Happy Monday! It’s that time of the week again! To enlighten you for a fresh start to your week about how you can make healthy decisions.
Because, if you didn’t know… You are not born and STUCK with your body.. You have a new liver every 6 months, new skin every six weeks, and a new lining in your colon every 3 days! If you have a problem, in order for it to remain, you have to continue doing the same thing…..
This is why it is my goal to constantly remind you to never do the same thing:) Health is a journey, and it’s my goal to educate you through that journey to have the best tools possible to live the life you deserve.
ok ok.. on to today’s topic. If you find yourself forgetting things, and you are out of shape…believe it or not, getting fit could be the path that you need for a better memory.
Of course, from previous blogs you know that memory has many other contributors like sugar in the brain, mold toxicities, infections, and low fat intake. But, there is also A TON of research on how exercise improves memory as well.
Why? Exercise, and by this i mean aerobic exercise provides greater blood flow to your brain, specifically the hippocampus which is a big part of our memory center. Those with higher fitness levels actually have a more resilient hippocampus and elastic hippocampus and score better on memory tests according to the latest research.
We know that blood flow is crucial to our body, but it’s also crucial to our brain. Blood carries nutrients to every cell in the body and removes toxins. Low blood flow is the #1 brain imgaing predictor of Alzheimers. Brain cells don’t age, rather it’s the blood vessels that age. If you keep your blood vessels healthy you may be able to avoid not only memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease, but also high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and erectile dysfunction, among other health problems. You’ll also have a lot more energy and you’re less likely to be overweight.
Exercise also increases BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) three fold in the brain, which builds cells back up. BDNF is considered an important protein that influences brain function as well as the peripheral nervous system. BDNF influences a variety of functions including: preventing death of existing brain cells, inducing the growth of new neurons (neurogenesis) and synapses, and supporting cognitive function. Low levels of BDNF are often problematic and have been linked to: Alzheimer’s, accelerated aging, poor neural development, neurotransmitter dysfunction, obesity, depression, and even schizophrenia.
How do you increase blood flow?
- Caffeine and nicotine constrict blood flow to the brain ( a cup of coffee per day won’t do much, more than that could cause trouble)
- Treating high blood pressure. As blood pressure goes up, blood flow to the brain goes down. And no i’m not recommending high blood pressure medications, but looking into the reason WHY the high blood pressure is there in the first place, and addressing it’s root cause.
- Addressing any heart issues. Anything that damages the heart damages the brain. A good majority of these are B vitamin deficiences.
- Exercise. hyperbaric oxygen therapy and Live O2 machines are also great for increasing oxygen to the brain. This is amazing for brain injuries and concussions as well!
- Drink more water and green tea
- Limit excess salt
- Take a good whole food multivitamin, mineral, vitamin D3/k2, magnesium and omega daily
- Ginko and bacopa is an awesome brain support and increases blood flow to the brain.
- 1 oz of dark chocolate every day (oh yes i did!)
- Eat more beets, green leafy vegetables, berries, pumpkin seeds, cayenne pepper
Not only does it increase your memory, but exercise also increases your mood, and gets your lymphatic system moving. It’s actually the only way our lymphatic system moves at as is through our muscles contracting. So, this week, get out and move! Your brain will REMEMBER and thank you:)