are allowed two dead animals and two bloods: fish and locust; and liver and spleen.» 60 The choline content of the eggs and organ meat is also an important building block for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, a 58 Carper, 2001. 59 Holford, 2005b. 60 Ibn Majah and AJ:imed, authenticated by Albani. multifunction hormone-like substance essential for proper memory performance. Other good sources of choline include whole wheat, sardines, peanuts, cauliflower and cabbage. 61 Furthermore, eggs contain all the essential amino acids and they are a good source of vitamin B 12 , which is important for nerve function. 62 Eggs and organ meat are avoided by many people due to their high cholesterol content. However, recent studies have proved that the cholesterol consumed in diet contributes only slightly to high levels of it in the blood; the main cause of high cholesterol is the cholesterol synthesized in the body itself due to the increased intake of saturated fats. So, in moderation, eggs and organ meat are a healthy food source of choline, which in addition to its benefits for the brain, aids in the reduction of homocysteine 63 levels in the blood. 64