1.Eat the Rainbow
Believe it or not, your brain rusts as you get older. The end result is Alzheimer’s, or as someone called it, “old timer’s disease”. But thankfully, nature has provided the perfect WD-40 lubricant. It is the rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables – the dark purples of blueberries, the deep reds of pomegranates, the rich green of kale and collards, the bright orange of sweet potatoes. All these colorful foods provide powerful antioxidants. That’s a good thing, because, as a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found, people who ate more dietary antioxidants had 70% less Alzheimer’s and dementia. This is one powerful way to control one of the major causes of all disease – rusting or oxidative stress. Eat 8 – 10 servings (1/2 cup = 1 serving) of these lifesaving colorful fruits and vegetables a day to protect your brain.
2.Fix your Homocystiene
Many Americans are vitamin deficient. We are the most overfed and undernourished country in the world. The meat, sugar, alcohol, coffee and cigarettes we consume in excess all deplete us of critical B vitamins that are needed to keep us healthy. Without adequate amounts of folate, B6 and B12 we are at increased risk for Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, and depression, not to mention heart attacks, strokes, breast, colon, cervical, lung and prostate cancer. If that isn’t enough, women deficient in folate before or during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to children with spinal cord defects and Down’s syndrome. One recent study found those with the highest homocysteine had twice the risk of getting dementia and Alzheimer’s. Thankfully, you can easily fix this. First ask your doctor to check your blood level of homocysteine. The ideal level is less than 9. Most people do well with about 1000 mcg of folic acid (the minimum RDA level is 400 micrograms), 25-50 mg of B6 and 500-1000 mcg of B12. But be sure to recheck your blood level of homocysteine and make sure it is in range. Also cut down on meat, alcohol, caffeine and sugar and increase your intake of beans and dark green leafy vegetables (collards, kale, broccoli, etc.)
3.Cool the Heat
If your brain is aging quickly or your memory impaired your brain is on fire! Many things fan the flames of inflammation – hidden infections, allergens, environmental toxins like mercury and lead, emotional stress, lack of exercise, excess sugar and animal fat and most commonly a fat belly! Those little fat cells in your ever-expanding middle are little factories for inflammation. A blood test, C-reactive protein, is the best way to tell if you are on fire. If your level is greater than 1.0, then you should begin to cool the heat. Start by exercising regularly, finding ways to experience deep relaxation, getting rid of excess sugar and animal fat in your diet, eating anti-inflammatory foods such as wild fish especially sardines and herring, and using anti-inflammatory herbs and spices including ginger, rosemary, turmeric (the yellow spice in curry). You might need your doctor’s help to find hidden allergies (especially from foods like gluten), hidden infections and toxins. Finding the fire and cooling the heat will go a long way not only in preventing dementia, but also heart attacks, cancer and the slowing the aging process.
4.Stop the Sugar
The sugar epidemic (an average of 150 lbs per person per year) is directly responsible for obesity in 2/3 of Americans. Diabetics have four times the risk of getting dementia. Too much sugar leads to high levels of insulin [link to healing / insulin resistance] in your blood. That makes you gain weight around the middle, raises your blood pressure and leads to rusting [prevention / rust] and inflammation [prevention / heat]. So next time you reach for that cookie or soda, just think of what’s happening in your brain. Thankfully this problem can be prevented by eating properly and exercising regularly:
-Avoid the "white menace" - white sugar, white flour and white fat (Crisco or "hydrogenated fat".)
-Eat more fiber
-Eat some protein with every meal.
-Exercise in your target heart zone for 30 to 40 minutes at least 4 times a week
Thankfully you can tell if you are in trouble and have to mend your devilishly sweet ways. Just ask your doctor for a blood test. It is called a glucose tolerance test. Be sure you ask your doctor to measure BOTH glucose AND insulin. Two hours after a sugar drink (we recommend 75-grams of glucose) your blood sugar should be less than 140 and your insulin less than 30. If not, you better quit the sugar and get moving!
5.Chill Out
Dr. Robert Sapolsky, a renowned Stanford neurobiologist, explained the dangers of stress in his book Why Zebra’s Don’t Get Ulcers. The zebras are busy eating grass until a lion starts chasing them. Then they go crazy, running all over the place, until the lion kills a zebra. Then all the other zebras relax and go back to grazing while the lion eats his dinner right next to them. The problem with humans is we don’t discharge our stress by running like crazy or relaxing after a stressful event. We just sit and stew in our stress juices. One of these juices is a hormone called cortisol. Unfortunately, besides causing or contributing to over 95% of all illness, chronic exposure to cortisol shrinks your brain. Dr. Sapolsky has shown that cortisol damages brain cells in the hippocampus - one of our memory centers. We can’t avoid stress, so we must learn to discharge its effects every day. Go to a yoga class, learn tai qi, get a massage, make love, go for a jog, play with your children, take a walk in the woods, watch a sunset, but whatever you do, don’t just stew in your stress juices!
6.Get an Oil Change
Most of your brain is fat – but not the kind that comes from hamburgers or Twinkies. Even though most of us have been taught that fat is BAD, without the right kind of fat our brains can’t function; our memory and thinking become impaired, we get depressed and are even at higher risk for dementia and Parkinson’s.
Studies have shown those who eat excess animal fat or hydrogenated fats (as found in margarine, shortening and processed foods) have a higher risk of dementia. On the other hand, increasing your intake of fish and other sources of omega-3 fatty acids reduce risk. So get an oil change by cutting out "trans" or hydrogenated fats (read labels) and fried foods, and by reducing animal fats from meats and dairy products. Increase your intake of wild fish, sardines, herring, olive oil, nuts, flax and other seeds.
7.Rest Up
Most of us who have pulled an "all nighter", or lost a night’s sleep know how poorly our brain works when deprived of sleep. The trend of super-caffeinated, sleep-deprived Americans is a deadly problem. When we lose sleep, or don’t sleep at regular times, our brain hormones become imbalanced, leading to higher cortisol (one of our stress hormones), and lower growth hormone (a healing and repair hormone).
Over time the stress of sleep deprivation eats away at our brain function. Most of us need more and better sleep. Here are some tips for improved sleep:
Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day and try to get to sleep before midnight .
Try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
If you have trouble falling asleep, try a little sleep ritual – Stop your day at least one or two hours before bedtime to wind down. Don’t watch TV or check your email. Take a hot bath with Epsom salt and 10 drops of lavender oil and just soak and relax for 20 minutes.
Try some supplemental magnesium. Magnesium is the relaxation mineral. – up to 300 to 600 mg a day of an absorbable form such as magnesium glycinate.
8.Get Moving
Exercise should no longer be considered a luxury or indulgence. It is THE most important anti-aging medicine known. Not only will it help to prevent Alzheimer’s, but also almost every other age-related disease. It is a natural antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and stress buster. It will also help you sleep better, lower your cholesterol, lower your blood sugar and insulin levels and even improve your sex life! Put it in your appointment book at least 4 times a week – anything goes. Walking, running, swimming, dancing, roller blading – do something, anything, please and you will rapidly see the benefits. Try to do a vigorous cardiovascular workout for 30 to 40 minutes at least four to five times a week in your target heart rate. Your brain will thank you.
9.Clean House
Hidden environmental toxins can put us at risk for premature brain aging and dementia. We know that lead exposure in children lowers IQ and reduces performance. Two recent studies highlighted additional dangers of mercury and lead.
The first showed that those people who had the highest mercury levels were at greater risk for heart attacks, and those with high lead levels had chronic kidney failure. Our brain is also at risk.
It's not just metals, but pesticides, herbicides and dioxins found in our food and water. Household gardening chemicals have been associated with Parkinson’s disease.
But don’t panic - there are things we can do. Here are some suggestions:
-Choose organic plant and animal products
-Drink lots of clean, filtered water - 8 glasses per day.
-Eat detoxifying foods including collards, kale, broccoli, watercress, pomegranate, rosemary, garlic and onions.
-Take saunas and steam baths to promote sweating, which helps to eliminate toxins through the skin.
-Increase your fiber intake to promote healthy elimination. One study found that people who were constipated had a fourfold increased risk of Parkinson’s. So load up on those organic ground flax seeds (1 to 2 tablespoons a day)
10.Use Your Head
The well-known aging nun study showed that nuns using more complex sentence structure and thought patterns were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s as they aged. Many other studies have shown that using your head – whether it is reading, doing crossword puzzles, games or being actively engaged in intellectual pursuits reduces your risk of dementia. So don’t forget to use your head and exercise your brain!
Thanks to Mark Hyman, MD and Mark Liponis, MD for these amazing tips.
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