Want to keep your brain sharp and ward off Alzheimer’s? Here are a few simple, expert-approved ways to boost your brain power and prevent age-related memory loss.
The expert
Jean Carper, author of 100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’s and Age-Related Memory Loss, is a former medical correspondent and leading authority on health and nutrition. After discovering that she had a gene which made her susceptible to Alzheimer’s, she researched the factors in her life that she could control to help boost her brain power and lower her chances of developing the disease.
ALSO SEE: 5 Top Anti-Ageing Foods For Your Brain
Simple ways to boost brain power
Challenge your brain
Try to engage in more problem-solving activities. This helps to build new neural pathways in the brain, thus boosting brain power. Learn to play an instrument, sign up for a course, join a book club, do more crosswords or build puzzles or play bridge and other games that involve logic and reasoning. These will all help to keep the brain healthy.
Cook up a curry
Did you know, India has one of the lowest rates of Alzheimer’s in the world? It’s thought that the plant chemical, curcumin, found in turmeric helps slow build-up of protein “plaques” in the brain, a trait of the disease. Lab studies show curcumin also helped eat away at existing plaques.
Try to choose yellow curries that contain turmeric or use it in Thai food dishes. TRY THIS: Vegan Pineapple Curry with Cashews Recipe
ALSO SEE: 5 Ways To Use Turmeric Every Day
Call a friend
A wide social circle makes your brain more efficient and helps to build what experts call “cognitive reserve” (spare capacity). The stronger that reserve is, the more likely you are to stave off Alzehimer’s. Research showed that those who scored the highest on memory and thinking tests engaged in regular social activities like playing Bingo, taking day trips and participating in volunteer work.
Try a new activity or join a new course or social group to meet new people. It’s also great to keep in touch with extended family.
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Take care of your teeth
Infection that causes gum disease is thought to give off inflammatory by-products that travel to areas of the brain involved in memory loss. It’s important to brush, floss and ensure that you and your family see the dentist regularly for treatment to keep your teeth and gums healthy.
Drink more tea
Tea leaves are packed with compounds that are able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and block neural damage. Researchers from UCLA found that if you drink at least three cups of green or black tea per day, you’ll reduce your risk of having a stroke by 21%.
Drink real and brewed black and green tea. Both have benefits, but green tea has three to four times more antioxidants. Let the bag or leaves steep in hot water for five minutes and don’t add milk, which can reduce the tea’s antioxidant activity as much as 25%.
ALSO SEE: Why Rooibos Tea Is Good For You
Get out and enjoy nature
When it comes to growing a bigger, better-working brain, activity is the key and the more aerobic the better. Take a walk in the park or countryside. This has similar effects to meditating and helps boost memory, plus it helps to keep you positive and relaxed, another bonus for the brain.
DISCLAIMER: You must not rely on the information on this website/newsletter as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider.
