Dana Smith

“The review included interesting research on brain health in women; identifying research that women with a major depressive disorder who augmented their daily antidepressant with 5 grams of creatine responded twice as fast and experienced remission of depression at twice the rate of women who took just the antidepressant. The researchers recommend a traditional loading dose (0.3 gram per kilogram of body weight a day for 5 to 7 days) or a routine daily dose (3 to 5 grams) for 4 weeks as effective for women, regardless of age. The traditional side effect of weight gain (due to water retention) does not occur with this low dose, yet the health and performance outcomes increase significantly.”
― Stacy T. Sims, Roar: Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong Body for Life

“Not only does your brain get stronger, it gets healthier, too. Bilingual brains are more resistant to the wear and tear of age. Studies show a marked delay in the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease for bilinguals. On average, elderly bilinguals will show symptoms of dementia five years later than monolinguals, and if they’ve learned more than two languages, then the effects are even stronger.”
― Gabriel Wyner, Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It

“As a woman, you become more sensitive to carbohydrates as you age and especially as you enter the menopause transition, because of the decline in your estrogen levels, so eating a diet too high in carbs is detrimental from a blood sugar and metabolism standpoint. Starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes, yams, and winter squash as well as root veggies such as carrots, onions, and garlic are superior forms of carbohydrate from a nutritional standpoint. You don’t need to eat a ton of carbs, but you should eat the right carbs throughout the day (and time them correctly before, during, and after exercise, which we’ll cover in depth in the next chapter) for your physiology and fitness level. What I find works best from both a body composition and performance standpoint among my female athletes is aiming for a daily intake of about 40 to 45 percent whole-food carbohydrates (e.g., veggies, fruit, ancient grains).”
― Stacy T. Sims, Roar: Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong Body for Life

“This is yet another reason why women need to be very careful about extremely low-carb diets, because restricting this macronutrient causes your brain to produce even less serotonin, setting you up for mood disorders, especially if you’re already prone to them.”
― Stacy T. Sims, Roar: Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong Body for Life