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Honeybrains, neurologist-run NYC cafe, is serving up food for thought in NoLIta

Dr. Alon Seifan is trying to save lives, one honey-sweetened coffee and fresh-pressed juice at a time.

Seifan is a full-time neurologist, but he’s also the medical mind behind the new NoLIta cafe Honeybrains — where he’s applying medicine to the menu.

“I have all this knowledge that I think can really make a difference in people’s lives,” Seifan said in a telephone interview. “What can I do with it?”

Seifan asked himself that question a few years ago, and eventually he found that the answer was a restaurant. He looked at evidence-based ways of eating, from the Mediterranean diet to the USDA’s guidelines, and worked with the ingredients they had in common.

That broke down to five basic groups, Seifan said: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and healthy fats.

Here’s a look at how those ingredients — and the one that gives the cafe its name, honey — are being used at the restaurant, which opens Tuesday.