INTERESTING TIMES

How do you know where it is? In the US, the four foods most likely to contain genes that nature didn't intend are corn, soy, canola and cotton. Most autistic children have allergies to both corn and soy. Soy and canola have been heavily marketed as "health food" and many people are still convinced that "low carb" foods containing soy lecithin and canola oil are parts of a healthy diet. Corn has become an ingredient is almost all processed foods, in the form of high fructose corn syrup and other corn derivatives. And cotton seed oil is another cheap filler ingredient that is ubiquitous. So basically any multi-ingredient food from the grocery store is likely to contain genetically modified ingredients.

( More on GMO risks and avoidance. )

pearl: statins and fibrates both affect amyloid protein and reduce cognitive decline in hyperlipidemic patients until the decline less that patients without hyperlipidemia in the first place
pearl: treating atherosclerosis slows progression of dementia

notes from medscape
( Treating Vascular Risk Factors Slows Cognitive Decline in Alzheimers Disease )

Found the answer at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19661617?ordinalpos=18&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

It turns out that eating a diet rich in polyphenols and polyunsaturated fats actually encourages your brain to grow new cells!

POLYPHENOL SOURCES
most legumes
apples, grapes, pears, plums, cantaloupe
blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries
cherries, cranberries
broccoli, cabbage, celery, onion and parsley
also found in:
red wine, chocolate, green tea, coffee, olive oil, bee pollen (honey) and many grains

POLYUNSATURATED FATS
means omega 3 and 6
grain products, soybeans
herring, salmon, mackerel, halibut, fish oil (omega 3)
mayo, margarine, depending (read the label)
sunflower, safflower, etc oils (omega 6)

Ooooh, another interesting study: oxidative stress causes an upregulation of NMDA receptors on the cerebrovascular endothelium, and "heightens susceptibility to glutamate induced BBB disruption."

First, an old post on EFA metabolism is better than this one:
http://liveonearth.livejournal.com/253995.html#cutid1
( behind cut from Anderson board review notes )

The other night Suz and I watched Supersize Me. It was more interesting than I expected. If you haven't seen it, basically the movie tracks a healthy young man (Morgan Spurlock) who decides to experiment on himself by eating only McDonald's food for an entire month. His girlfriend is a vegan chef, so he normally eats mainly vegetables. But it becomes apparent that part of his motivation is a certain relish for big greasy burgers.
( more )

The upshot: Flaxseed meal (not the oil) may be beneficial for people with IBS who do not respond well to psylium. Freshly ground flax meal is an excellent source of fiber mucilage. Any cholesterol lowering and PMS reducing effects are probably due to the bulking and improved intestinal function. If you are using flax products to increase your omega 3 fatty acid levels, it takes about 7 times more flax oil than fish oil to achieve the same effect. Flax contains ALA (alpha-linoleic acid) which is a precursor of omega-3's, getting converted in the liver. The Natural Standard Research Collaboration sees the current evidence as being inadequate to recommend flax for any condition at this time. Flax in any form goes rancid easily when exposed to light, heat, or oxygen.
( notes from medscape )