Brain Pleasers
6 Tips to Help Your Brain Stay Healthy
by Joi Sandhu
Neuroplasticity—it’s a fancy word that means our brains can grow new neurons and neuronal pathways, even as adults. The caveat: IF we live appropriately. The health of our brain is largely within our control and depends on the choices we make in our daily lives. This is fantastic news!
At Brain - Body - Health, we see clients all the time who are looking for ways to improve their brain health through lifestyle and diet adjustments. Of particular concern to many is dementia. Two-thirds of its victims are women, and the actual disease process begins 10-30 years before the first symptoms appear. Predictions indicate that dementia rates will triple in the next 20 years, and the cost of treatment is 50% more than other diseases, including heart disease and cancer. The estimated cost for one person’s care is over $342,000, with 70% of those expenses falling on the patient’s family. Scary stuff!
It has been established, though, that dementia is a preventable condition and should, in fact, be rare. Research shows that dementia and cognitive decline are primarily influenced by eight factors: stress, social life, learning, exercise, food, sleep, toxins, and infections. Your genes play a role, but they do not determine your fate.
Here are six habits we recommend to anyone who wants to preserve and even increase neuroplasticity.
1 – Eat an organic, whole-food, plant-rich diet that is low in carbohydrates and sugar, and eliminate processed foods. For a few days a week, follow an intermittent fasting schedule, allowing 12-16 hours overnight without any food. Poor nutrition damages the brain and the body. It can cause systemic inflammation which leads to a buildup of oxidative stress (rusty cells) that injure our blood vessels. Inflammation, which is at the root of most chronic diseases, often starts with our diet. The food we eat is one of the most important contributors to both disease and health.
2 – Play! Laugh—watch comedies and read light-hearted books. Find ways to enjoy yourself and spend time with people who make you feel happy. Do you want to join a book club or take a class? Have you always wanted to try pottery or watercolor or kayaking? Go for it! The joy it brings will add to your vitality and longevity.
3 – Challenge your brain—it needs exercise too. Some of the best ways to do this involve learning an instrument or a language, or joining a dance class. Learn new skills and new words and use them. You can also practice using your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth or stir your coffee. As we get older we sometimes avoid situations that make us feel uncertain or inexperienced, yet that wobbly feeling is great for your brain. Embrace it.
4 – Move yourself! We live in sedentary times, and it’s dreadful for our health. Sitting is the new smoking. Get up and move, every hour. Do some jumping jacks, step outdoors and walk for a few minutes. Get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise five times per week.
5 – Rest. Sleep is critical. We need at least seven hours of deep restorative sleep every night. That sleep phase is when our brain cleanses itself, and it’s how our nervous system starts anew each day.
6 – Use clean products. Beauty products, cleaning, and yard products can be some of the most toxic things we expose ourselves to. We inhale them, lather them on, and ingest them. Eliminate those hazardous products with ingredients we can’t even pronounce and replace them with plant-based products that use natural ingredients.
If we incorporate the above practices into our lives, we can protect ourselves from dementia and even from disease in general. While these suggestions apply to everyone, each of us is unique, and we all have specific needs to optimize our health. In order to experience your best health, find a medical practitioner who can assess you as an individual. They can provide in-depth lab analysis to target areas that need support and recommend a health coach to make those goals achievable.
We are not at the mercy of bad luck. We can know health. It takes effort and some discipline, as well as a willingness to be honest and make some changes. But nothing is better than feeling good and being free to live fully for as long as we’re here on this planet in these amazing bodies. Spring is a great time to take control of your health, so think about making some changes to support your brain and your body in the years ahead.
Brain-Body-Health | www.brainbodyhealth.org | Ukiah and Willits, CA
Betty Lacy MD
UJ Sandhu PA, Health Coach, Functional Medicine Practitioner
All photos courtesy of Unsplash: brain scan—Alina Grubnayak; organic foods—Marty Harrington; laughing women—Omar Lopez; trumpet player—Priscilla du Preez; runners—Kolar Io; cat—Kate Stone Matheson; washing hands—curology.
