Easy Ways to Protect Your Brain
By Alice Osborne
We are what we eat, and what we eat affects what we are. That said, let's talk about the 'ol brain. Research says we're experiencing cognitive decline in numbers never before seen. In fact, alzheimer's disease has reached epidemic proportions in the United States.
Alzheimer's disease is not just for the aged anymore, it's showing up at an earlier age, and it's a far greater problem than just memory loss - it kills. Additionally, it makes every other medical problem much tougher to treat. The good news is there are measures we can take that will lower the odds of developing age-related cognitive decline or, worst case scenario, full on dementia.
These measures all center on aggressively protecting your brain! The brain function that typically declines first is connected with working memory, or the capacity to process information. Researchers have identified five functions that tend to be the first ones to decline:
1. Processes requiring your attention
2. Working memory capability, or the amount of information you can work with, without losing track
3. Understanding complex text
4. Making inferences and drawing conclusions
5. Putting information into your memory and retrieving it later
So to avoid brain function decline, we need to get serious about combating the cumulative effects of environmental toxins and exposure to free radicals, we need to minimize stress as much as possible, we need to eat well, and exercise more. Cognitive decay is simply an accumulation of damage to our cells, and it is NOT set in stone.
First, we'll talk exercise. We know how important it is to "exercise" the brain by learning new skills, adopting new and varied daily routines, and engaging in creative activities. Such mental and social exercises stimulate brain activity and promote new neural connections. However, physical exercise is even more important than mental exercise, when it comes to protecting the brain from cognitive decline.
The latest studies show exercise builds bigger brains, and this is important because size does matter when it comes to brain function. Thinking and memory decline have been linked to actual brain shrinkage (atrophy). But it's been found that physical exercise protects against age-related brain changes, but also has more of an effect than mentally stimulating activities. Scientists throughout the world have been studying the relation of exercise to brain health and have all found that people who engaged in the most physical exercise showed the least amount of brain shrinkage. So do what you like - biking, walking, swimming, etc. - and do it consistently!
Finally, let's talk about diet as it relates to brain health.
Brain cells cannot regenerate and repair unless they have the necessary raw materials with which to rebuild. Ideally we want to upregulate repair and regeneration in the brain and this is best accomplished by optimizing insulin and leptin signaling in the body. I tend to zone out when the talk gets too scientific, I'm a bottom-liner. So the bottom line?
• The best way to achieve this optimum signaling is by lowering carb intake and limiting protein consumption to one gram of protein per kilogram of LEAN body mass, meaning between 70 and 75 grams or less of protein everyday.
• 
Replace the reduced carb and protein intake with healthy fats such as coconut oil, avocado, olive oil, and fats from healthy pastured animals (such as butter).
• 
The two most important nutrients for the brain are fats and antioxidants, with the most important macronutrient for the brain being FAT (60% of the brain if fat). So protect the brain by giving it healthy fats from whole raw foods.
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Include eggs and dairy, a rich source of lecithin, choline and vitamin B12 - nutrients especially important for good brain function. The best eggs are those that come from free roaming, cage free poultry.
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Eat plenty of omega-3 fats - krill oil being an exceptional source for this. It crosses the blood-brain barrier, so it's highly bio-available to the brain. Most people only need two to three 500 mg capsules of krill oil per day in order to get all of the DHA and EPA they need.
• 
Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables (organic, ideally) - the BEST sources of antioxidants (spinach is one of the best.)
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Keep your diet low in sugar, especially fructose. Alzheimer's is a form of brain starvation, and glucose metabolism appears to play an important role in the disease. It's already known that diabetics have four times the risk of Alzheimer's, and those with pre-diabetes have triple the risk. The recommendation is between 15 and 25 grams of fructose per day, and berries are the best choice.
• 
Take melatonin. It helps slow brain aging. Melatonin actually has antioxidant properties that may help explain its important anti-aging role, as it helps to suppress harmful free radicals in the body and even slows the production of estrogen, which can activate cancer.
Sources:
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