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Connection, Consciousness, Wisdom

Genius Foods

By Max Lugavere with Paul Grewal, MD

“Discover the critical link between your brain and the food you eat and change the way your brain ages, in this cutting-edge, practical guide to eliminating brain fog, optimizing brain health, and achieving peak mental performance from media personality and leading voice in health Max Lugavere.

After his mother was diagnosed with a mysterious form of dementia, Max Lugavere put his successful media career on hold to learn everything he could about brain health and performance. For the better half of a decade, he consumed the most up-to-date scientific research, talked to dozens of leading scientists and clinicians around the world, and visited the country’s best neurology departments—all in the hopes of understanding his mother’s condition.

Now, in Genius Foods, Lugavere presents a comprehensive guide to brain optimization. He uncovers the stunning link between our dietary and lifestyle choices and our brain functions, revealing how the foods you eat directly affect your ability to focus, learn, remember, create, analyze new ideas, and maintain a balanced mood.

Weaving together pioneering research on dementia prevention, cognitive optimization, and nutritional psychiatry, Lugavere distills groundbreaking science into actionable lifestyle changes. He shares invaluable insights into how to improve your brain power, including

the nutrients that can boost your memory and improve mental clarity (and where to find them); the foods and tactics that can energize and rejuvenate your brain, no matter your age; a brain-boosting fat-loss method so powerful it has been called “biochemical liposuction”; and the foods that can improve your happiness, both now and for the long term. With Genius Foods, Lugavere offers a cutting-edge yet practical road map to eliminating brain fog and optimizing the brain’s health and performance today—and decades into the future.”

Genius Foods

  1. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
  2. Avocados
  3. Blueberries
  4. Dark Chocolate
  5. Eggs
  6. Grass-Fed Beef
  7. Dark Leafy Greens
  8. Broccoli
  9. Wild Salmon
  10. Almonds

This diet is designed to balance the fed and fasted states. Insulin regulation is key for brain health.

  1. Dark chocolate - unfortunately he says to eat chocolate that has NOT been processed with alkali which destroys many of the beneficial phytonutrients. You can check this on the label. Sadly my go to 90%+ dark chocolate from the store has alkali!

Creatine supplements are key for vegetarians, but regular meat eaters (fish/red meat) are unlikely to need more.

  1. Add cruciferous vegetables to your diet both raw and cooked. Add mustard powder to cooked cruciferous vegetables to protect important phytonutrients from cooking.

Low levels of the hormone leptin can cause anhedonia (a lack of pleasure and happiness) and social withdrawal! Sleep heavily effects leptin. Intermittent fasting helps leptin regulation. Having refeed days of carbs and low fat keeps leptin levels stable. Eat your carbs on workout days. A high carb day is 150g of carbs where most Americans eat 300g of carbs on average. Low carb is 30-80g. Ketogenic diets hover around 30g carbs. The minimum necessary carbs for healthy brain function is 30g and lower causes serious health decline.

He discusses the “virtues of stress” and quotes the anti-fragility author directly! He argues for anabolic exercise and HIIT.

Avoid emulsifiers in nutmilks. Avoid aluminum in deoderant.

Foods which can be consumed liberally throughout the diet. If you’re looking to gain/lose weight, adjust concentrated fats.

Oils and fats:

Protein:

Nuts and seeds:

Vegetables:

Non-starchy root vegetables:

Low-sugar fruits:

Herbs/Seasonings/Condiments:

Fermented organic soy:

Beverages:

Sometimes-foods (moderation, post-two week adaptation, later at night):

At most 3-4 servings per week. Organic if possible

Starchy root vegetables:

Non-gluten containing unprocessed grains:

Dairy:

Whole, sweet fruit:

Legumes:

Sweeteners:

Once adapted a higher carb meal is fine, especially timed around after a workout. Total daily carbs should be less than 150g.

Polyphenol food sources:

Phenol Found in Benefits
Resveratrol Red wine, dark chocolate, pistachios Improves brain glucose metabolism, cognitive function
Quercetin Onions Strengthens gut barrier integrity and reduces permeability
Anthocyanins Blueberries Reduces cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s risk
Fisetin Strawberries, cucumbers Reduces brain inflammation, protects from cognitive decline

Custom Carb Pyramid (3 Tiers)

Ultra-low/Ketogenic (Days 1-14)

Low(er) carb (after 14 days)

Optional: Carb cycling