Although animals like elephants, dolphins and whales have larger brains than humans, our cerebrums separate us from the herd, so to speak.

Your brain contains a vast network of connections capable of performing 20 million-billion calculations per second.

Get that? Not 20 million. Not even 20 billion. But 20 million-billion. How does it work?

It’s estimated that there are over 100 billion neurons in the brain available to facilitate thought.

The brain (like the rest of the body) is reliant on energy generation from common elements the body takes in throughout the day – nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen and carbon – which are available through food, water and the air we breathe.

As Registered Dietitian Elizabeth Somer has reported, “The brain only makes up about 2% of our body weight, but it requires about 30% of the day’s calories, much of which should come from high-quality carbohydrates.”³