Many of us don’t think about brain health and getting old. Our brains need to be healthy as much any other organ in the body. Do you want Alzheimer’s later in life? I watched my grandmother suffer for more than 10 years with this disease. It is an awful thing that takes the person’s life from them but keeps the body alive. I know for a fact my grandmother would never have wanted that for her end years of her life. So the question then is, am I genetically predisposed to this? No, definitely not.
Research says if we do our part by preventing certain factors like obesity, diabetes, smoking and low to no physical activity we can stave off this disease. In fact you can actually boost your brain’s health! We need to move to keep the brain young. Art Kramer, Ph.D. at the University of Illinois believes that higher level of exercise will reduce dementia by as much 30%-40%. Exercising works the hippocampus area of the brain which works with memory formation. As we get older the hippocampus shrinks and that leads to loss of memory. However, exercise triggers the growth of nerve cells and promotes new nerve growth.
So how much exercise are we talking about? Roughly 150 minutes a week or about 20-25 minutes a day (6 days a week) of regular exercise will help maintain your brain’s health. The more you push your workout the more benefits you will get. What am I saying? Go for walks or do a workout, whatever you are capable of doing and as you get good that exercise try to increase the workout to a more moderate pace. Take your time though; we’re not here to hurt ourselves, just get the brain’s hippocampus area firing more nerve endings.
Another idea is to seek out new skills; this will spur the brain into new growth as well. Remember, “What fires together wires together.” It’s also true that you “use it or lost it.” Learn new things; challenge the brain with engaging activities that will help maintain the brain from losing its function. When the lights go out in the brain, they won’t come back on. Read, take a class, learn to sew or take up painting, any of these activities will boost your brain power and keep the lights on longer.
Eating the right foods can help, such as fish, veggies, fruits, nuts and beans. Yes, it is the Mediterranean style diet of eating like a Greek. Eating these foods will reduce Alzheimer’s by as much as 34%-48%. That is huge!! Eating the right foods can be a big factor in preventing this disease. You can do that! A recent study shows that seniors who ate more leafy greens and fruit experienced a lower decline in cognitive brain function. You do that too, at your age you can get a stronghold on creating a healthy brain. Eating healthy aids the brain’s potential in boosting the nerve growth from one end to the other. Drink vegetable juice if you don’t eat veggies, this works just as well. You need at least three serving of veggies, beans and fruit each week for brain health. If you like spicy foods, the brain loves spicing it up and enjoys them as much as your taste buds do going down. Spices like, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, oregano, basil and vanilla are high in antioxidants, which builds brain power! Did you know American Indians have a lower incident of Alzheimer’s because they eat spices in most of their foods which then bonds with the plague that accumulates in the brain and releases the plague build up? What have we got to lose? Brain health isn’t that hard to maintain and as we get older, we can thank ourselves for the health we gave it years earlier. It’s another reason to eat right, get exercise and enjoy life! I want you to be excited about your health and to feel your best NOW. None of us can afford to wait. Eating plant based foods, enjoying beans and downing 3-4 fruits a day is something I look forward to and I feel great inside and my skin (the largest organ in the body) responds by glowing with clear, bright eyes and a clean complexion. I want all of this for you and your life! It’s time to think—brain health.
To your health,
Bill
No comments:
Post a Comment