By Frieda’s Specialty Produce CEO Karen Caplan

Well, if that title doesn’t grab your attention, then I don’t know what will.

I recently attended a produce conference in San Antonio, Texas, where I was able to meet and hear Drew Ramsey MD, who co-authored the cookbook "Fifty Shades of Kale". His day job is as an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York City. He is also a leading proponent of eating for brain health.

After hours, Drew is better known as the co-founder of National Kale Day, celebrated every year on October 5.

What I liked most about Dr. Ramsey is that he is approachable, humble, married with two young children, and is sincerely passionate about his work. After his talk, I listened to him patiently answer question after question from audience members who had individual personal health questions.

Dr. Ramsey’s premise is that if you choose foods that feed your brain (admittedly the most important organ in your body), it will help ensure a well-functioning body and predict your current and future health.

Clearly kale is his pet produce, but he also talks about other food plants in terms of nutrient density. Many of my personal favorites are on his list: maroon/purple carrots, spinach, red cabbage, garlic, peppers, broccoli, asparagus, lemons, strawberries, and Brussels sprouts. It’s no surprise that most of these are trending and showing up more often in supermarket produce departments and on top restaurant menus.

In case you’re wondering how kale got to be so popular, Dr. Ramsey begins his “The Rise of Kale” history in 1996 when The Los Angeles Times published a poem dedicated to the leafy green, entitled “Oh Kale". Bo Muller-Moore’s Eat More Kale T-shirt of 2001 further promoted the vitamin-filled veggie. Perhaps it was Whole Living’s decision to name kale a “powerfood” in 2008 that finally tipped it into our collective consciousness, as in that same year 539 babies in the U.S. were named “Kale.”

It certainly didn’t hurt its popularity when Brad’s Raw Foods introduced kale chips the following year. And in 2010 the kale salad at Northern Spy in New York City inspired a New York Times kale salad recipe. Did that change salads forever at your house like it did at mine?

According to Bon Appetit Magazine, 2012 was the “Year of Kale,” and National Kale Day was born in 2013. Despite a backlash the following year, kale was served to 650,000 students in 2,500 public schools on National Kale Day in 2015 and this year McDonald’s started offering a kale salad.

Quite a meteoric rise, don’t you think?

Although Dr. Ramsey is loyal to kale because of its nutrient density, flexibility, and availability, he makes suggestions about fat too. He says your brain needs fat and that’s just one reason nuts are good for you. Twenty-three almonds are the perfect serving. Another great source is seafood that contains omega-3 fats; wild salmon (not farm-raised) is also high in B12, vitamin D, zinc, iodine, and chromium - all important nutrients. Try six oysters at only 57 calories.

He also recommends fermented foods like kimchi and probiotics because good gut health means good brain health. Iron-rich foods, such as clams, liver, cashews, pumpkin seeds, and dark chocolate, support a healthy brain too. Dr. Ramsey got a quick round of applause when he mentioned that last one.

His last two bits of advice for building and maintaining your best brain possible? Skip the processed foods, and count brain nutrients, not calories.

Dr. Ramsey is a prolific writer and his byline appears regularly in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Men’s Journal. He has a new book out, “Eat Complete: The 21 Nutrients that Fuel Brain Power, Boost Weight Loss and Transform Your Health".

I already ordered it. And I have made some changes and tweaks to my diet to add more good fats. Thank goodness I already eat a diet rich in his top plant foods.

How about you?

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