Be a fathead: why you should eat omega-3 fats.

Our basic premise is: Your body is amazing: you get a do-over; it doesn't take that long, and isn't that hard if you know what to do.

Let's review our tips so far:

1. Understand you get a do-over. It's not that hard, and it doesn't take that long if you know what to do.

2. Start with walking.

3. Recruit a buddy and call daily.

4. Learn how to make YOU-turns.

5. Turn sirtuin on with a glass of wine, knotweed pie or a sirtuin drug (someday) every night.

6. Aim lower: Know your blood pressure numbers and get them to 115/75, whatever it takes.

7. Food is not Let's Make a Deal: Choose four handfuls a week of broccoli or any cruciferous vegetable to make prostate, breast and colon cancer much less likely.

We want you to continue with these tips, but add some important stuff to your diet--specifically walnuts, algae, coffee and turmeric. Why? Because we want you to memorize this column. Yup, that's right--coffee, walnuts, algae (or the DHA from them or trout or salmon) and turmeric have all recently been shown to help you keep your memory young.

Talk about power plants! The humble coffee bean and algae plants may have the power to help keep your mind and memory sharper than an Iron Chef's knives. New research found that these two simple weapons may help you keep Alzheimer's disease or the more common age-related minimal cognitive dysfunction (memory failure) at bay, or possibly reverse some of its troublesome changes. The news comes in the nick of time, because death rates from this disease have risen by nearly 50 percent since the year 2000.

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While physics would dictate that your food travels down after you eat it, a certain amount travels up to your brain (via arteries after it's been through the digestive process, of course). Among the best nutrients to help keep your cerebral power lines strong are omega-3 fatty acids--the kinds of fat found in fish like salmon and trout. These healthy fats, which have been shown to slow cognitive decline in people who are at risk, not only help keep your arteries clear but improve the function of your message-sending neurotransmitters. Aim for 13 ounces of salmon or trout a week or an ounce of walnuts a day. Or, if you prefer supplements, take 2 grams of fish oil a day (metabolically distilled) or 600 milligrams of DHA from algae (where fish get their omega-3s). DHA is the omega-3 that seems best for the brain.

Now why did we say salmon or trout and not fish? Because over the last 10 years, the normal omega-3 in many fish has been replaced by omega-6. Of all fish sold in America, only salmon and trout still have primarily omega-3 fatty acids (as determined by government data compiled from fish samples from 30 wholesalers throughout the United Sates). Apparently all other fish species in American will eat soy or corn meal routinely used to fatten them, but that forms primarily omega-6's in the fish. Salmon and trout stay with the algae that are high in omega-3's (and DHA, the key omega-3 fat in fish oil).

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DHA is also the key fat in your brain--yes, we are all fatheads--because 60 percent of our brains are structural fat (versus storage) and 50 percent of that is DHA. So it makes sense that when 480 people with complaints about their memories took 900 milligrams of DHA from algae, they made fewer mistakes in a memory test than they did before taking the supplements. And in that randomized controlled trial, it wasn't just a small fraction of fewer mistakes--the subjects made the equivalent mistakes of people seven years younger or more. Other DHA research hasn't shown such dramatic benefits yet, but we think there are plenty of other good reasons to take it (at a dose of 600 to 900 milligrams a day, if you think your memory is fine). Moreover, DHA (from algae) is one item that predictably prevents the most common kind of vision loss in older age--that from macular degeneration.

Our second choice for your brain comes from another plant: the coffee bean. The "active" ingredient in your morning cup of joe may keep your mind sharp long past lunchtime--at least, that's what happened in this mouse study. When rodents with the symptoms of Alzheimer's were fed about 500 milligrams of caffeine a day (about five cups of regular coffee), they not only did better on memory and thinking tests, but their brains had a 50 percent reduction in beta-amyloid protein, a troublesome compound that collects in your brain and tangles up your ability to think. (No word on whether they started buying stock in Starbucks.) This research confirmed the effect that has been found in studies of large groups of humans--six cups or more a day decreases the risk of memory loss or Alzheimer's disease by more than 40 percent.

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Blueberries are rich in resveratrol, the same potent anti-cancer and heart-protective compound found in abundance in red wine (see an earlier column in SUCCESS about turning on the sirtuin gene). Even better, blueberry indulgences won't leave you with a hangover. Scientists also recently identified other phenols with power in different species of these little berries: piceatannol, a cancer fighter, and pterostilbene, a compound credited with helping control blood sugar. This fruit isn't just high in tongue-twisters: Blueberries are also loaded with fiber, which keeps your waist where you want it and your heart ticking healthfully.

There's more: These little round packages tackle inflammation and oxidation. Why do they matter to your brain? Because both oxidative stress and inflammation appear to play a part in Alzheimer's disease.

Finally, look for recipes that include turmeric. This yellow-hued spice is widely used in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking, and recent studies have shown it offers benefits to memory.

So next time you're at the market, stock up on walnuts, blueberries, DHA sourced from algae, and turmeric for a memory boost that could last a lifetime.

Michael F. Roizen, M.D., is a professor of internal medicine and anesthesiology, and chief wellness officer and chair of the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. Mchmet C. Oz, M.D., is a professor and vice chairman of surgery, as well as director of the Cardiovascular Institute and Integrated Medical Center at New York's Presbyterian-Columbia University.

Roizen and Oz are the authors of the. New York Times best-selling YOU series, including their recent releases, YOU Having a Baby and YOU: Being Beautiful: The Owner's Manual to Outer and Inner Beauty (Free Press). Their goal: By the year's end, you'll have extended your body's warranty with surefire anti-aging strategies that will, in their words, "give you more energy than a. Labrador puppy."

Lean habits for a healthier life from Drs. Oz and [e-mail]