When it’s all said and done, everything about you derives from your brain. So keeping your brain in tip-top shape is of vital importance. One aspect of brain health is its size. It’s just like a muscle — if it’s getting smaller, you must be doing something wrong. Brain atrophy happens. And it’s not good.
In light of that, let’s talk about brain atrophy prevention. Below are some facts and preventative measures.
- Your brain is shrinking as you age. This means that your mental sharpness declines the older you get. Plus, your memory tends to fade, too.
- Brain shrinkage has been linked directly to premature death.
- Causes of brain atrophy are very closely related to symptoms of aging, like CV disease, obesity, and diabetes.
- Adopting healthy lifestyle habits (there’s that word again!) can help to slow brain atrophy.
- Careful use of supplements can slow the aging process, including brain shrinkage.
Of course, what might these specific lifestyle habits be? And what supplements may help the most?
The following recommendations may seem like “Duh” suggestions, but take them to heart (and brain). Seriously.
- Eat like a human. Don’t overeat. Stick with fruits and vegetables, as unprocessed as possible. Fish has lots of great nutrients, including Omega-3s which are known brain builders. Eggs are good, too, in moderation, of course. Stay away from processed food, sodas, and other “empty” calories. Everything in moderation.
- Exercise your body regularly. Get your heart pumping. Build muscle (you don’t have to train like a bodybuilder to build lean mass). Pick stuff up and put it down 🙂
- Exercise your mind even more so. Do puzzles, word games, board games like chess and backgammon. Read. Write. Think up 10 ideas and put them down on paper. Day dream.
- Get good sleep. The consensus is that people generally need 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted deep sleep. 15 hours of crummy sleep is worse than 5 hours of sound sleep. Trust me on this.
- Insure against dietary deficiencies by supplementation. Life Extension and JLabPro are great sources of supplements.
- Reduce stress. Meditate. Practice yoga. Slow down. The fast life will kill you.
- Stop smoking. It’s bad for you all around and makes you stink. You’re not cool. Just stop it.
- Drink alcohol in moderation. Don’t drink until you pass out. No bueno. A glass of wine or bottle of beer here and there is okay, and may even be beneficial (good health effects, lessens stress). But most people don’t know when to stop.
- If you’re overweight, you need to lose extra weight, especially belly fat. And it’s not as simple as going on a diet and/or exercising, though that certainly gives you a fighting chance. You may have adrenal fatigue. See your doctor about that. It mostly comes from stress.
If you’re diabetic, you need to get that under control. Increased blood sugar levels is directly linked to brain atrophy. So it makes sense to get that fixed first.
Many cases (though certainly not all or even the majority) of diabetes can be controlled by lifestyle and diet changes. But some diabetics only respond with medication (insulin); of course, it makes sense to refrain from eating crap.
Additionally, exercise can help with diabetes, too, mostly because you’re building a more fit body. You’ll lose weight, build muscle, exercise the heart and lungs (cardiovascular system), and just simply become more fit.
(It’s true — a healthy body makes for a healthy mind.)
There are specific nutrients that can bolster brain volume, even if you’re not technically deficient.
- The B vitamins have been studied extensively and are known to help prevent brain atrophy.
- The aforementioned Omega-3 fatty acids also aid in keeping the brain healthy and minimizing brain volume loss.
- Pomegranate has been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by slowing and sometimes even stopping brain cell death.
- Resveratrol is also a known brain atrophy reduction agent.
If you want to age gracefully, and keep your brain in tip-top shape, follow these guidelines. You may be surprised at your results.
Source: Life Extension Magazine, February 2015 issue, “Combat Age-Related Brain Atrophy”.