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How you can save your aging brain. 
By Dr. Lorraine Parker, DC, MS

            What weighs about three pounds, has a pinkish gray hue, can be held comfortably in both hands and has the consistency of cold oatmeal? It’s your brain. Unlike the laboratory specimen that looks rock solid, the brain would ooze through your fingers if held in your hands. Despite its unimpressive appearance, the brain is the most remarkable organ in your body.

            As you read this article, your brain cells, called neurons, are firing chemical messages so you can understand the words. It’s actually the quantity of these chemical messages, known as synapses, that facilitates learning and behavior. In addition to reading, your brain allows you to move limbs, digest food, recall cherished memories, coordinate the complicated movements needed to walk, run or ride a bicycle, and remember where you put your keys. Everything your body does, whether awake or asleep, requires brain power. For mental fitness there are two things to remember: exercise your brain daily and supply it with the proper nutrients.

            Start by thinking of your brain as the muscle between your ears and heed the old adage:  if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. Exercising your brain requires challenging activities and not idle work. In fact, the latest research indicates activities which simply pass the time may have a negative effect. The same research encourages people to seek activities that make them feel connected socially because these types of activities form stronger synapses.

            According to a study presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, warding off Alzheimer’s disease requires a daily dose of non-occupational activities. The Academy’s suggestions for non-occupational workouts include playing a musical instrument, gardening, or playing board games. Two well-known geniuses were doing mental push-ups before the researchers made this discovery. Albert Einstein played the fiddle, and Winston Churchill painted landscapes.

            Although scientists previously believed that the brain’s circuitry was hardwired by adolescence and inflexible as we aged, new studies have discovered the brain’s remarkable ability to change and adapt well into old age. As further evidence of the burgeoning research focused on the brain’s flexibility, a group of octogenarian-plus nuns in Mankato Minnesota have scientists scrambling to peer at their brain’s circuitry after their demise. The scientists studying the effects of mental stimulation on brain longevity have found these nuns to be proof positive of the brain’s ability to grow new synapses. They’re still teaching school and for non-occupational mental calisthenics they do puzzles and play board games.

            In addition, the scientists at UCLA’s Brain Research Institute agree that anything intellectually challenging can benefit the brain at any age. Try one or two of the following Research Institute’s suggestions daily:

• Regularly do jigsaw or crossword puzzles
• Play or learn to play a musical instrument
• Fix something, for instance, your car’s brakes or repair an electric shaver
• Start painting or writing poetry
• Try square dancing, tap dancing or ballet
• Go out and meet interesting people

 

The scientists agree that becoming an expert at any of the above is not important. It’s the challenge of trying to do them that will fine tune your brain’s synapses. Another creative way to start thinking “outside the box” is to visit the Creativity Resource website (www.creativitycentral.com) and try the Stretch-ercises to excite, stimulate and exercise your brain. The following are some examples of Stretch-ercises:

• Move your watch, ring or wallet to a new place for a day, week or month
• Listen to a different style of music, try a new food, restaurant, or recipe
• Read the newspaper in a different order
• Sit in a new place for meals, meetings, church or temple

 

            Finally, you need proper nutrients for mental fitness. Because we breathe oxygen, our bodies generate free radicals. It’s the free radicals that destroy the brain. Think about leaving butter outside the refrigerator. The butter goes rancid because of the chemical reaction occurring between the fat in the butter and the oxygen in the air. Since your brain is more that 60 percent fat, the aging diseases of senility, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease can be thought of as a similar chemical reaction. It’s your brain going rancid.

            How can you preserve your brain? Start by taking a daily dose of the nutrients called antioxidants. These miracle substances annihilate free radicals before they can destroy your brain. Some antioxidant nutrients are vitamins A, C, E, B12 and folic acid. In fact, vitamin E outperformed a prescription medication when given to Alzheimer’s disease patients. According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the group taking vitamin E retained greater brain function. A deficiency of either vitamin B12 or folic acid has been linked to mental confusion, depression, memory problems and dementia. Older adults may require an intramuscular injection of vitamin B12 because the production of the stomach substance which facilitates its absorption declines with age. The herb, Gingko biloba, one of the most extensively studied nutritional supplements, has been shown to improve brain metabolism and blood flow.

            Saving your brain should be a “no brainer” at any age. And then you can look forward to celebrating your 100th birthday with mental vim and vigor.

 

 

OTHER ARTICLES BY
DR. LORRAINE PARKER, DC, MS

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How you can save your aging brain. 

Olive oil, almonds, and tomatoes – three foods that provide “super” health benefits. 

Vitamin D:  Research shows it’s good for more than your bones.