Change Your Diet to Prevent Memory Loss
The prospect of losing your memory is frightening. Every day thousands of people around the world are told that they will eventually have significant memory loss. They are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia and the prognosis from that point will only get worse. The will forget family, the past and present, and eventually forget how to take care of themselves. If you want to take some action to prevent this disease, there may be some dietary changes that you can take now that will help you to prevent memory loss.
There is still much we need to learn about Alzheimer's disease, however we do know that brain plaque is an important precursor to this disease. The more brain plaque that is built up, the more likely we will have the disease. Plaque eventually will kill brain cells.
One way to reverse the effects of plaque and prevent memory loss is to increase your intake of antioxidants. Antioxidants help the brain cells to be able to communicate with one another and to reduce the buildup of plaque in the brain. This is key to improving brain memory.
You need to eat brightly colored fruits in order to add antioxidants to the diet; purple foods are some of the best. They include cranberries, concord grapes and blueberries. Studies done with dogs show that these foods can actually decrease the amount of plaque in the brain. In addition to reducing plaque, these foods help to increase formation of new brain cells.
Other foods thought to help include yellow curry and foods that contain the B vitamins. Of vital importance here are folic acid and niacin. You can find B vitamins in fish, lean meats and legumes. They are useful in the control of inflammation and in stimulating growth of new brain cells, thereby leading to an improved memory.
Do not depend on supplements to get these needed antioxidants; start including them in your everyday diet. Fresh fruits and vegetables have a higher concentration of the needed antioxidants than any supplement can bring into your body.
The foods that are good for the brain have also been found to be good for the heart. Trans fats are bad for both the brain and the heart. They build up plaque in the arteries and plaque in the brain. Replace fatty trans fat foods with the fresh fruits and vegetables and you may not miss them. In addition, you are doing your part to prevent memory loss and protect your heart.
Cholesterol serves to protect the nerves, however too much can attach to the brain and cause the brain damaging plaque. Lower your trans fat and cholesterol intake and you can protect both the brain and the heart.
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The right diet does help both body and mind. This is one key leg of brain health – you should also get physical exercise, stay emotionally and socially engaged, and challenge your mind to keep it vibrant.
Learning new stuff actually re-wires your neurons to improve brain performance. And everyone is capable of improving. Medical research clearly shows memory and mental fitness, like physical fitness, gets better with exercise. This brain plasticity is an amazing feature of the mind. Realizing you can improve brain performance is the first step. The next step is to do something about it.
People tell me they want to do something for their brain that “works”. Posit Science, where I am CEO, makes scientifically-validated and engaging software that can help you think faster, focus better and remember more. Over 30 clinical studies from institutions like the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins show that our technology can have a range of benefits from improved memory to lowered health care costs to improved driving safety. For more information and to try free exercises, please visit www.positscience.com
Good article on diet for keeping the memory good.
A lot of the fruits and vegs are what I do eat but did not know that the dark fruits like purples and blues (grapes and blueberries) were the best source.
Will remember that one next time on the smoothies.
Thanks!
Diet is a good replacement for some high-priced memory-enhancing supplements. We just need to find out what consist a good memory-enhancing diet. Your article is one piece of the puzzle. Nice article..
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