Fighting forgetfulness with folate

A friend asked the other day if we had ever done a story on preventing or delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease through nutrition. And, not kidding, I couldn’t remember whether we had or not. Which made me think that you can’t have too much information on how to fortify your brain and memory through the foods you eat.

When it comes to your brain, what you shouldn’t eat is almost as important as what you should. Studies have shown that transfats and saturated fat can impair your mental functioning because they cause inflammation, which is as bad for your brain as it is for your joints; and because they encourage the growth of the free radicals that seem to race through our bodies wreaking havoc like bikers from the Mad Max movies.

On the other side of the ledger, nearly all fresh fruits and vegetables can help fight free radicals, so try to incorporate them in some fresh form into your diet every day (and no, a blueberry Pop Tart does not count as a serving of fruit).

Alzheimer’s researchers have also found that taking a combination of vitamin C and vitamin E can help strengthen your brain, especially if you’re able to ingest 2,000 mg of C a day (you might need it in supplement form to hit that peak).

But one of the minerals that is considered most vital to protecting brain health — and fighting the onset of Alzheimer’s — is folic acid or folate.

I had never heard of folate until I got pregnant 15 years ago. At that point, I was told to increase my intake of folic acid, because it would protect my daughter’s body (especially her spine) as it developed. It was interesting to me to learn that this nutrient that is so vital  at the beginning of life is also essential at the end of life.

Curiously, the body doesn’t absorb it as easily in its natural form (folic acid) as it does in its synthetic form (folate). Fortunately, many foods today are enriched with folate, including some types of orange juice (so you get two birds with one stone: vitamin C and folate) and many types of breads, cereals and pastas.

But try to incorporate some natural folic acid into your diet.  Most of the natural sources have other things going for them; they’re usually full of vitamins and high in fiber (good for keeping your weight down and protecting your colon) and low in fat.

Folic acid is found in many of the same foods as vitamin E (that essential partner of vitamin C). For example, you can get it from dark green vegetables, not just the leafy greens and broccoli, but also in asparagus and avocados.

Nearly every grocery store in this area has a basket of avocados in the produce department at all times. I like the ones with black pebbly skins (which are more common) better than the smooth-skinned green ones, which I find a little watery. Buy one that’s hard and within about 24 hours it will be perfectly ripe.

You don’t need to make  guacamole or do anything elaborate to enjoy an avocado. Just cut it in half along the longer axis, gently twist one side while firmly holding the other, and the two halves will separate easily. Spear the pit out with a pointed knife.

I immediately squeeze a little lemon juice on the exposed skin to keep it from turning brown (avocados have to be eaten within a half hour or so of being cut open; don’t bother refrigerating the portions you don’t use, unless you’re not averse to eating bruised fruit).

I learned from Maria Paz Reyes of Lakeville that the easiest way to eat an avocado is to smash it in the skin with a fork, spread the mashed flesh on a warm tortilla, and sprinkle a little salt on top.

Ideally, you should first spread some cooked beans on the tortilla; beans are also loaded with folic acid. Lay some very thin slices of shallot on top for a little extra kick. If you’re feeling ambitious, or you’ve recently visited the Latin foods store near the Freshtown Plaza in Amenia, drizzle a little crema (a sort of sour cream-buttermilk mix) on top, and some mole sauce (buy it in a jar and mix it a teaspoon at a time with some warm water or broth).

Serve brown rice on the side and you’ve definitely met your daily folic acid quota.

But of course, you’re not always in the mood for Mexican food, and not everyone eats an avocado a day.

At this time of year, one of the easiest ways to add dark greens to your diet is to heat up a good, low-sodium broth (check the ingredients list; the winning choice will be the one with fewer than six items) and throw in some chopped spinach, broccoli raab, collard greens or another dark leafy vegetable.

I’ve been craving Asian dumplings lately, and recently discovered that you can make up a small batch of them fairly easily (don’t make a big batch; you’ll be ready to pass out by the time you wrap the last one). They freeze well, so you can take a couple out of the freezer and drop them in your hot broth (keep the dumplings separated in the freezer by wrapping them in plastic), where they will tango with your chopped greens.

Add a little soy sauce to your soup and toss in a few slices of fresh ginger (also easily found at nearly every grocery store in this area).

Shrimp dumplings

Makes about a dozen

Six frozen uncooked shrimp (I buy a bagful and pull them out of the freezer whenever I want them; to make dumplings, you don’t even need to defrost them), tails and shells removed

1/2 cup finely shredded Asian cabbage, preferably the lacy napa cabbage

2 scallions, cleaned, trimmed and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger (it’s better if you peel the skin off, but it’s not essential)

Coarse salt and fresh pepper

1 package of wonton skins, found in the produce section of most grocery stores

Chop up all the ingredients (except the skins) very fine. When you make the dumplings, you’ll want a tiny bit of each item in each spoonful you use(be especially careful of the ginger, it tends to clump together).

Open the package of wonton skins; keep a damp paper towel over the package to keep them from drying out as you work.

Fill a small bowl with warm water and keep it near your workspace.

Lay out one skin (when I make dumplings, I turn the skin so it’s in kind of a diamond shape) and drop about a teaspoon of filling into the center.

How much filling you use in each dumpling will depend on how you fold it shut, and whether you like them fat and full or smaller and more delicate.  You’ll have to do a little trial and error, too, to see how much you can add before the skin falls apart from the weight of the filling.

Dip a finger into your bowl of warm water and run some water along the two top edges of your wonton skin diamond. Fold the top edge of the diamond  over, covering the filling, and use a fork to press down firmly along the two edges of what used to be a big diamond but is now a fat, scrumptious triangle. The fork helps you to seal the skin shut, with the water acting like glue.

There are many ways to cook your dumplings. I generally don’t steam them because, frankly, I’m too lazy. If you would like to, get a steamer basket and line it with cabbage leaves. Heat the water to a not-quite-rolling boil, and leave the dumplings in until the shrimp turn from silver to pink.

You can also just drop your dumplings right into your soup (give them about five minutes to cook all the way through).

I like to fry dumplings in a little canola oil. After your dumplings are fried, you can enjoy them with a little soy sauce ; or you can drop them, fried, into your soup.