Simple Strategies to Prevent Your Brain from Aging Too Fast
Introduction
I hope you
know that your personality is controlled by your brain. If for some reason your
brain becomes dysfunctional, you also lose most of the attributes of your
current personality. The opposite is also true. When a mentally ill person is
treated and is well again, his or her personality shifts for the better too.
Losing
brain function is scary. Imagine losing your ability to remember things for
example. You don’t remember who you are, etc., etc., It means you have lost
your independence and you are living completely under the mercy of others! Don’t
you think that is too scary? However, let us remember that this can happen to
anyone. There are just too many things which are impacting negatively on our
brains. Stress, chemicals, chronic diseases, and even our genes.
This
article will explore simple strategies that anyone can use to help boost the
wellbeing of their brains.
Don’t Step into a Fire if
You Don’t Want to Get Burned
If you step
into a fire, you will surely get burned unless of course you are covered with
fire insulators. This means that the best strategy to avoid being burned by a
fire is to avoid playing recklessly with it. The same applies to health. If you
don’t want to get sick then avoid conditions that can cause your body to
contract illnesses. If you don’t want your brain to deteriorate, then avoid
conditions which impacts negatively on it. What are these conditions?
Stress
Stress is
not a mental illness, but it can contribute to the onset of various mental
health disorders or worsen existing ones. It can increase the risk of
developing mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders, depression,
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and others. Moreover, stress can also
exacerbate symptoms in individuals already diagnosed with mental health
conditions. It can trigger episodes of anxiety or depression, intensify
existing symptoms, and make it more challenging to manage the condition
effectively.
We can’t
avoid stress but we can manage it. But do you know how? If you don’t, you need
to learn. We have developed a hand book on how to manage stress and promote
mindfulness. If you like you could access it here: The Bolts & Nuts of Stress
Management & Mindfulness
Chemicals
Some
studies show that some chemicals that are routinely used can harm the health of
the brain. Here are three of them: Aluminum Sulfate (Alum); Fluroquinolones;
and Quinolones. Aluminum sulfate is
used in water treatment plants to remove impurities including dirt, organic
matter, bacteria, and other impurities.
Although
the amount of alum that is added to water is strictly controlled, there is
still concern that this may not be enough to stem its health impacting effects.
Because of this some people who can afford reverse osmosis pumps install them
to further purify their drinking water.
Another
class of chemicals that is believed to harm the health of the brain contains
fluroquinolones and quinolones. These chemicals form some antibiotics used to
treat bacterial infections. These are
potentially dangerous chemicals with ill effect on human health in general, but
particularly on brain cells and nerves. In a press release of 16th
November 2018, The European Medicines Agency (EMA) wrote:
‘EMA has reviewed serious, disabling and potentially permanent
side effects with quinolone and fluoroquinolone antibiotics given by mouth,
injection or inhalation. The review incorporated the views of patients,
healthcare professionals and academics presented at EMA’s public hearing on
fluoroquinolone and quinolone antibiotics in June 2018.
‘EMA’s human
medicines committee (CHMP) has endorsed
the recommendations of EMA’s safety committee (PRAC)
and concluded that the marketing
authorization of medicines containing cinoxacin, flumequine,
nalidixic acid, and pipemidic acid should be suspended….’.
Some common
medicines containing fluoroquinolones and quinolones are cinoxacin, ciprofloxacin, flumequine, levofloxacin,
lomefloxacin, moxifloxacin, nalidixic acid, norfloxacin, ofloxacin, pefloxacin,
pipemidic acid, prulifloxacin and rufloxacin.
The best way to
avoid the side effects of these chemicals is to heed this advise and steer
clear of this class of antibiotics, even if in your part of the world it is
still legitimate to use them.
Chronic Diseases
Some chronic
diseases like diabetes and atherosclerosis have a negative impact on the brain.
The brain is an energy intensive organ. The brain accounts for about 20% of the body's energy consumption, although in terms of mass, it only represents 2
percent of the body’s weight. A lot of glucose must be channeled to the
brain cells to manufacture this energy. The brain of a diabetic person can’t
carry this task effectively because the brain cells can not effectively take in
the glucose.
A person who suffers
from atherosclerosis (the narrowing down of blood vessels due to plaque build-up)
has a reduced blood flow to various body organs, including the brain. This
means the brain is not getting enough oxygen and nutrients to be able to
operate optimally.
If you are a
diabetic you need to closely monitor and manage the disease. But what you need
even more is to get your cells to open up so the much-needed glucose can flow
in. Since the cells closed up due to inflammation, you need to take in some anti-inflammatory
substances. However, you need to be careful. Many pharmaceutical anti-inflammatory
drugs can have serious side effects. I recommend using turmeric instead.
Turmeric is a powerful natural anti-inflammatory substance and is very safe. In
addition, scientific studies have revealed that turmeric can prevent the so-called
amyloid protein plaques from entangling and choking up brain cells. Many
scientists believe that primarily memory loss is caused by this. Mix turmeric powder with a little black pepper
powder to improve its absorbability and you are there!
Using ketogenic diet
is a much smarter way for a diabetic to have his/her brain achieve optimal
performance. This is a diet constituting of some protein, a mixture of vegetables
and some good fats. This is a great diet because it does not cause
inflammation, it does not raise blood sugar and the fat in it can feed the
brain cells and release the much-needed energy.
If you are suffering
from atherosclerosis chances are your blood circulation is full of calcium.
This occurs when your body is too acid and your bones are forced to release calcium
to aid to neutralize the acid. Why is your body full of acid? You have been
eating too much proteins and carbohydrates, and have neglected your vegetables
and fruits. So, eat more vegetables and fruits and reduce consumption of
proteins and fruits. Just dress your vegetables with some good fats so you don’t
miss out on the energy you need. Fat is a superior source of energy compared to
carbohydrates and proteins.
Other measures
Scientific studies
suggest that repairing brain cells need a hormone called ghrelin. This is a hormone
which is produced by the body only when we are hungry. Aha! So fasting is a
great way to effect brain repair huh? So, let us adopt fasting as a key
strategy in preventing our brains from aging.
In so many
situations the seeds of our own destruction are within our genes. The genes
predispose us to many diseases, including some those affecting the brain. The
good thing is that gene expression depends on the body environment. For
example, you may contain genes which predispose you towards becoming a
diabetic. However, whether you eventually become a diabetic or not will depend
on how you have been treating your body. Chances are if you completely forgo
sugar and starch and eat only ketogenic diet you will never be diabetic.
Conclusion
Your brain is too
precious to lose. There are many strategies that can help you to maintain it in
its optimal condition including those outlined above. It is your responsibility
to learn and implement them. Here is a recipe that can help you and your loved
ones to maintain optimal brain function. Invest just a little to access it here:
RECIPE TO PREVENT
MEMORY LOSS & BRAIN FOG
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