We have made it past the longest nights of the year and every day is a little bit brighter. Thanks to donors and volunteers we received $5,755 worth of dry goods and ingredients, which allowed us in return to donate $6,937 worth of food, produce, and protein to local resource centers and food pantries. As a result in January, we delivered an astounding 2,213 meals to local community members and families in need. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. What an Incredible start to the year!

February is the perfect month to spread some love and kindness and this Lunar New Year we have even more reason to celebrate. 2024 is the Year of the Dragon and more specifically, the Wood Dragon, which comes every 60 years. The element of wood is seen in Daoist tradition as a return to the natural state of being, which in the dragon’s case, points to a return to kindness. In Chinese folklore, 12 animals competed in a race for the Jade Emperor. Even though the dragon could fly and swim, he finished the race in 5th place because he stopped to create a rainstorm to help the villagers and to save his fellow racer, the rabbit.

“It could be the year in which major conflict can be resolved, if people can focus on empathy,” said Jonathan H. X. Lee, a professor of Chinese folklore and religion at San Francisco State University. “If we continue our tribal thinking, our selfish thinking, we’re not going to achieve it. The Year of the Dragon could be lucky, but only if we are kind to one another.”

So, Xīnnián Kuàilè! Happy Lunar New Year! Let us behave selflessly and generously just as the powerful dragon would.

February is Black History Month and events and celebrations of Black culture are happening all over Delaware. For locals, A Chorale Tapestry: Black History Month Celebration will be hosted by the Epworth United Methodist Church on Feb 24th and the Wilmington Ballet Presents Deep Roots at the Milton Theater on Feb 11th. Then stop at Summer J Artisan Ice Pops for a vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free treat at this proudly Black owned local business. 

Bjorn Lomborg argues that global efforts to do good are often hampered by wanting to achieve too much at once. “Saying everything is a priority means nothing is a priority,” he says. So how can we take a calculated look at how to prioritize the many things that we know need fixing? Bjorn believes the answer is funding. 

In his book, “Best Things First,” Lomborg relies on peer-reviewed economics research and benefit-cost analysis to calculate how much in total benefits society gets for each dollar spent on a given solution. It may sound cold at first to weigh one issue against another, but the practicality of having actionable steps toward meaningful progress have been proven to utilize funds more efficiently and deploy aid more effectively. 

“There are lots of things that are problematic in the world. There are also lots of solutions, but not all solutions are equally good. Some are very effective. That is, for every dollar spent, they will deliver a lot of good that could be saving lives or making people better off or making the environment better.”

This is Your Brain on Veggies

Sometimes when we’re trying to get to sleep, we feel like we can’t turn our brains “off.” But your brain is never really off, it keeps your heart beating, it keeps your lungs breathing, it keeps your cells dividing and your blood carrying oxygen. It’s always working. It’s the only one we have and it needs a constant supply of fuel. 

So it makes sense that we would want to supply it with premium fuel. Like an expensive car, put the right things into it and great performance will come out of it, put the wrong things into it and performance diminishes, or worse, it breaks down. We want to protect our investment, unlike a car, we can’t go to the lot and pick up a new brain. And scientists are realizing the strong connection between gut bacteria and brain health better every day. Nutritional psychiatry is finding that there are many consequences and correlations between not only what you eat, and how you feel, but also how you behave. And it’s even more important for “vintage” models.

Researchers found that certain nutrients are linked to a lower risk of cognitive impairment as we age. These diets include a variety of vitamins, minerals, and specific types of fats found in fish such as DHA/EPA which are awesome sources of omega-3 unsaturated fats. On the flip side, some dietary components seem to increase the risk. Unsurprisingly, diets that lack variety, are high in saturated fats and foods that cause high blood sugar levels such as over processed, high glycemic foods, were associated with a greater risk of cognitive decline.

Dr. Tiarnán Keenan, the study’s lead author and Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator at the National Eye Institute explains: “Overall, this supports the idea that a Mediterranean-like diet pattern is strongly associated with decreased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia,” he says. “Important aspects of the Mediterranean diet pattern include frequent consumption of plant-based foods and infrequent consumption of saturated/monounsaturated fats (e.g., red meat) or foods with high glycemic index (e.g., refined sugars). Diets high in these nutrients may maximize cognitive reserve against impairment and dementia.”

“The main message is that a diet of foods rich in particular nutrients is very strongly linked to decreased risk of cognitive impairment and therefore likely dementia,” Keenan says. “The nutrients with these protective associations include vitamins (kale, broccoli, dried apricots), minerals (nuts, seeds, eggs, dark chocolate), carotenoids (think brightly colored fruit & veg like bell peppers, watermelon, carrots, grapefruit), lipids (fish, avocados, olives) and fiber (whole grains, pears, bananas, & oats).”

Sounds delicious to me!

Add more recipes from the Mediterranean Diet to your meal rotation and give your brain the premium fuel it deserves.