Royane Real
Keep Your Brain Healthy as You Get Older
By Royane Real
Is there anything you can do to keep your brain healthy as you grow older? If you want to maintain a healthy brain, are there certain foods that you should eat, or certain foods you should avoid? What about vitamins and nutritional supplements and herbs – do they have any effect on brain health?
These are all very important questions that we need to think about as we grow older.
Many of us dread the possibility that our brains will start to lose the ability to remember things. We worry that we will get dementia and not even remember who we are. We want to know if there is anything we can do to stay healthy mentally and physically fit as long as possible.
Lately I have had to spend a lot of time in nursing homes, visiting my mother who is now 91. Fortunately for my mother, her mind is still functioning very well. However, many of the people around her are not mentally in as good shape as she is. It’s very depressing to try to make conversation with some of these elderly people who no longer know their own names and who don’t recognize members of their own family.
What can we do to preserve our brain health and keep our memories sharp? The good news is that if you’re already trying to look after your heart with good nutrition, you’re ahead of the game in terms of preserving your brain health. If you can keep your circulatory system healthy by watching what you eat and by getting good exercise, you will also be helping to maintain your brain health.
If you are concerned about maintaining your brain health, the other important factor you need to watch out for if you are concerned about is diabetes. Diabetes is a known risk factor for getting dementia in later years. If you have already been diagnosed as diabetic, you need to work closely with your doctor to keep your blood sugar at a safe level.
Many scientists are studying the topic of how to maintain brain health, because all over the world, millions of people are entering the years where their brain function will be affected by aging. We want to avoid an avalanche of Alzheimer’s patients and victims of other dementias.
What we do know at the present is that many of the same factors that damage our heart will also damage our brains. This includes such factors as saturated fats, stress, and a lack of exercise. Fortunately, many of the same strategies that help your heart stay healthy will also help your brain stay healthy.
Our brain tissue is especially vulnerable because brain cells contain a lot of fat that is metabolically very active. That means that it is very easily damaged. Brain cells are under constant attack by free radical molecules that chip away at the integrity of the cell.
Our bodies can repair some of the damage caused to our brain cells by free radicals, but we need to take in a good supply of various antioxidants in our diets.
Vitamin C is an important antioxidant that is soluble in water, and Vitamin E is an antioxidant soluble in fat. These two vitamins are able to get into the brain and repair damaged cells on the molecular level.
There are many thousands of other antioxidants that scientists haven’t studied yet. Some of these antioxidants may prove to be very helpful in preserving our brain at its peak of health. A lot of these valuable antioxidants will be found in the foods you eat, particularly berries, fruits, and vegetables.
You may encounter lots of ads for substances that are supposed to boost your intelligence or maintain your brain health. Some nutritional supplements to support brain health may also be very beneficial, but in some cases the research is very poor and the supplements are promoted without any solid scientific evidence to back them up.
Read up on the product as much as you can, and don’t only rely on the printed advertising of the supplier. Stick to products that come from very reliable suppliers. Do your homework.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist what they think of this supplement. In many cases, doctors and pharmacists are not knowledgeable about nutritional supplements, but they may be able to tell you if the supplement you have in mind will conflict with the medications you are taking.
Before you decide to take any nutritional supplements in the hope that it will improve your memory, do your homework. .
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