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The
Preventative health benefits of
antioxidants.
The Nutritional strategy to age-proof
your brain.
In this
article we explore the harm that free
radical damage does to our system,
specifically to the brain. Whilst there
is an expectation that we will “lose our
memory” as we grow older, this article
looks at the factors contributing to
this phenomenon and some ways we can
counteract it.
Memory
loss does not have to be the inevitable
conclusion of aging. In fact, in a study
of brain scans of individuals aged 21 to
83 years old, it showed that the healthy
aged brain can be as active and
efficient as the healthy young brain. A
neuroscientist analyzed brain tissues
from 20 brains and found a definite
relationship between the degree of
education the person had received and
the length of their neuronal dendrites.
In other words, stimulate your brain
more, and your dendrites grow more
connections. It is a proven fact. This
reinforces the old adage, “use it or
lose it.” If we treat our brain as a
muscle that needs to be exercised
regularly to perform at it's optimum
level, then that might give us the
incentive to stimulate it more.
Exercises such as doing crossword
puzzles, solving mysteries, counting
backwards from 100 in 4's, visualising a
scene in your mind in great detail such
as walking through an art gallery, to
name just a few, will all stimulate your
brain and strengthen it.
There are
many factors affecting memory that
contribute to memory loss. Your memory
loss may be due to faulty nutrition. A
well balanced diet along with
supplements such as colloidal minerals,
essential fatty acids (omega 3,6,and 9),
and anti-oxidants, will go a long way
towards correcting this. Environmental
factors can also contribute to draining
one's brain power. Some well known
pollutants such as cigarette smoke,
preservatives in food, processed foods
with artificial sweeteners and
colouring, car exhaust fumes, and
electro pollution, can all contribute to
toxicity in the brain. A toxic brain is
not an effective functioning unit.
Free
radical damage is one of the main causes
of aging and deterioration in the brain
and indeed the whole body. Free radicals
are electrically charged atoms within
molecules that react easily and quickly
with other compounds at the cellular
level. They are distinguished by being
incomplete with a single unpaired or
“free” electron available for bonding
with other electrons, thereby creating
strange, unnatural, and ultimately,
unhealthy molecular combinations.
The result
is, metaphorically speaking, a roomful
of free radicals that collectively do
serious damage to body tissues and
organs. This sequence of free radical
reactions is much like getting a strong
dose of internal radiation. The results
are many of the common signs and
symptoms associated with aging and can
include wrinkled, dry skin, age spots,
arthritis, cataracts, senility, hardened
arteries, cancer, Alzheimer's, memory
loss and strokes. Aging may not be so
much the result of an inevitable
chronological decline as it is a
biological process whose rate is
determined by how fast free radicals
destroy tissues and organs. Free
radicals can mutate DNA, produce brain
damage through oxygen deprivation, cause
pigment changes and brown age spots that
in your brain as (lipofuscin), can choke
neurons to death. Think of free radicals
as the rust within your system. Whenever
you see rust on metal you are observing
the effects of free radical damage.
The answer
to free radical damage is to eliminate
as many sources of free radical
contamination from your diet and life
style as possible. The next step is to
start taking antioxidants to fortify
your body against the damage free
radicals already present in your system
might be doing. An antioxidant is a
natural substance that acts as a free
radical scavenger, literally consuming
them within the cells of your body.
There are numerous antioxidant products
available from your health shop. The
most effective formulations of
anti-oxidants will contain ingredients
such as Pine Bark, Grape seed extract,
Curcuminoids, Gingko Biloba, and
vitamins A, C, E. The best anti-oxidant
foods to include in your diet are the
berry family with blueberries at the top
of this list. Fruit in general contains
good amounts of anti-oxidants so that is
another reason to boost your intake of
these.
A scan of
the brains of individuals aged 21 to 83
showed that the healthy aged brain can
be just as active and efficient as the
healthy young brain. A neuroscientist
analyzed brain tissues from 20 brains
and found a definite relationship
between the degree of education the
person had received and the length of
their neuronal dendrites. In other
words, stimulate your brain more, and
your dendrites grow more connections.
Even
though your brain typically makes up
only 2 percent of your body's weight, it
requires 20 percent of your body's total
intake of oxygen, and if you are a fast
growing child, it demands 50 percent of
all oxygen inhaled. Vigorous exercise
delivers stores of oxygen to your very
demanding oxygen-dependent brain. It is
imperative that you give the brain all
the oxygen it wants. Blood supply to
your brain is crucial for full mental
powers. Medical studies show that
cardiovascular problems contribute
directly to a progressive decline in
mental abilities in the elderly. In
fact, if you're between the ages of 33
and 61, unless you exercise regularly,
your cerebral flow can drop by as much
as 23 percent of what it was in your
youth. Physical exercise stimulates your
brain while physical inactivity numbs
it. Sensory stimulation, physical
movement, and deliberate thinking seem
to produce an immediate increase in
blood flow into the brain.
Our brain
is a remarkable instrument which will
serve us well into old age if we
exercise it regularly, clear out toxins,
eliminate free radicals, and give it the
essential nutrients it needs. Brain
power means alertness, concentration,
perceptual speed, learning, memory,
problem solving, and creativity - in
sum, what scientists call cognition.
Brain power means your ability to
respond to the world, understand it,
even reshape it through your creativity
and intelligence.
Much of this information has come
from "Brain Builders" by Richard Leviton |
