Feeding the Brain and Exercising the Mind
Can Brain Food, Mathematics, and Mental Exercise Help Preserve Intelligence for Life?
by: lim ju boo - lin ru wu (林 如 武)
My brother-in-law, Er. Ong Geok Soo, a senior structural engineer working in Singapore in our WhatsApp chat group is constantly teasing me about my drinking goat's brain soup and eating cow's brain - about the lengthy articles I write in this blog he pretended he could not understand, and that it is too late now for him to follow me by eating pig's brain or drinking goat's brain soup.
Consumption of whether cow's or goat's brains too has their health benefits.
Let me tell my story that's not too complicated for my brother-in-law to follow and understand.
In my younger days as a child, my mother often prepared steamed brain soup with medicinal herbs for me. Later, during my early working years, I regularly visited a small Indian food shop behind a Chettiar money lender’s shop in Jalan Lebuh Ampang (Ampang Street) in Kuala Lumpur where I enjoyed goat’s brain cooked with eggs and curry for lunch, and I did this almost everyday for years.
Interestingly, despite consuming foods that many people fear because of their high cholesterol content, whether brains and eggs—my blood cholesterol levels were never elevated when I asked my colleagues at the Institute for Medical Research where we worked together to analyse my blood. The reasons why foods rich in cholesterol do elevate blood cholesterol as most people would have thought, involve quite a bit of biochemistry, and I don't think I should write and explain them, else this will deviate from what I intend to write here.
This personal experience led me to a lifelong question: can eating animal brains, eggs, and other so-called “brain foods” actually improve intelligence, memory, and learning power, especially when consumed during childhood when the brain is still developing?
At the same time, another equally important question arises: does “using the brain” through mathematics, problem-solving, and games like chess strengthen intelligence and memory in the same way physical exercise strengthens muscles?
Modern science suggests that the answer to both questions is yes, but with an important distinction. Nutrition helps build and maintain the brain, while mental exercise trains and strengthens it. Together, they form one of the most powerful combinations for lifelong cognitive health.
Many traditional cultures believed that eating certain organs nourished the same organ in the human body. Liver was eaten for liver strength, bone broth for bones, and brains for intelligence. While this may sound like folklore, neuroscience reveals that there is some scientific truth behind it.
Animal brains, whether from goats, cows, or other animals and eggs are exceptionally rich in nutrients essential for brain function, particularly choline, cholesterol, phospholipids, and omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA. These are not merely food; they are fundamental building materials for the brain itself.
One of the most important nutrients found in eggs and brain tissue is choline. Choline is the precursor for acetylcholine, one of the brain’s most important neurotransmitters. Acetylcholine plays a major role in memory formation, concentration, attention, learning, muscle control, and communication between nerve cells. Without sufficient choline, the brain struggles to form and transmit signals efficiently.
Choline is also essential for building cell membranes and for myelination, the process by which nerve fibers are insulated so that electrical signals travel faster and more efficiently. In simple terms, choline helps both the hardware and the wiring of the brain. This is one reason eggs are often called one of nature’s best brain foods.
Cholesterol is another misunderstood but essential brain nutrient. Many people fear cholesterol, but the brain tells a different story. In fact, the human brain contains about twenty-five percent of the body’s total cholesterol. This is because cholesterol is vital for maintaining the structure of neurons, building synapses between nerve cells, supporting synaptic plasticity, producing hormones, and insulating nerves.
Synaptic plasticity is especially important because it represents the brain’s ability to adapt, learn, and form new memories. Without cholesterol, the brain cannot function properly. This does not mean excessive dietary cholesterol is always beneficial, but it reminds us that cholesterol itself is not the enemy, it is an essential biological necessity.
Animal brains also contain valuable compounds such as phosphatidylserine and DHA. Phosphatidylserine is a phospholipid important for maintaining healthy brain cell membranes and improving communication between neurons. DHA, a major omega-3 fatty acid found in brain tissue, supports memory, mood, cognitive development, and protection against age-related decline. These substances help preserve the fluidity and function of brain cells, much like good oil keeps an engine running smoothly.
The first one thousand days of life, from conception to about two years of age, represent the most critical window for brain development. During this period, nutrients like choline and DHA have their greatest lifelong impact. They support the rapid growth of the hippocampus, which is the brain’s memory center, and they help form neural pathways that influence long-term learning capacity, language development, attention span, and emotional regulation.
Studies have shown that children who receive sufficient animal-sourced foods such as eggs, milk, and meat often demonstrate improved cognitive scores, better school performance, larger head circumferences which are markers of healthy brain growth—and stronger verbal and performance IQ scores. This does not mean these foods create genius, but rather that they provide the necessary construction materials for a developing brain. A strong house needs good bricks that my brother-in-law, as a structural engineer will agree, and a strong and intelligent brain needs good nutrition that all nutritionists too concur.
However, eating goat’s brain does not magically transfer the goat’s intelligence to a person. It simply provides nutrients that support brain development and maintenance. It is similar to giving a carpenter high-quality tools; it does not automatically make him a master craftsman, but it gives him the best chance to perform well. Nutrition creates potential; practice develops ability.
This brings us to the second half of intelligence about exercising the brain.
A well-fed brain still needs training. This is where mathematics, chess, logic puzzles, reading, and deep thinking become essential. Just as muscles weaken without use, the brain also declines when left unstimulated.
Mental activity strengthens the brain through a remarkable process called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. In short, the brain rewires itself according to how we use it.
Mathematics, that has always been one of my pet subjects since a young child is one of the best forms of cognitive exercise. It demands logical reasoning, abstraction, memory, concentration, pattern recognition, and step-by-step problem solving. When solving mathematics problems, the prefrontal cortex—the area responsible for working memory and logical thinking, is highly activated.
Consistent mathematical practice improves working memory, cognitive flexibility, analytical thinking, attention span, and problem-solving ability. Some studies even suggest that regular mathematical engagement can increase gray matter density in certain brain regions. In simple terms, mathematics strengthens the “thinking muscles” of the brain.
Revisiting old school mathematics textbooks later in life - as I sometimes do - for fun, can be surprisingly powerful. Trying once again to solve equations we learned in our youth forces the brain to retrieve forgotten pathways, much like reopening old roads that had become overgrown. This is not merely nostalgia—it is mental rehabilitation.
Chess provides another excellent form of mental exercise and is often called “calisthenics for the mind.” It requires planning ahead, remembering previous moves, predicting future possibilities, visual pattern recognition, and concentration under pressure.
Chess players often demonstrate stronger working memory and improved pattern recognition. Some studies also show improved auditory memory and slower cognitive decline in older adults who regularly engage in strategic games. Chess teaches the brain to think before acting, a valuable skill both on and off the chessboard.
Can these habits help prevent Alzheimer’s disease? Perhaps not completely prevent it, but they may certainly help reduce the risk and delay its onset.
Regular mental exercise helps build what scientists call cognitive reserve. This means the brain develops extra neural pathways that help compensate when aging or disease begins to damage brain tissue. Activities such as mathematics, chess, reading, learning languages, music, writing - just like I do now, puzzles, and social engagement even as I actively do in my WhatsApp chat - all of which I normally occupy my time, can help delay the onset of dementia symptoms and reduce the severity of cognitive decline.
Even in old age, the brain still responds to challenge. It is never too late to teach an old brain new tricks.
The most powerful approach is not food alone - such as eating cow's, goat's or pig's or even monkey's brain - as Chinese do with monkeys, or drinking goat's soup - as my brother-in-law constantly make fun of me - which he said is too late for him to follow me now - or mental exercise alone, but both working together
Imagine a student who eats nutritious meals rich in eggs, fish, and healthy proteins while regularly studying mathematics and developing disciplined thinking. Or imagine an elderly person who revisits old textbooks, solves forgotten school day's maths equations, plays chess, reads deeply, and maintains strong social connections. This combination nourishes the brain biologically and strengthens it functionally.
It supports memory, clarity, resilience, and dignity in aging. Perhaps it may even help reduce the fear of senility, dementia, and the devastating condition known as Alzheimer’s disease.
We spend great effort maintaining our cars, houses, and finances. Yet the most valuable organ we possess is our brains — the very seat of memory, intellect, thought, identity, and wisdom. It deserves both proper nutrition and regular exercise.
Perhaps our elders were wiser than we realized when they insisted on eggs for breakfast, brain soup for strength, and discipline in mathematics. Maybe they understood something modern science is only now explaining:
You, as my blog articles reader - do not only become what you eat.
You also become what you repeatedly think.
Feed the brain.
Exercise the mind.
Protect the memory.
And perhaps, in doing so, protect the person like you and me.
I hope this is a nourishing thought for our brains - even right now, and simple to understand that would be worth my time and effort enjoying writing here.
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