Do you know what a mnemonic is? It’s a device such as a pattern of Letters, ideas, or associations that assists in remembering something.
That’s what Bright Mind is, a mnemonic to understand factors that affect the health of your brain. *Blood flow *Retirement/Aging *Inflammation *Genetics/family history *Head trauma *Toxins *Mental health *Immunity/Infections *Nero - hormonal deficiencies *Diabesity *Sleep Let’s explore what you can do to minimize damage from these issues that relate to your brain health. Blood Flow. BEMER is an FDA approved Class 2 medical device that improves BLOOD FLOW. You can receive BEMER therapy in my office in downtown San Rafael. Retirement/Aging. This could be good or bad depending on what you do with your time when you stop working. There’s nothing you can do to start adding years to your life. The best solution to this potential risk factor is to exercise, stay active, keep learning, eat healthy, and have fun! Inflammation. The Standard American diet (FAD) is way too high in inflammatory foods like sugar, alcohol, white flour, commercially raised animal products, and packaged food with food additives. Keep those to a minimum. Instead eat wild salmon and other omega-3 rich fish such as sardines, cod and halibut. Spices like ginger, turmeric, and cayenne are also anti-inflammatory. Genetics/Family History. Some may think there’s no escaping genetics or family history but that’s not so. We can influence the expression of genes with diet and lifestyle practices. So be as good as you can to yourself as you can be. Head Trauma. Craniosacral therapy, chiropractic care and specific nutritional interventions are beneficial to resolve head trauma. Toxins. This is a big one in our industrial world. The first thing you want to do is make sure that you’re having 1 to 2 bowel movements a day to effectively eliminate toxins. It is said that women should drink 100 ounces of water and men assuming they’re bigger than women should drink 120 ounces of water daily. That helps too. You might consider an air filter for your home. And check out ewg.org for human friendly household cleaners, skin care products, cosmetics and food. Mental Health. Check out last week's newsletter for the seven factors Dr. Dan Siegel’s Healthy Mind Platter. Seek help. You’re not bad or a failure if you need support in this regard. I can also recommend the books and classes of Rick Hanson, neuropsychologist. His book Hardwiring Happiness would be extremely helpful here. Immunity/Infections. The bad news is that your immune system can attack your own cells. And bad bugs also cause damage. Identify what's irritating you to calm your immune system. Elimination and prevention is the most effective method. Take out the most common irritants and see if you improve. Gluten is a major driver of mental problems. To keep your immune system strong make sure your vitamin D levels are enough. There’s a blood test that you can take too. Your level should be at least 40 or higher.
Neuro-Hormonal Deficiencies. Your nervous system needs omega-3 and arachidonic acid. Nordic Naturals is the company I recommend for omega-3 fats. Eat grass fed/pastured meat to get healthy arachidonic acid. Nordic naturals also has an activated vitamin B complex that I recommend. Many hormones that affect your brain come from cholesterol. It’s always a good idea to get your cholesterol levels very low. You can search on Fullscript for Omega 3, Vitamin D and B Complex supplements. Click here to create or open your Fullscript account and get a 10% discount and free shipping on orders of $50 or more. Obesity. This is a combination of diabetes and obesity. Getting your weight back to normal can often resolve the diabetes problems. I know that’s easier said than done. You definitely need medical help here. Diabetes affects the flow into your brain. Not enough blood flow = bad brain. Sleep. Sleep cycle's last approximately 90 minutes. Get a minimum of 6 hours. Regularly get 7 1/2 hours. And sometimes 9 hours. This is the part of your day where regeneration and repair happens. Rob yourself of sleep and it’s like having a disorganized construction zone going on in your brain. Trouble sleeping? There’s all kinds of good information on the Internet. As always... here's to your best health! Dr. Linda P.S If you would like my help figuring this out schedule a 15 minute consultation with me here.
Fun Fact: Here’s a quote from Milarepa - In the beginning nothing came. In the middle nothing stayed. In the end nothing Left. Bottom line… Persist in your efforts. They will be rewarded. .