Ep. 232 The Genius Foods You Need For Mental Health & Cognition

I am honored to connect with Max Lugavere today! Max is a top health podcaster, wellness journalist, filmmaker, and author. He wrote one of my favorite books, The New York Times bestseller Genius Foods, and earlier this year, he wrote The Wall Street Journal bestseller Genius Kitchen.

Max has been passionate about nutrition, supplementation, and fitness for as long as he can remember. In this episode, we dive into his background and how he developed an interest in brain optimization and cognition. We speak about non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors, the Food Compass nutrient profiling system, and outdated non-scientific nutritional guidelines. We discuss dogmatism in nutrition, the influence of the processed food industry, how our food has changed, and seed oils. Max shares some of his favorite Genius foods, and we also get into the value of sleep and much more.

I hope you enjoy listening to today’s interesting and informative discussion with Max Lugavere as much as I did recording it! Stay tuned for more!  

IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN:

Max tells the story of his mother's neuro-degenerative condition and how that sparked his interest in sharing research and scientific information with the lay public.

Max discusses the modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors that could influence your brain health.

The Food Compass data and American dietary guidelines are inherently flawed and skewed towards the processed food industry. Max dives into why that is so and discusses various related concerns.

As consumers, we need to do the necessary work to make healthy food choices for ourselves.

Max talks about dogmatism in the nutrition space and explains why we need to be willing to challenge our beliefs and assumptions about food.

What made our society fall so far off the rails around nutrition?

Eliminating seed oils from your diet is one of the best things you can do to improve your health.

Max discusses the Nova food profiling system and shares some frightening statistics related to the consumption of ultra-processed foods.

Our bodies respond differently to nutrients if they are removed from the food matrix.

Fraud derailed the research on Alzheimer’s disease for almost two decades.

Max shares his favorite Genius foods and discusses the best things we can do for brain health.

Max strives to keep his protein levels up when traveling.

How does sleep relate to brain health and impact cognitive function? 

Max talks about his new book, Genius Kitchen. It is available from any bookstore. 

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The Genius Life  

Books mentioned:

The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat, and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet by Nina Teicholz