Nutrition expert Patrick Holford, author of the number one bestselling Amazon brain book Upgrade Your Brain, announces the addition of the new ‘Brain Food Upgrade’ pack to his nutritional supplement range from HOLFORDirect.

Holford says there are three essentials for building and maintaining a healthy brain.

“Brain size is literally shrinking – that is what dementia is. The dry weight of the brain is 60% fat. The two fats you need to build your brain are omega-3 DHA, found in fish oils, and phospholipids, especially phosphatidylcholine, which are rich in lecithin granules.” Holford calls these the ‘wood and the nails’ of the brain.

The hammer is vitamin B. Specifically, vitamins B6, B12, and folate (found in greens) drive a process called methylation, which is needed to ‘attach’ the phospholipid to the omega-3 fat.

“This is why B vitamins don’t work without omega-3, and omega-3 doesn’t work without sufficient B vitamins. Every single trial that has included these two vital brain nutrients has improved cognitive decline and slowed down age-related brain shrinkage by up to 73% a year.”

Holford takes these three supplements: high-strength omega-3 fish oils giving the optimal amount of DHA (500mg); lecithin rich in phospholipids; and Connect, a B vitamin formula designed to optimise methylation, which is indicated by a low blood level of homocysteine.

This is his Brain Food Upgrade Pack, which he takes twice a day. “When you get the right intake of brain-building nutrients, your brain starts to “sing”. There’s a sense of contentment, clear focus, no brain fog, and you sleep much better,” he says.

Foodforthebrain.org, the charity he founded sixteen years ago, offers a free cognitive function test followed by a questionnaire that works out what is driving future risk to help you dementia-proof your diet and lifestyle.

The charity also offers a home test kit that measures your homocysteine level (above 11 mcmol/l means brain shrinkage) and omega-3 index, with 8% or more meaning you’ve optimised your intake of omega-3. Patrick eats oily fish three times a week and supplements with his Brain Food Upgrade Pack every day.

He says, “Smash it – salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and herrings or kippers – three times a week.” Our ancestors, he says, ate seafood most days. The richest source of omega-3 and phospholipids, as well as B12, is caviar!

The supplements in the Brain Food Upgrade Pack, developed by HOLFORDirect, are like caviar for the brain.