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Three Great Things for Your Great Brain |
"Oh, he's not going to start rattling on about Omega 3 Fatty Acids!" Well, among other things I am. Yes, Omega 3 Fatty Acids as found in fish, plants, and nut oils are all the rage today and for many good reasons. Turns out they are good for your brain, your heart, good for combating diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis, asthma, weight loss and even help to keep your mood elevated. What's not to like!
Why would you think that "FAT," the thing we all try our best not to consume, turns out to be such a good consumable. Well, as I'm sure many of you know, Omega-3 fatty acids are what we call essential fatty acids, meaning you need these for your continued health, but your body cannot manufacture them. You need to get them from foods like fish, especially fatty fish (mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon). The American Heart Association recommends eating fish (particularly fatty fish) at least 2 times a week. They also warn that pregnant women and mothers, nursing mothers, young children not eat several types of fish, including swordfish, shark, and king mackerel. You can also get your Omega 3's from good quality fish oil supplements as many of us do. Note: make sure they are certified mercury-free!
Besides all of the great health claims and the many bodily ailments Omega 3 Fatty Acids help to defend against, they are just plain good for your brain. And as Daniel Amen Phd., author of the new NY Times best seller, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, tells us "When your brain works right so do you", your brain is the most complicated thing in this Universe. Many things help and hurt your brain, and if you change your brain, you change your life." Your brain is mostly water (80%) but of the remaining solid 20%, 60 percent happens to be FAT. Next time someone calls you a "FATHEAD" you can simply smile and say "thank you", or maybe "Oh, so kind of you to notice". Studies indicate that the intake of omega-3 fatty acid help protect against stroke caused by plaque buildup and blood clots in the arteries that lead to the brain. And beyond all of what I've already mentioned, Omega 3 Fatty Acids help with memory and cognition. There are basically two types of cells in your brain. Neurons, the basic information transfer unit of the brain, the work horse of the system, and supportive brain cells called glial cells. You have 100 billion neurons in your brain and ten times that amount of glial cells. Among many other things glial cells make the all important myelin sheath which wrap around the axons of each and every neuron. Axons work like electrical cables, carrying excitatory messages from the neurons cell body to the next neuron or neurons in line. The myelin sheath allow the message to travel quickly through the cell. So when you step on hot coals it doesn't take three hours for your brain to know your feet are burning and you are in excruciating pain! Pretty important stuff! And what do you suppose the myelin sheath is made from? Yup, you guessed right, Myelin, the protective sheath that covers communicating neurons, is composed of 30% protein and 70% fat.
Two kinds of fatty acids are considered "essential," which again means you must get these essential fatty acids (EFAs) from the food you eat. The first essential fatty acid you need is Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). ALA is the foundation of the "omega-3" family of fatty acids. Food sources of omega-3 ALA include flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, sea vegetables, and green leafy vegetables. The second essential fatty acid you need is Linoleic acid (LA). LA is the foundation of the "omega-6" family of fatty acids. Food sources of omega-6 LA include sunflower, safflower, corn, and sesame oils. From ALA and LA, your brain can make (docosahexaenoic acid) DHA and (arachidonic acid) AA the longer chained fatty acids that are incorporated in its cell membranes. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is the most abundant fat in the brain. Loss in DHA concentrations in brain cell membranes correlates to a decline in structural and functional integrity of this tissue. Also, the oxidative damage that comes with age causes a decline in membrane DHA concentrations, and with it, cognitive impairment. Individuals taking more than 3 grams daily of omega-3 fatty acids from capsules should do so only under the supervision of a health care provider due to an increase risk of bleeding. For healthy adults with no history of heart disease: The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating fish at least 2 times per week.
Well that is the case for the first good thing for your brain (Omega 3 Fatty Acids). The second thing I'd like to mention is, yes, I know you don't want to hear it, yes, I know you've heard it over an over again, and yes, I know you've been meaning to get around to it but something came up so you could not EXERCISE! Exercise is not only important for your body, but also critical for your brain. Now I'm not talking about crossword puzzles, riddles and trivia. These are good, but I mean actual physical, hop on the treadmill, get out of breath, exercise. Again exercise ranks high in Dr. Daniel Amen's book and for obvious reasons. Professor Arthur F. Kramer of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , testing 55 year olds, found that the three key areas of the brain, adversely affected by aging show the greatest benefit when a person stays physically fit. "We found differences in three areas of the brain, the frontal, temporal and parietal cortexes," said Kramer . This shrinking begins around age 30. In general the study showed that the more physically fit the individual, the less shrinkage was found in these key areas of the brain that deal with memory and thinking tasks. I m always amazed as how we go through life rationalizing that we don't need to exercise for an hour a day for at least 5 days per week. The excuses revolve around "I'm too busy" and "just don't have time", but if I tell you that you can have wealth, happiness, love and family in your life, but if you don't keep your body healthy, you won't be able to enjoy any of what you've worked so hard to build. And you'd simply agree with me and go on NOT EXERCISING. It's not a life style choice thing, it's not something physical fitness buffs do, and it's not something you should ever attempt to rationalize out of your life.
Exercising, like essential fatty acids, are essential to your health. If you are not exercising five times a week you should be! No if ands or slightly bigger butts. "If you think it's too late to get started with a fitness routine, a 1999 study by Kramer and associates found that even previously sedentary people over age 60 could improve their mental processing abilities with exercise. People who took part in the study walked rapidly for 45 minutes three days a week. They significantly improved mental-processing abilities that decline with age, and particularly tasks that rely heavily on the frontal lobes of the brain." From http://www.chiff.com/a/exercise_age_brain.htm.
The third thing you need to do for your great brain is Exercise. Sounds a bit redundant doesn't it. This time I mean mental exercise but again not just reading and crossword puzzles. People need to challenge themselves mentally. Here I am talking about stretching yourself to learn something new. I mean the kind of stuff that when you're done you say, "That was tough, I'm tired and my brain hurts!" The brain of a 71 year old is the same as that of a 17 year old in its ability to make connections (synapses). Unfortunately around age 30 many of us no longer challenge the brain to learn new concepts! Here are some suggestions taken from Oasisnet.org in this regard:
If you continue to learn and challenge yourself, your brain continues to grow, literally. An active brain produces new dendrites, which are the connections between nerve cells that allow cells to communicate with one another. This helps the brain store and retrieve information more easily. Some ideas for activities to keep your mind sharp and agile:
* Read - even better, join a book club and compare your thoughts with other readers.
* Get creative - if you haven't fully explored your artistic side, try your hand at drawing, painting or photography.
* Take a class - look around your community for adult education programs and classes.
* Play some new games - computer games, puzzles, crosswords, riddles, chess and other board games are all great for sparking brain activity. The key is to keep trying something new. If you've been a crossword puzzle fan, try a different kind of puzzle or something more complicated to keep your brain challenged.
* Learn about technology - there are always new things to learn about computers and new ways to use them.
* Make music - learn to play a musical instrument, or listen to music from a genre you haven't explored, like jazz, roots or blues music.
In summation, there are many good things you can do for your health and for your great brain, but the above three in my estimation are the three top things you can do. Start today, and write me a long detailed letter about your experience 50 years from now. I bet you'll be able to do just that. |
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