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Across the lifespan, the human brain goes through numerous changes, both structurally and functionally. Mental decline is common with age, but it’s not inevitable as many once thought.
Simple lifestyle modifications and natural interventions can promote better brain health and drastically change how you think and feel.
Brain health means a lot of things to different people, but it can roughly be broken down into two areas of focus; feelings and mood, and thoughts and cognition. These two areas are very different but both influence overall brain health. For example, if someone feels great but can’t calculate a tip, that’s an opportunity to strengthen their cognition. Similarly, if someone says work is going well, but they often feel sad, that’s another aspect of brain health that can be improved. For physicians, it’s critical to examine and enhance both of these areas.
Lifestyle often has a lot to do with how well your brain ages, and there are many natural, low-cost options beyond using pharmaceuticals. The first and simplest step is to look at your diet and how those foods might be affecting your brain.
A Mayo Clinic study of 1,230 adults between the ages of 70 and 89 found that those whose diets were highest in carbohydrates had nearly four times the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Conversely, participants that consumed foods high in healthy fat were 42 percent less likely to develop cognitive impairment.1
This is astonishing, and no medication can claim results like this. It is so important to remember that what you choose to eat dramatically influences your brain.
How exactly does a high-fat diet support the brain? Fat fortifies the brain in many ways. The human brain is approximately 60 percent fat and has a unique fatty acid composition. This is pivotal because it supports the membranes around every cell in your body.
Dendrites are where neurons receive information from other cells, and these dendrites are primarily comprised of fat. Axons, or nerve fibers, are the primary transmission lines of the nervous system- think of these as wires through which neurons send signals to other cells. These axons are protected by a myelin sheath which is made up of—you guessed it—fat!
In addition to contributing to the physical structure of cells, fats are a rich source of energy and aid the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Fats, proteins and carbohydrates are all macronutrient sources of energy found in the human diet. However, fat is the most concentrated source and provides double the energy content of protein and carbohydrates.
Diet is crucial to a healthy brain, but that is only part of the equation. You can positively influence neural health using specific supplements like #Seismic6 Just Drink It!
