Healthy Brain and Intuition Power
Healthy heart = Healthy brain
Middle-aged smokers are 70 percent more likely to develop dementia than those who don’t smoke, a new study has warned, prompting experts to advise regular physical and mental exercises. Under-55s who smoke increase their risk five-fold, and smokers aged between 46 and 70 have a 70 percent higher risk of developing chronic memory loss, according to the study. Diabetes will more than triple the risk of dementia, says the study. A separate study published this week in the American journal Neurology shows that people may be able to ward off the onset of dementia by stimulating their brain regularly through everyday activities such as reading, writing and playing card games. Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at Britain’s Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Interestingly this research has found that memory loss in people who are in the very early stages of the condition may be delayed by ordinary activities that engage the brain, whether they were well-educated in early life or not. “This research suggests that exercising your brain as well as your body may play a role in the fight against dementia.” The results in the British journal show that middle-aged people should immediately quit smoking and make lifestyle changes that will help control dementia rather than waiting until they are pensioners. “A healthy heart means a healthy brain,” said Neil Hunt, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Society, adding that people should keep active, eat a balanced diet, not smoke and have their blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly. In Britain alone, 700,000 people now live with dementia, and the figure is expected to rise to more than a million people by 2025 and 1.7 million by 2051. The study in the British journal said: “Smoking, hypertension and diabetes were associated with a higher risk of the outcome.” “Our results suggest that, for prevention of dementia, control of cardiovascular risk factors starting in midlife is likely to be more important in the prevention of dementia than control starting later on,” it said. The researchers, based in the universities of Minnesota, North Carolina and Johns Hopkins and the University of Mississippi Medical Center, studied more than 11,000 people aged 46-70. Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said: “Although this latest research recommends mid-life as a critical time to change our lifestyles, it’s never too early, or late, to take steps towards improving heart-health. “We should all consider stopping smoking, taking regular exercise and adopting a healthy, Mediterranean-style diet.” On brain exercise study, she said: “This adds to the ‘use it or lose it’ hypothesis that we can reap the benefits of stimulating our minds regularly, perhaps by doing crosswords, playing chess or adding up the shopping before getting to the till.”
The study published in Britain’s Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry says people who smoke, have high blood pressure or diabetes massively increase their risk of developing dementia.
Good Diet keep brain healthyA balanced diet and regular exercise can protect the brain and ward off mental disorders, a new review of research states. "Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects your brain," said Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, a UCLA professor of neurosurgery and physiological science, who has spent years studying the effects of food, exercise and sleep on the brain. His round-up of the scientific truth behind the brain-food connection confirms a lot of what has been suggested before. "Diet, exercise and sleep have the potential to alter our brain health and mental function," he said. "This raises the exciting possibility that changes in diet are a viable strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities, protecting the brain from damage, and counteracting the effects of aging." Gómez-Pinilla analyzed more than 160 studies about food’s affect on the brain, an analysis published in the July issue of the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience. Omega-3s and mental health Omega-3 fatty acids — found in salmon, walnuts and kiwi fruit — provide many benefits, including improving learning and memory and helping to fight against such mental disorders as depression and mood disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia, said Gómez-Pinilla, a member of UCLA’s Brain Research Institute and the Brain Injury Research Center. Synapses in the brain connect neurons, and provide critical functions; much learning and memory occur at synapses, Gómez-Pinilla said. "Omega-3 fatty acids support synaptic plasticity and seem to positively affect the expression of several molecules related to learning and memory that are found on synapses," Gómez-Pinilla said. "Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for normal brain function." "Dietary deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in humans has been associated with increased risk of several mental disorders, including attention-deficit disorder, dyslexia, dementia, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia," Gómez-Pinilla said. "A deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in rodents results in impaired learning and memory." Children and omega-3s Children who had increased amounts of omega-3 fatty acids performed better in school, in reading, spelling, and behavior, he said. Improvement in school performance was observed in a group of students receiving omega-3 fatty acids, according to preliminary results from a study in England. In another study, 396 children in Australia, ages 6 to 12, who were given a drink with omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients (iron, zinc, folic acid, and vitamins A, B6, B12 and C) showed higher scores on tests that measured verbal intelligence and learning and memory after six months and one year than a control group of students who did not receive the nutritional drink. This study was also conducted with 394 children in Indonesia. The results showed higher test scores in both boys and girls in Australia, but in only girls in Indonesia. Getting omega-3 fatty acids from food rather than from capsule supplements can be more beneficial, providing additional nutrients, Gómez-Pinilla said. Scientists are learning which components of omega-3 fatty acids seem to be especially important. One is DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which is abundant in salmon. DHA, which reduces oxidative stress and enhances synaptic plasticity and learning and memory, is the most abundant omega-3 fatty acid in cell membranes in the brain. Sharpen Your Brain to Improve Performance and Lower StressBuilding on the latest research in neuroscience and cognition, one company is promoting "brain fitness" -- to keep the mind spry and avoid the ravages of time and stress. At Sharp Brains, entrepreneur Alvaro Fernandez has joined forces with neurologist Elkhonon Goldberg and others to bridge the gap between science and practice. I recently corresponded with Mr. Fernandez about his company's goals and about how to best exercise our minds. |
Human brain performanceScientists have in recent years gained more insight into our most enigmatic bodies, A Brain. It has left a hole in many ancient myths and yielded surprising new knowledge. Here and on the following pages you can read about the brain, and how it among other things, control intelligence, memory.
We are becoming wiser YES. This has been the last 50 years. Scientists do not know why we - at least until recently - have become more and more talented. Some believe, however, that it depends on a better diet. Most believe that our complex society behind: around the clock, we are bombarded by influences from including television and computer so that the brain constantly stimulated. In addition, we go further in school, and that we get a better education than our father. Under 1990s the curve of intelligence, however, leveled off. Maybe because we have reached the ceiling of the biologically possible Alcohol kills brain cells Therapy for Brain TraumaBrain trauma is an injury to the brain that causes brain damage. Brain trauma can disrupt virtually any function, A brain acts as the central processing unit of the body, and injuries can disrupt motor and cognitive function cause sleepiness, diminish concentration and memory, affect mood, harm sexual function, cause paralysis and even death. Few medications other than progesterone have been found to reduce the effects of brain trauma once it has occurred. However, there are therapies available for brain recovery after the brain trauma.
Progesterone |