Nutrients, and other things you can do to help restore you memory and brain power, take a look to the brain health tips below.
Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten what you went there for, or bumped into an old friend and not been able put a name to a face, or searched for hours for your car keys or even wondered whether you had taken that pill at the right time if at all?!
It happens to all of us. And the longer we live, the more it happens. Memory loss is embarrassing. But it’s far worse than that if you don’t take the necessary actions to help support and maintain good nutrition for your brain.
Some people believe that there’s nothing you can do to stop this inevitable brain ageing. And there are many doctors who would agree. However that is not necessarily the case and regardless of your age or the level of your mental abilities, you can nourish your brain and slow down mental ageing. There are certain nutrients that can help improve your memory, concentration, and thinking. A good healthy diet can help and like any muscle in your body your brain needs exercising. Try some ‘Brain Training’ such as mental arithmetic, memorising numbers, playing bridge!
3 important brain nutrients are:
1. Phosphatidyl serine: this is a special kind of good fat (phospholipid) and is highly concentrated in the brain where it releases and stores vital neurotransmitters and their receptors. It helps to maintain and restore a healthy nerve cell membrane.
Phosphatidyl serine stimulates the release of dopamine, a mood regulator, and increases the production of acetylcholine which is needed for learning and memory. It is also important to help strengthen brain glucose metabolism which improves brain activity.
The effectiveness of oral phosphatidyl serine supplementation has been studied in double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials. Elderly men and women over 60 years of age exhibiting mild memory loss demonstrated significant improvement in short-term memory, vocabulary skills and ability to recall words, attention and vigilance with an oral dosage of 100mg of phosphatidyl serine.
2. Acetylcholine L-carnitine acts as a cleanser that can boost your brain’s metabolism, thus enabling your brain to transmit and store information more effectively and faster. One of its most remarkable functions is to improve communication within the brain.
L carnitine when taken as a supplement in a placebo controlled study showed significant improvements in memory and verbal fluency.
3. Your brain requires choline for the synthesis of the key neurotransmitter acetycholine. It’s also used for producing and maintaining healthy brain cell membranes. As you age, the production of acetylcholine decreases, resulting in poor memory and declining cognitive function. Phosphatidyl choline aids in the transmission of thought, memory, and reasoning power.
A healthy diet includes lots of fresh, organic green vegetables, oily fish and low glycaemic carbohydrates. Avoid processed foods, sugars and stimulants such as coffee and drugs. Stop smoking, avoid long phone calls on your mobile phone and give yourself more ‘me time’ to alleviate the high stress levels, they will all play a part in your brain health.
Recommended supplement: – Cognifit