Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the first line of defense when protecting your brain, according to MSN.
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The report offered six tips for optimizing brain power, including spending time with loved ones, eating healthier food, considering taking essential supplements and vitamins, opting fo meditation, exercising and getting plenty of sleep.
The best type of exercise to boost your brain power is both low- and high-intensity exercise. Both affect specific functional networks following exercise and both lead to significant increases in positive mood and no changes in negative mood.
However, there are benefits to be had from many different forms of exercise, from high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to low-intensity workouts to strength training and yoga, so regularly rotating different activities into your fitness routine will keep your brain strong.
Did you know that leg strength can be used as a strong predictor of your brain health? This is where yoga stands out, because it has been proven to mitigate age-related and neurodegenerative declines.
Cardiovascular fitness can be used as a measure of how well blood is circulating to your heart and brain. Good cardiovascular fitness and exercise could protect brain tissue as you age.
Research shows that women with the highest cardiovascular fitness had an 88% lower risk of dementia than those with moderate fitness. Even maintaining average fitness is worthwhile, as women with the lowest fitness had a 41% greater risk of dementia than those of average fitness.
More than 5 million people in the U.S. suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, the most severe of several different types of dementia. Improving your brain health not only is about preventing neurodegeneration such as dementia, but also about improving your memory, learning and other cognitive abilities.
Your brain function is impacted by the food you eat each day, so it’s important to include those high in antioxidants for protection and medium chain triglycerides for fuel. Feeding your brain the right food isn’t just about preventing a disease in the future. Giving your brain the fuel it needs to function optimally may also improve your current cognitive function and creativity, making you more productive at work and at home.
The food you eat feeds your brain and significantly impacts your ability to think, learn and remember. Healthy foods that nourish your brain include avocados, blueberries, broccoli, celery, bone broth, extra-virgin cold pressed olive oil, walnuts, turmeric, rosemary, coconut and organic pastured eggs.
In addition to healthy food, there are nine nutrients that are vital for brain health and cognition, including marine-based omega-3 fats DHA and EPA, choline, phosphatidylserine, acetyl-L-carnitine, vitamins D and B12, MCT oil and probiotics.
Choline helps protect against Alzheimer's by reducing your homocysteine level, an amino acid associated with neurodegeneration and inhibiting brain inflammation. A single hard-boiled egg may contain 25% of your daily requirement of choline; other good sources include grass fed beef liver, wild-caught Alaskan salmon, organic pastured chicken, shiitake mushrooms and krill oil.
Low vitamin D is also associated with poorer brain function, so for optimal brain health, be sure to optimize your vitamin D levels.