The Neuro-Healthy Food Pyramid
Vegetables are high in nutrients and antioxidants, which reduce memory loss and reduce the risk of cancer. They are also rich in fiber, which helps you feel full longer and keeps your digestive tract healthy.
Fruits are rich in nutrients, especially vitamins. Fruit contains natural sugars which stimulate the brain so we can think faster and recall information more quickly.
Legumes contain folate, which boosts brain power. They are also high in minerals and fiber without the saturated fat found in some animal proteins .
Eggs are rich in Omega-3 acids, which support brain health.
Beans contain nutrients, such as B Vitamins, necessary for healthy brain and nerve cells, as well as for normal functioning of the skin, nerves and digestive system.
Oily Fish is one of the best sources of essential fatty acids like omega-3.
Sweets do not contain many vitamins or minerals. So they are called "empty calorie" foods. They are to be eaten rarely.
Meats are filled with protein and have animal fats (such as DHA and EPA) are valuable for cardiovascular and brain health. They are to be eaten infrequently however.
Detox/Fasting – Science has proven that your body repairs and your brain actually grows when you fast, as the shock of fasting leads it to create new cells.
In summary, for “flexible” neurons and agile brain hardware eat more of your nutrients from Whole Natural Foods and Plant-based sources, and less from Artificial and Animal based sources. The brain needs ketone and glucose not meat. Note that many families may not achieve this, but it accurately represents the “ideal” diet for optimal health, and we might as well be aiming at the right target.
Lifestyle factors can damage your brain’s front lobes. Also “meats” tend to make your neurons tough or less elastic to adapt to new learning.
Start By Building Your Brain's Hardware –Use A Food Calendar
Fruits: Banana, Papaya, Orange, Mango, Naseberry, Melon, Cantaloupe, Pineapple, Apples, Soursop, Cane, Grapefruit, Lime, Water
Nuts & Berries: Almond, Cashew, Peanut, Walnuts, Prune, Raisins, Cranberries, Blueburries, Pomegranate
Peas & Beans: Red, Gungo, Chick, Green, Black, Broad, Navy (baked), Gully (susumber), String
Vegetables: Callaloo, Cabbage, Bok choy (pak choi), Lettuce, Peppers, Thyme, Escallions, Ginger, Onion, Garlic, Mint, Parsley, Cucumber
Ground Provisions: Yam, Green Banana, Pumpkin, Potatoes, Beets, Turnips, Chocho
Natural Sweeteners and Oils: Honey, Cod Liver Oil, Coconut, Soy, Olive, Oregano Oil
Cereal and Grains: Old Fashioned Oats, Granola, Rice
Exercise: Walking, Resistance Training, Swimming, Sports, Jogging, Aerobics, Yoga
The above table is an example of a Food Calendar’s schedule of weekly meals. Aim to extract more nutrients from whole natural foods and plant-based sources. Please be responsible and consult with your Medical Nutritionist or Dietitian to ensure the correct balance of nutrients is provided for your body type and state. The authors, editors, and publisher accept no liability for any injury arising out of the use of material contained herein, and make no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the contents of this publication.
Can we Outlaw 'Punishment' from the Law?
Is punishment attempting to make people learn and modify their behavior? Yes, but are people really learning or are they vengefully re-punishing? Is Punishment the only way to learn and modify behavior? No, but are there ‘brain-friendly’ ways to effectively learn and modify behavior? Yes, and instead of punishing people like slaves to do ‘muscular’ work; the Global Economy requires people to do creative ‘intellectual’ brain work while machines do muscular work. 80% of Jamaicans are not globally skilled. Replacing Punishment will liberate people’s brains to explore outside-the-box, learn, adapt and succeed in the brain-centric global economy.
PUNISHMENT CANNOT LEARN: When a person is being punished, what is he/she thinking about except to fight or flee from physical damage and feelings of pain or suffering? There is little or no learning taking place, and neuroscience has now confirmed this enforcement of ignorance! With punishment, people use their innate fight/flee survival routines to ‘conform’ like robots, without learning ‘why’ or how to use the ‘fundamental building blocks’ to resolve present and future challenges.
PUNISHMENT SELF-DESTRUCTS: Situations, regulations and reality are persistently changing and require people to modify their behavior or ‘suffer the consequences’. If people used punishment to conform to one situation then they will require punishment repeatedly to adapt/re-conform to life’s changing situations (i.e. rote learning). Soon we have a society and culture of people by default ‘exchanging punishments’ as the currency to resolve challenges and achieve goals, yet without adaptive learning. So punishment destroys its own goal to use learning to modify behavior. In 2015, the Ministry of Education claims students were rote learning and consequently lack knowledge of using fundamental concepts.
Example: Having security personnel at so many locations like ‘stop lights’ across Jamaica indicates that people are using the fear of repeated punishment to re-conform, navigate and negotiate within society. The absence of so many security personnel across Denmark along with the outlawing of punishment indicates that people are creatively navigating and negotiating with others in society.
LAW PUNISHES CULTURE: I grew up hearing “Ignorance of the Law is no excuse, hence use Punishment”. Also God made Hell to punish sinners. Then I saw the police beating people on the road. People often got punished by the Courts. Then I got beating from my parents and teachers. I got into fights myself and witnessed my parents, friends and others fighting to resolve disputes. People sometimes punish themselves to achieve goals. One of my employees recently told me that she expects a whip in the office; else she is not motivated to work. Is she psychologically traumatized in fight/flee survival mode even when there is no survival situation in reality? Is she habitually demanding punishment even when there is no situation deserving punishment? Is Punishment creating brain disabilities which inadvertently and addictively encourage Punishment in a vicious cycle?
CULTURE PUNISHES YOUTHS: When situations, regulations and reality change frequently; people will either suffer the consequences or use their Brains as the agent of change to learn, adapt and succeed in life. If we transform the culture to promote modifying behavior without punishment, then there is hope to adaptively re-socialize youths to meet changes in reality. Also youths can help re-socialize ‘lesser adaptive’ adults. The great efforts to re-socialize, especially youths are subsequently destroyed when they return to environments where they are frequently ‘punished’ to re-conform. Out of disability, people seemingly conform since punishment is destructive to the brain’s capacity to use learning to modify behavior and adapt. Understandably, it may be difficult for lesser adaptive adults to make significant changes in behavior. However the more adaptive children often realize that new behaviors represent threats deserving punishment by their families and communities. Especially since adults are ‘leaders’ and youths are cultured to be ‘followers’ of lesser adaptive lifestyles. As youths become adults the cycle of punishment continues. Can we modify the Law to support youth creativity and innovation?
BRAIN FRIENDLY LAWS: The system of ‘Reward or Punishment’ runs deep in our institutions, religions and culture. Is Punishment a barbaric means of conforming behavior without learning? Is Punishment being demoted or becoming obsolete in modern societies? I understand that there was not sufficient research before, but since we now have neuroscience (Damasio), can we make a move to outlaw using punishment to modify behavior? Instead, the Law can utilize ‘Brain Friendly’ ways to adapt, learn and modify behavior. These may include: neuro-psychotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming, neuro-management, universal design for learning, special education, coaching, problem solving teamwork, brain food, fitness and game training among others from the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science (USA).
DENMARK BANS PUNISHMENT: My experiences in Denmark have been transformative and this had led me to research the fundamental building blocks behind their success. Research in neuroscience now shows that Denmark’s success and rank of happiest country in the world since 1976, is highly related to outlawing punishment from as early as 1911.
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Read more at KRYS Creativity Learning Research link: (PC version | Mobile version | PDF version)
