For Your Brain’s Better Health by Dr. Nelie Johnson

We all know that good food and exercise are good for the body.  What’s good for the body is good for the brain.  There’s greater understanding now of how we can improve and maintain brain health.  In this article I offer you an overall general prescription to take care of your brain’s health.

1)  Nutrition and fluids

- the mainstay of your diet should be fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and cereals.  Nuts, tofu, lentils and pulses are also excellent sources of protein.  Choose low fat animal sources of protein – poultry, fish and lean meats.  Bison is an excellent choice.  Choose organic sources wherever possible.  Keep junk food to a minimum – they are largely derived from non-living ingredients and are full of additives, many of them toxic, and excess salt.

Specific dietary recommendations for brain health are the following -

avoid saturated fats in your diet

include foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids – raw walnuts and seeds such as pumpkin, hemp and flax, fish

maintain stable blood sugar levels by avoiding refined sugars in baked goods and processed foods but instead choose whole grain breads, muffins, pastas along with fruits, vegetables, lean protein at each meal.

Vitamin D3, the B vitamins and tryptophan (an amino acid found in meats, dairy products and beans) contribute to mood stability and healthy nerve function.

In the summer months, it is especially important to keep hydrated.  Symptoms of dehydration include  thirst, lack of energy, lack of concentration, sluggish reflexes, difficulty making decisions, less alertness, headache, irritability.  Feeling hungry between meals may be a symptom, so rather than taking a snack, drink first.

Average water requirements – 2 litres or 8 glasses a day for an adult, and add 1 or 2 litres if out in the sun and active.

Do not rely on cold alcohol drinks for hydration.  A cool beer may be refreshing but it acts as a diuretic which has the opposite of affect – more fluid loss and dehydration.

2)  Rest -

Your sleep is important for your overall health and brain function.  Do whatever it takes to maintain adequate hours and quality of sleep.  Take action to clear anything that may be interfering with your sleep – physical factors such as pain, excessive noise or temperature;  emotional factors such as stress and worries.

Remember you can make up for short summer nights of sleep with cat naps during the day.  Relaxing fully, even though you don’t sleep, is also restorative.  Relaxing on the beach or poolside for example.

3)  Meditate -

Meditation is an excellent ‘de-stressor’.  It acts to release the pressure of conscious and unconscious thoughts that contribute to tension at all levels of our being – mental, emotional, spiritual and physical.  The benefits of meditation are numerous – more energy, clarity of thinking, more calmness, less irritabililty, more effective decision making and productivity, being more present, improved sleep.

There are many forms and techniques of meditation.  One of the simplest is to get quiet and follow your breath in and out, notice your thoughts and let them go, without any effort, just bringing your attention back to an awareness of your breath.  You may like to select a word – such as Peace, Calmness, Love or Om as a focal point.  Five to ten minutes twice a day can get you started and to begin to experience benefits.

I use several simple processes that I share with my patients that act similarly to meditation to release the burden of toxic thoughts and feelings.  Ho’oponopono is an example that I wrote of in my June 30th newsletter.

4) Be creative -

One of the best and most fundamental ways to keep your brain in top functioning health is to give it something new to process.  Learn to speak a new language; take a course in something you know nothing about; take up a hobby.  When you do new learning, the brain develops new pathways and neuronal connections that are revitalizing – its own an internal workout.

Remain curious and keep learning and your brain will keep working longer and help you stay young and fit mentally and emotionally.

5) Keep physically active -

More and more studies are showing that keeping physically active is not just good for your body but for your brain as well.  One of the best activities for the brain health is dancing, especially learning a new dance or any physical skill as you get the benefit of learning as well.

6) Have fun and laugh with others -

Connecting socially with friends, family, and co-workers and having fun and laughing are all stimulating for the brain and highly effective in releasing stress.  Somewhere I heard a good belly laugh is ‘internal jogging’.  Taking yourself less seriously and bringing lightness, ease and laughter into your life is ‘the true fountain of youth’.

A summer holiday is a great time to kick back, relax, socialize, play, or get still and take a brake from all your usual mind chatter.  See if you can’t bring a degree of fun, playfulness, and joy with you when you go back to work and ‘Life’.

Dr. Nelie Johnson is a family physician and facilitator for healing – inspiring and guiding people to tap into their own healing potential.  She is a contributing author to a bestselling book and provides seminars, workshops, and private consultations.

Visit www.awarenessheals.ca for more information.