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How To Boost Your Brain Health As You Age
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Age and the Brain
Many people think that losing your mental faculties is a natural and unavoidable part of aging. But why are some people afflicted with dementia late in life, while others, like Queen Elizabeth and Henry Kissinger, are still sharp as a tack well into their 90s?
While genetics is a factor, a big part of the equation that not enough people pay attention to is choices.
Choices about what to eat and what to do with your time. The choice to have an active and healthy social network. The choice to get plenty of exercise and sleep.
Let’s examine these one by one.
Diet and the Brain
It is an objective, scientifically verifiable fact that what you eat plays a role in your ability to think clearly, as well as your overall brain health. Have you ever noticed how sometimes, after eating a certain thing, or after drinking really cheap, low quality coffee, for instance, you feel a mental fog? Perhaps you find it more difficult to focus and concentrate than you normally do?
That’s no accident. Certain types of food produce clear thinking and protect the brain from age-related decline, and others do the opposite. It all comes down to nutritional content. If you put better “fuel” into your tank, your engine (the brain) will perform better. Expecting your brain to perform at a high level on Twinkies and soda is roughly analogous to putting diesel fuel into a car that runs on unleaded, and expecting it to perform just as well. Not gonna happen.
Generally speaking, sugary foods that are high in carbohydrates are the least healthy for the brain. On the other end of the spectrum, green vegetables, fish, and certain nuts and natural oils like olive and coconut oil are extremely beneficial for the brain. These foods are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential building blocks of brain tissue.
There are certain diets specially designed to ward off neurodegenerative decline, such as the MIND diet, which is based off the brain-healthy cuisines of the Mediterranean region. A 5-year study of elderly patients at risk for neurodegenerative conditions found that following the MIND diet led to a 53 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
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Marvin Zinn
Feb 20, 2017 at 7:25 am
I will try again later, but this subject “How To Boost Your Brain Health As You Age”
Continue to Page 2 is not active, or if I use next page at the bottom it is completely blank except for other subjects on the right side and the bottom.
What I do experience is from my cracked skull falling off a ladder I had already warned about where I worked. I was expected dead, but after seven weeks coma I woke up. I lost half of my vocabulary.