How to Optimize Your Brain Power

There are things you can do to enhance your brain, as well as reduce your risks of future neurodegenerative diseases, starting today! You can keep your mind young, healthy, and sharper whilst keeping memory impairment risks at bay.

How?

There are many tools, including a healthy diet and regular exercise which can help keep your brain in the best possible shape and improve your cognitive thinking skills. Research has shown that you can effectively slow down the brain’s ageing by simply eating specific healthy food. The brain-gut connection is now without doubt, and our typical western diet with unhealthy fats, sugars and salt are pro-inflammatory and associated with chronic illnesses such as depression, dementia, and many more.

We can change our brains at any age! How do I know?

I went from a prognosis of ‘expect death or life in a vegetative state’, to health professional and best-selling author! A hit-and-run motorbike collision left me clinically dead three times and in a deep coma for three weeks. I woke up unable to walk, talk or control any of my bodily functions but memory issues were one of the longest, ongoing challenges, even today (I am now 51).

Any sort of brain injury which can occur from concussions, strokes, lack of oxygen etc., puts us at higher risk of developing future neurodegenerative diseases. Many cases of CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy) found that symptoms were accelerated 15-20 years after their brain injuries in sport! It is the same with Alzheimer’s Disease because the disease starts years, sometimes decades before symptoms become obvious.

Other risk factors include our genes. Do you have the APO4 gene which places you at higher risk of Alzheimer’s Disease? The good news is your genes are turned on or off by the behaviours you engage in. These behaviours can include the things we eat, drink, and the activities we undertake.

KEY TIPS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR BRAIN:

1. Hydrate the brain consists of 80% water and just minor dehydration can have a significant impact on your cognitive function.


2. Eat smart carbohydrates and rainbow foods – low glycemic foods that don’t elevate blood sugar. Choose foods with a Glycemic Index of less than 60.


3. Reduce or avoid sugar as it increases inflammation and shrinks your brain! High levels of sugar produce high levels of insulin which can create insulin resistance. This can lead to a decreased ability for the enzyme IDE to degrade Beta-Amyloid Plaques which have been linked to Alzheimer’s Disease.


4. Get a minimum of 7 hours sleep per night. Our brain goes through a cleansing process while we are sleeping. This process is crucial to getting rid of those excess Beta-Amyloid Plaques. The sleep process also helps to consolidate our memories and learning.

Start smart and boost your brain reserves starting today!