Brain Health Is Not Only Important When We Age, It Is Important Now! Invest In Your Brain's Health to Live A Long And Happy Life!
Our brains give us the ability to partake in this life, and the longer it can stay intact the better our life quality can be!
The brain is the most complex organ and controls thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger and every process that regulates our body.
“This three-pound organ is the seat of intelligence, it’s the interpreter of the senses, initiator of body movement, and the controller of behavior. Lying in its bony shell and washed by protective fluid, the brain is the source of all the qualities that define our humanity. The brain is the crown jewel of the human body.” – NINDS
We have a responsibility to protect our brains, it is the center for our existence, our quality of life while young and old depends on it. Our memory, our focus, our emotions, our thoughts, our motor skills etc. all depend on the health of our brain. And when we are reckless in our health, our brains suffer and eventually waste away – atrophy.
If you had a treasure chest full of gold and diamonds, you’d protect it for dear life, the treasure chest of our life is our brain, and we need to be jealous over our brains and look after it. The brain needs fuel to function, like every other part of our bodies, the quality of the fuel is essential to the performance of the brain. Just like a engine can be damaged by cheap fuel, so the brain can be damaged when we provide it with cheap fuel!
Our brains are working 24/7, so it constantly needs fuel to function, and the quality of the fuel will affect its performance. The food we eat provides the fuel for our organs, and what we eat directly influence the structure and function of the brain, and ultimately our mood.
Eating high-quality foods that contain lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants nourishes the brain and protects it from oxidative stress — the "waste" (free radicals) produced when the body uses oxygen, which can damage cells.
Oxidative stress damages our brains, and we add this stress when we consume a diet depleted in nutrients. We need a diet high in antioxidants to protect us from oxidative stress in all parts of our bodies, but especially the brain! Antioxidants neutralizes the free radicals and prevents them from causing cellular damage.
Diets high in refined carbs and sugar, are harmful to the brain, it promotes inflammation and oxidative stress. Multiple studies have found a correlation between a diet high in refined sugars and impaired brain function — and even a worsening of symptoms of mood disorders, such as depression.
We must protect our brains and by default our bodies from chronic low-grade inflammation, this is a silent killer, as it contributes to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and of course Alzheimer’s.
Inflammation in Alzheimer Disease is the central pathology in both onset and progression of the disease.
So, controlling inflammation in our bodies is vital for brain health. Any Inflammation in the gut contributes to inflammation in the brain via the vagus nerve.
When our brains are inflamed the symptoms are varied, in children ADHD is amplified or ADHD like symptoms develop, mood disorders like depression in both children and adults are seen, anxiety, and brain fog the slow fuzzy thinking, irritability, anger, memory loss, and fatigue are all common symptoms of inflammation in the brain.
Other symptoms can also be experienced like headache, neck pain or stiffness, nausea or vomiting, Dizziness, irregular breathing, vision loss or changes, inability to walk.
If chronic inflammation remains in the brain, its causing injury to the brain tissue which will have unfortunate consequences.
The best thing we can do to protect our brains today for our future is to make sure our diets are nutritious and not inflammatory. To eat food which doesn’t add more oxidate stress but instead reduce it through antioxidant rich foods.
It's important to give our brains the right fuel which is healthy fats, good quality proteins and complex carbohydrates for a healthy source of glucose, which will not raise blood glucose too high.
A diet rich in Vitamin C is essential to keep the blood vessels flexible throughout the body and inclusive of the brain. Vitamin C reduces inflammation, because it is a powerful antioxidant which neutralizes free radicals protecting your brain from oxidative stress.
The lining of blood vessels is weakened (permeabilized) by inflammation. Vitamin C tightens the endothelial barrier and maintains its integrity during inflammation, reducing your risk of stroke with 42% comparing to those who has low levels of Vitamin C.
FATS - We need to get enough omega 3-fatty acids because these are the essential building blocks of our brain and they're important for learning and memory and reduce inflammation.
PROTEIN - Optimize brain function and are essential for getting nutrients to our brain cells in order to maintain a healthy heart/brain balance, and also brain regulation.
CARBS – Are Brain Fuel. Complex carbs stabilize blood glucose because of the fiber and phytonutrient content, which keeps mood and energy stable and promotes brain health in the long term.
Our bodies are created and designed to function with nutrients as its fuel, and when we don’t provide it with the right fuel, it starts to malfunction.
Nutrition is the only way we can protect our health for the long run. We don’t have a medication deficiency, we have nutrient deficiencies, which must come from the food we eat.
Processed foods, fried foods, refined carbohydrate foods, high sugar foods, chemicals like food colorings, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors in our food all contribute to the health crisis worldwide. There are of course also environmental factors which contribute to our ill health, and we should limit our exposure as far possible.
Our bodies need nutrients to function optimally, not chemically formulated medications or supplements, we are meant to get our nutrition from our food first. Yet when we are depleted it’s wise to fill in the gaps with natural food-based supplements while you are adjusting your nutrient intake through food. Yet sometimes our bodies struggle to absorb the nutrients from the foods we eat when we have some digestive problems because of previous damages done. That should be addressed for optimal absorption of nutrients from the food we eat. We are what we absorb at the end of the day.
Nutritional psychiatry has proven that the food we eat influences our mood as well as how we behave, which is actually common sense, given the nutrients needed for optimal brain health, and the brain is the control center of our emotions and behavior.
Foods that contain vitamin C for example will improve our mood because they provide an influx of serotonin, a neurotransmitter – vitamin C is used to make serotonin. Likewise, foods high in tryptophan will do the same thing, as tryptophan is the building blocks for serotonin.
Almost any food will trigger a release of dopamine another neurotransmitter, which is a reward hormone.
Conversely, if you don’t eat regularly, you will have high cortisol leading to stress and anxiety. Foods high in Zinc, Magnesium, and Vitamin D can all help to increase testosterone production, which in men and women is closely linked with enhanced mood, energy, and drive.
Foods that are high in processed sugars can cause low level inflammation and reduced mood. Processed sugars also alter the gut microbiome by starving the good bacteria and feeding the bad bacteria, where the good bacteria release numerous neurotransmitters and hormones, and play a big role in energy metabolism.
If we want to feel well, we need to eat well; our food and our mood are directly related. When we eat well, we are protecting our brains from atrophy over time.
The risk factors for brain atrophy are obesity, high blood pressure, high blood glucose and diabetes, high cholesterol, and smoking.
Other factors which increase free radicals’ production and contribute to brain tissue injury are air pollution, cigarette smoking and alcohol.
If you want to live a long and happy life, invest in your brain health, and take caution on what you choose to eat. Your brain is your pride and joy and is the one thing that gives you the capacity to contribute to life and experience a meaningful life; make sure to protect it as you would a treasure chest of gold and diamonds and give it all the nutrition it needs to keep you young, sharp, happy, energized, focused and passionate for life!
You deserve to thrive and not only survive, take back your power and invest in yourself!
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