Some Ways to Keep Your Brain Young

1. Omega-3’s for a Brain Boost

You may have heard that it’s great for your health to take fish oil every day, but did you ever wonder why? Fish oil, along with flax seeds and many nuts and seeds, contains high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. We’ve known for some time that omega-3’s support cardiovascular health, but the link between cardiovascular health and cognitive health is relatively recent. New scientific research indicates that people with higher omega-3 levels are more likely to perform well on cognitive tests of visual memory, attention, and abstract thinking, and to experience less age-related brain shrinking. Omega-3’s are also very helpful for reducing blood pressure, which can worsen your memory by inhibiting brain cell nourishment. 

Easy Way of getting Omega-3'

Combine walnuts, pine nuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried goji berries, dried apricots, and dried blueberries together and keep in a small sealed container. Eat a handful of trailmix by itself or add to plain, unsweetened yogurt with some ground flaxseed. Snack on this delicious treat between meals and give your brain a healthy boost!

2) Ginkgo Biloba Chinese doctors once likened the gingko leaf shape to the shape of the brain, and conjectured that this meant the herb would benefit brain health. As it turns out, this traditional supplement can strengthen learning, thinking, retention, and recall. It gets its reputation by virtue of its ability to increase blood circulation, in addition to nutrient and oxygen flow, to the brain and other organs.  You can brew ginkgo in a tea or take it in supplement form. 

• Microalgae like blue green algae, chlorella, and spirulina are high-energy, high-protein supplements that support healthy brain function. They are easy to digest and contain an added health boost with over one hundred trace minerals.

• L-glutamine is a helpful amino acid that is especially popular among athletes. Not only does it help minimize the breakdown of muscle tissue, it converts to glutamic acid, a potent brain fuel. You may take L-glutamine as supplement, or find it naturally by consuming beef, poultry, yogurt, cabbage, or raw spinach. 

3. Fit Body, Fit Brain

New studies suggest that exercising can help fuel your brain! When we’re working out our bodies, it’s easy to forget that our brain is even involved in the motion, but physical movements demand a lot from the brain. During exercise, we’re rapidly activating and stimulating neurons in our brains, which send and interpret the messages that enable our bodies to move.

Of course, with this increased brain activity during exercise comes an increased need to refuel with nutrients. Until recently, researchers didn’t understand how neurons fueled themselves during exercise, but new studies with animals from Japan have revealed that when starved of blood sugar, neurons are actually able to maintain their energy levels by absorbing glycogen, a stored carbohydrate, from helpful neighbor cells. In these studies, after rats worked out on treadmills, they immediately ate, and the food seemed to go right to their brains—sometimes increasing brain glycogen levels by 60% in the areas of the brain associated with learning and memory. After 24 hours, the glycogen levels had returned to normal—unless exercise was repeated every day. In the rats that ran for four weeks, these special stores of glycogen built up in the parts of the brain that support memory and learning, effectively becoming the brain’s new baseline.

These early studies suggest that you may be able to develop a better, sharper brain by storing and utilizing brain glycogen—which appears to happen through regular exercise that is immediately followed by consumption of carbohydrates. What this looks like: exercise regularly, and after your workout, feed your brain with a healthy carb, like a banana.