What Your Brain Needs For Healthy Aging

Ever have a "senior moment"? It seems that forgetfulness increases with age. This is partially because the damage to our brain accumulates over time. "Brain shrinkage" from stress and nutrient deficiencies, plus brain trauma from injuries and toxicity contribute to memory loss, inability to concentrate and even Alzheimer's disease. New research on brain erosion suggests that those experiencing significant stress may experience volume loss (brain shrinkage) as early as age 30.

Some of the rapid aging of our brain and body is caused by nutrient deficiency. It is much harder to get the nutrients from our food as we did in the past.

Healthy brain, healthy body

We have to remember that every cell in our brain and body has a pre-programmed life span. This lifespan may be very short or very long. For instance, digestive cells in the small intestines live only a matter of hours and may be replaced up to six times daily. Some cells in our brain, nervous system and immune system may last our entire lifetime but become dormant and stop functioning if not properly nourished.

When the signal goes out that cell repair or replacement is needed, growth hormone accomplishes this with the nutrients we have available at that time. So, just imagine: A cell reaches the end of its normal lifespan and needs to be replaced. Growth hormone is present to facilitate this restoration. Now, your body recruits the nutrient building blocks that it needs to build healthy cells:

• Proteins
• Fats
• Carbohydrates
• Water
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Enzymes
• Antioxidants and many other nutrients

Antioxidants and many other nutrients

What if you don't have enough nutrients available to facilitate this replacement? What if you are missing a vitamin or an antioxidant or fat or some other critical nutrient when it is needed most? Well, one of two things will happen:

1. Either the cell will not be replaced and we begin to wither; or
2. The cell is replaced, but without critical elements needed to keep it healthy.

For healthy aging you simply must have the proper nutrients available at all times because a cell deprived of the proper nutrients will be prone to disease and premature aging. Your body must replace millions of cells each day. One single day of poor nutrition will mean that you will make deficient cells that day. These cells may live for many months or years and they will be the focus for disease and inflammation.

Premature aging is about losing more cells than we replace. Healthy aging is about closing the gap between loss of cells and repair or replacement of our cells - as triggered by growth hormone and fueled by nutrients.

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