Genius Foods

Americans to the boogeyman hiding in their butter. When
the US government adopted the idea in 1977, the “low-fat”
myth became gospel.
In an instant, Americans became the target of
manufacturers seizing the opportunity to churn out
“healthy” low-fat, high-sugar foods and polyunsaturated fat-
based spreads (“cholesterol free!”). Chemical- and heat-
extracted oils like canola and corn oil were promoted to
health food status, while naturally occurring fats from whole
foods—even avocados—were shunned. Overnight,
margarine—a rich source of a synthetic fat called trans fat—
became “heart-healthy buttery spread.”
Between industry shortcuts, scientific hubris, and
governmental ineptitude, we took real, natural foods and
warped them into a chemical minefield of “nutrients.” The
first victim of this fatty fiasco? Our brains, which are made
almost entirely of fat. Sixty percent of the delicate, damage-
prone human brain is composed of fatty acids, and—as
we’ll see in the following pages—the kinds of fats you
consume dictate both the moment-to-moment quality of
your brain’s function and its predilection to disease.
Fats take a marquee role in every aspect of your life—
from your decision-making processes, to your ability to lose
weight, to your risk for diseases like cancer, and even the
rate at which you age. By the end of this chapter, you’ll be
able to choose the fat-containing foods that optimize not
only your cognitive performance, executive function, mood,
and long-term brain health, but your overall health as well.
If you take anything away from this section, let it be that it’s
not the amount of fat you consume; it’s the type.