An aging American population has many concerns about how age is affecting their bodies and their minds. There are wonderful foods that are easily incorporated into your diet that will help to slow or even halt the ravages of time on your skin and internal organs. It is time to turn to the most important organ of all, your brain. In order to keep up with your well-preserved body, you must take very good care of your brain as well.
One of the most frequent symptoms of decreasing brain function is loss of memory. Throughout our lives we notice times when we can’t remember someone’s name, or where we put our keys or ID badge. Most of the time that is a result of not taking the time to make an impression on our brain to remember such details. It becomes a concern when the occurrences begin to occur with regularity. Dementia is memory loss that is not a part of normal aging, the most well-known being Alzheimer’s disease. Another form of dementia is called multi-infarct dementia that is due to a series of small but successive strokes that eventually affect the brain’s memory function. Dementia is not considered to be normal memory loss due to aging.
Some memory loss, specifically short-term memory, is a normal process of aging, but this can actually be halted and sometimes even reversed with the use of a few techniques, foods, and supplements. Just as you exercise your body to keep it young and fit, you also need to exercise your mind. Pick up a puzzle book, Sudoku, crossword, anagrams, anything that you will do on a daily basis. Simple challenges such as these will exercise your brain and keep it younger. Consider taking a continuing-education class, or better yet, teach a class in something you know very well.
Community Centers are always looking for instructors. Teach a young child to read by volunteering at your local elementary school. You’ll be doing a huge favor to society while you work on your brain health. Exercise your body for health benefits and to reduce stress. Take a stress reduction class, or learn self-hypnosis to achiever better mental health.
What you eat is just as important in the latter stages of your life as they were in the beginning stages. Look to the Superfoods that contain one or more of three vital ingredients, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. If you were to add only four foods to your diet, make them blueberries, salmon, and oatmeal followed by a cup or two of tea. All are known to reduce symptoms of aging, and are especially good for your brain.
For natural supplements look to anything that increases blood flow. A healthy brain needs to be nourished by a constant supply of oxygen rich blood. For that I suggest Ginkgo biloba and ginseng which are both known to enhance circulation. If you’re not getting a lot of fish in your diet you might also consider taking a fish oil supplement to ensure you’re getting your brain-healthy omega3 fatty acids.
