Do you often forget where you just placed something or struggle to connect sentences or remember what you were going to say? Does remembering names and numbers frustrate you? Do you see people and think, “I know them” but can’t remember from where? Do you have dejavu? Are you finding it harder to stay up on conversations and does your brain feel foggy? If you can relate to any number of these, it is time to start making your brain health a priority.
The challenges that we face with this high paced world and technology is sucking up some of our brain power. Of course, the added drainage that many Americans face is eating a SAD diet (standard American Diet), which is making our brain less and less sharp. I just heard the other day that people are calling Alzheimer’s Disease type III diabetes. Plus, dementia is a growing disease that most Americans will face, if we do not get our brain health in check, and it has no cure.
So, what can you do to help improve your brain health? It is never just one thing, but a combination of these that will help you feel sharper and more in tune with the social world around you.
1. Avoid all the toxins that steal your brains blood flow and clog up your pathways. Avoid: added sugar, drugs, smoking, drinking alcohol, and breathing bad air. When we deprive our brains of oxygenated, nutrient rich blood this can negatively impact how our brain will function and our hippocampus (which is our brains major memory center) can be the first part of the brain to show signs of dementia.
2. Stop eating SAD! The standard American diet causes inflammation in the body and can lead to higher blood pressure, increased weight gain, and diabetes. This too is associated with a smaller hippocampus and will negatively impact your brains ability to function and remember. We need to skip packaged foods, fried foods, and foods with added sugars. Stick with eating veggies at every meal, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Did you know your brain is about 60% fat and did you know your brain can utilize about 25-30% of the calories you eat every day and your brain only makes up about 2% of your body? What is this telling us? That the quality of calories and what we put in our bodies is highly utilized by our brains! Shoot for at least 6-10 servings of veggies every day and 3 servings of healthy fats.
4. Take your supplements. There are some very specific ingredients that can help your brain function more efficiently. This of these ingredients as building blocks. Your brain needs them. There are a lot of supplements out there that are quality and some that are not so quality, so go with a brand or go see an expert that can distribute the proper supplement to you. At Happy Whole You, we have a Certified Brain Health Specialist from the Amen Clinics who is on staff. Email us if you are interested in having a consult to find out what supplement protocol may be best for you at info@happywholeyou.com .
5. Move your body to jog your memory. One of the best ways to increase blood flow and nutrients to the brain is to move! Exercising is a great way to increase blood flow and help your brain get what it needs, plus it is free. When you get this extra oxygen intake happening while exercising it also can help stimulate growth of new cells and your synapses in your brain grow when you exercise. Creating more neuro connections in the brain allowing the brain to produce feel good hormones. That is why some people say they experience the “runners high” because their brains are getting all the good stuff (oxygen and nutrients) to produce positive vibes.
Your brain health now will impact your future health and quality of life. Being forgetful and experiencing brain fog daily is not normal and not healthy. We are all busy and have things going on, don’t allow this to be an excuse to face your brain’s need for better health.