Keep Your Brain Young!

As we age, it is important to keep our brains healthy and functioning so that we do not lose the ability to do all of the things we love to do. There are a number of ways to keep the brain youthful and fit, such as taking up a new language or memorizing poetry. Just like the other muscles in your body, our brains need exercise to maintain their fullest potential.

For those of us who may not have the time to be actively learning something new each day, there are numerous brain tips that are quite simple to keep the mind feeling young and healthy.

Improve Your Diet

Like the rest of our body, our brains will be grateful for healthy foods that supplement its main functions. Good nutrition is always a good idea for all parts of the body, especially as we age. Useful online calorie calculators can help to determine the amount of calories we should be eating each day, based on weight and everyday physical activity. Reducing the calories we consume each day during meals has been proven in both humans and animals to lower the risk of cognitive decline in old age.

It is also important for our brains that we are getting plenty of the good stuff (B vitamins, such as folic acid, B6, and B12) and less of the bad stuff (saturated fat, cholesterol from animal protein, unhealthy oils). Leafy green vegetables are a particularly useful source of the B vitamins that our bodies need to decrease the likelihood of dementia and other mental issues in old age.

In addition to eating more healthy, it is a wise decision to take a vitamin that can strengthen cognitive and mental performance. Vitamins are an easy and quick way to enhance general health and can guarantee rewarding benefits for the entire body.

Curb Those Cravings

In addition to choosing more health-conscious foods, which will help to lower cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and blood pressure, it is also important to curb other cravings unrelated to food. Drinking alcohol and smoking or chewing tobacco are extremely detrimental to our overall brain health, especially as we age.

Excessive drinking is known to be a factor in early onset dementia. However, if we drink responsibly and have less than two drinks on a regular basis, studies have shown that we can actually reduce our risk of dementia.

It is essential that we know the variety of actions we can take to improve our brain’s functions on a daily basis, such as making healthy choices and curbing our cravings. With the correct combination of living a healthy lifestyle in mind, body, and spirit, we can have fully-functioning brains and lead the best life possible as we age.

This is a guest blog posting.