Brain Food 101

Keeping your brain fit and young partially comes down to eating the right foods. In order to optimize brain health, follow the guidelines below.

Neutralize free radicals. Free radicals are like robbers who are deficient in energy because they are missing an electron. Free radicals attack other cells, such as motor neurons, to rob them of energy and satisfy themselves. Antioxidants are molecules capable of neutralizing free radicals. By reacting with them, antioxidants protect the body from undesired electron transfer reactions.

Rich sources of antioxidants include blueberries and cranberries, bittersweet chocolate (yeah!), most dark vegetables including the tops of broccoli, artichoke hearts, red beans, pecans, and cherries.

Eat the way nature intended. Start at the beginning. For example, eat a whole apple instead of apple sauce or apple juice. A large part of the nutritional value of an apple is the skin, which is rich in antioxidants and a good source of fiber too. The more processed the food, the less healthy it is, especially if sugar is added.

Help your brain absorb vitamins by eating the right kinds of fat. We need fat to absorb essential vitamins like A, E, D, and K.  More importantly, the brain is 60% fat and must be feed a steady diet of it. The membranes protecting nerve cells are mostly fat.

Avoid the saturated fats found in most animal meats. They clog arteries, cutting off essential oxygen to the brain and contributing to stroke. Stick to vegetable fats (especially canola and olive oils), fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, and white chicken meat or the leanest cuts of beef.

A lot has been written lately about the benefits of Omega-3 fats which help keeping the brain “oiled” like a well tuned machine. In addition to fatty fish, good sources of Omega-3 include walnuts, flaxseed oil, brazil nuts, kidney beans, navy beans, winter and summer squash, certain berries such as raspberries and strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, romaine lettuce, and collard greens. Wheat germ, fortified eggs, and free-range beef and poultry are also good sources of omega-3s.

Contrary to what you’ve been told, carbohydrates are good for you. Don’t worry about carbohydrates, just make sure they’re complex carbs. 

As far back as ancient Egypt nutritionists knew the proper ratio of diet is 30% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 30% fat. Carbohydrates provide glucose, one of only two fuels the brain uses to keep running and keep fit. High protein diets are hard on the kidneys and reduce energy to the brain. 

Stick to the complex carbs found in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Avoid simple carbs, especially refined white sugar and flour. The more refined foods a person eats, the more insulin must be produced to manage it. Insulin promotes the storage of fat, making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, which can lead to heart disease and stroke.

Exercise: You don't have to knock yourself out to feel good

Couch potatoes, take heart. You don't have to exercise until you drop to reap mental benefits, according to some research.

Psychologists studying how exercise affects mental health are discovering that how much or how intensely you exercise isnít the key factor in relieving depression and anxiety. In fact, they say that less is more; or at least just as good.

In one study , depressed people used stationary bicycles. Participants' depression declined, even when they weren't biking all that hard. In another study , people reported how they felt after a 10-minute brisk walk or a 45-minute workout. Those working out for 45 minutes said they were less tense and that their energy at first declined and later rebounded. Those who just walked said that they felt less tense, and they also reported more energy right away.

Courtesy of the American Psychological Association    http://www.apa.org/

10 Tips for Improving Family Mental Health

Creating a mentally-healthy environment for you and your family is easy. Regardless of who or how many members make up your family, there are endless ways to achieve mental wellness while relieving stress and spending time with the people you love. Here’s a quick list of ideas. Feel free to make your own – the key words are fun and easy!

Eat dinner together – As so many families know, finding time to sit down for a family meal can be a challenge. But doing so once a week or even every other week is a prime opportunity to talk, listen and enjoy a good meal together.

Get some exercise – We all know exercise can be hard work, but it can also be lots of fun for the family and help you feel great. So get together with loved ones to shoot some hoops, go swimming or play a favorite sport.

Go to the zoo or a museum – Choose a free day and take a trip to the local zoo or museum to learn and explore. Afterwards, treat yourselves to lunch or a healthy snack.

Take a Walk – Walking together can be a simple and fun way to get your blood flowing while enjoying the outdoors and the company of family members. Pick a scenic route and get moving.

Watch a movie – Pick up a good family film, make some popcorn and stay inside for the night.

Get enough rest – Mental and physical health go hand in hand and you can only be at the top of your game when you’ve gotten plenty of rest. Make sure you and your family members get a full seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

Pack a healthy lunch – Encourage the healthy eating habits of your family by packing a healthy lunch. Substitute chips and a soda with healthier snacks like carrots, raisins and fresh juice or water.

Read a book together – Reading a good book can be one of the simple pleasures of life and a great way to exercise your mind. Select something the whole family can enjoy and read a portion of it aloud each night.

Plan a picnic – Choose a sunny day, pack a nice lunch and head to the park. Bring tennis rackets or a soccer ball and challenge your family members to a game of one-on-one.

Take a vacation – Getting away from home and work for a couple days or more is always a treat. Plan a fun an affordable getaway where you and your family can rest, relax and escape your busy schedules.

Source: www.mentalhealthamerica.net 

A Patient's Journal: by David Morgan

Battling Stigma. By David Morgan.


Why must I battle stigma? What did I do wrong? Or what have I not done, to deserve discrimination and disrespect? I have not committed a crime, I have hurt no one. I am a man with a purpose who walks tall and braves the elements.


Weathering the storm of mental illness is a stigma that can be only be handled with an umbrella of compromise. My understanding of mental health is that it is well being that can be strengthened by medication, exercise and nutrition. It is not fair to say I don’t feel angry at times but the inquisition of horror and misunderstanding has plagued the topic of mental disabilities, probably since they were first recognized.


Isn't it also enough to say that the disability of anxiety cripples most Americans at one point in their lives? Most will say yes now, since 20% of all visits to the doctor are from anxiety disorders. For those who say no, I say give me a room full of students without prior knowledge of a pop quiz and I’ll show you teens who need to change their underwear. Or convince me that the stress of the American way of doing business doesn’t make millions dysfunctional every year.


So what is it about the stigma of brain disorders that Americans can’t shake? The fact is, at least 20 million of us are in need of counseling services each year! That also happens to be a lot more than the estimated number who do seek help after the illness disrupts their ability to function. That is a lot of treatment and care not received.  I thank God that I am among the 6 million who can honestly say I went and benefited from treatment.


So stigma do your worst because my determination, intelligence and tax dollars will fight back.
I leave you with this thought: please recognize your symptoms and surroundings and ask yourself are you one of the 20 million in need of help? There is no reason to be afraid to seek it.

Laughter Truly Is The Best Medicine

Stress relief from laughter? Yes, no joke

When it comes to relieving stress, more giggles and guffaws are just what the doctor ordered. Here's why.

Whether you're overcome with giggles during the most hysterical moments of a Monty Python movie or you twitter away at the highbrow humor of a New Yorker cartoon, laughing does you good. Laughter helps you deal with a variety of maladies, including the stresses of daily life.

Stress-relief benefits from a belly laugh

Laughter's health benefits are no joke. A good sense of humor can't cure all ailments, but data are mounting about the positive things laughter can do.

Short-term benefits A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can:

§     Stimulate your organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.

§    Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response and increases your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.

§    Soothe tension and stomach aches. Laughter can also ease digestion and stimulate circulation, which helps reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Long-term effects
Laughter isn't just a quick pick-me-up, though. It's also good for you over the long haul. Laughter may:

§    Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can impact your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. In contrast, positive thoughts actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.

§    Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers.

§    Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make difficult situations a little bit easier.
       
      Copyright 2008. Mayo Clinic staff. http://www.mayoclinic.com/

Test Teens For Depression To Combat Obesity and Stress

Teen Stress Linked to Depression and Obesity

March 10, 2010

A new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health suggests that early diagnosis and treatment of major depression in adolescents could help lessen stress and control obesity.

Researchers used a child behavior checklist to evaluate 111 boys and girls ages 8 to 13 for symptoms of depression. They then measured the children’s obesity and cortisol levels in their saliva before and after a number of stress tests.

The body releases cortisol, a hormone that controls many of the body’s metabolic functions, as a response to stress. In the study, researchers discovered that depression raises stress hormone levels in teen boys and girls. For adolescent girls specifically, elevated coristol levels may lead to obesity. Although researches do not know definitively why high cortisol reactions lead to obesity only for girls, some think it may be related to physiological and behavioral differences in the way girls and boys cope with anxiety. Source: Nami.org

Coping with the Recession

The numbers do not look good. This prolonged recession with its home foreclosures and layoffs is taking its toll on America’s collective psyche.  As a result, 20% of all visits to the doctor today are for anxiety disorders like panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorder. More disturbing is the fact that the National Suicide Hotline received 120,000 more calls in 2009 than in 2008. Many were from laid off workers, who are four times as likely as those with jobs to report symptoms consistent with severe mental illness (SMI) 

What can you do to avoid becoming a statistic? For starters, focus on what you have, not what you don’t have or might have lost. Count your blessings if you still have a job and a house. Start appreciating the little joys in life that made you happy as a child. Finally, cherish every important relationship you have.

To help you cope and make you more resilient here are five surprising strategies that will help you maintain cognitive health and increase your brain’s ability to defend itself against severe mental illnesses.

1)     1. Regulate your blood pressure - This is the most important thing you can do. Decades before memory and thinking problems appear, high blood pressure creates microscopic scarring in the brain. High blood pressure seems to damage tiny arteries that supply blood to white matter, which destroys the ability of nerve cells to communicate with each other. To see a list of high blood pressure warning signs, go to http://www.emedicinehealth.com/high_blood_pressure/page3_em.htm . High blood pressure is known as the “silent killer’ because it has few symptoms and is often not diagnosed until someone is in danger of a heart attack or stroke. Have your blood pressure measured at a local pharmacy. See your doctor immediately if you have symptoms and/or elevated blood pressure.

2)     2. Keep your teeth and gums in good health - Gum disease can be a major contributor to all sorts of illnesses because bacteria leach into the bloodstream. People with gum disease also have worse mental functioning than those whose gums are healthy, according to a U.K. study of more than 6,500 adults.

3)     3. Play games – Release the inner child in you and learn how to have fun again. The right games challenge your mind and help it create more of those all important neural pathways.

4)     4. Take time out to laugh - You can counteract stress—and roll back psychological aging—with laughter. Even the anticipation of a good laugh decreases the stress chemicals cortisol and epinephrine by 39 percent and 70 percent, respectively, say researchers at Loma Linda University.

5)    5.  Eat some eggs - The ideal breakfast is an egg, according to Larry McCleary, M.D., author of The Brain Trust Program. The incredible edible contains B vitamins, which enable nerve cells to burn glucose, your brain's major energy source; antioxidants, which protect neurons against damage; and omega-3 fatty acids, which keep nerve cells firing at optimal speed.

Sleep Deprivation Impairs Memory and Creativity

The United States is one of the most sleep-deprived nations on earth. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services close to 60 million people in the U.S. suffer from sleeplessness or insomnia each year. In recent studies nearly two-thirds of American adults have suffered or are currently suffering from sleeplessness. In addition, the chance of someone suffering from sleeplessness increases as we grow older. 

Sleeplessness has negative consequences for brain health and cognition. It hinders your brain’s ability to repair itself, your ability to drive safely, and contributes greatly to poor work performance.

Interrupting sleep or not getting enough seriously disrupts memory-making, compelling new research finds. But on the flip side, states William Fishbein, a cognitive neuroscientist at the City University of New York, taking a nap may boost a sophisticated kind of memory that helps us see the big picture and get creative. 

If you’re having trouble with sleeplessness, here are some other tips to help you keep your “sleep bank” full: 

• Cut out caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol 4-6 hours before bedtime

• If you do not fall asleep within twenty minutes of getting in bed, get up and do something calming or boring until you feel sleepy

• Your bed is for sleeping and sex only. Try not to read or watch television in bed because both keep the mind active

• Create the right space.  It’s very important that your bedroom is cool with enough blanket to stay warm.

• Get regular with your sleeps habits. One of the best ways to train your body to sleep well is to go to bed and get up at more or less the same time every day, even on weekends and days off.

• Invest money in a very good mattress. You’re going to be on it for one-third of the rest of your life. Plus, nothing makes it harder to fall asleep and sleep without interruption than metal coils that hurt your back and the sides of your body.

Boomers Need an Alzheimer's Wake-Up Call

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, over 10,000,000 Baby Boomers – those Americans born from 1946 to 1964 – will develop Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that new cases of the fatal brain disorder will quadruple by 2050 unless a cure is found.


According to a study from UCLA, published in the journal Neurology, 95 percent of people with Alzheimer's disease are not diagnosed until they are in the moderate to severe stages of the disorder, when there is little hope for improvement. 

Unfortunately, there is a swarm of controversy over what causes Alzheimer's disease and whether or not it can be prevented.  Everything from meditation (which increases blood flow to the brain) to supplements of the herb gingko biloba has been touted as a way to prevent it, delay its onset or even reverse  its effects. The one point that experts do agree on is that the disorder is NOT a normal  part of the aging process since most of the elderly never develop it.

Until a cure for Alzheimer's is found it pays to keep up with current information on the latest advancements in the treatment and prevention of the brain disorder. Whether you will develop it or not could rely on your efforts to stay informed. A good place to start is the Alzheimer's Association website at www.alz.org. Click below for a link to the association's list of the 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's disease.

www.alz.org/10signs 

Stressed? Ten Things You Can Do Right Now to Relieve Your Symptoms

1. Resolve incompletes. Take care of at least one now. Research shows that incomplete projects, chores, etc. have a deep subconscious effect that increases stress. Plus, attending to unfinished business focuses your attention away from environmental stressors.

2.  Feed the birds. Most birds, excluding ostriches, have a natural calmness about them. Pigeons, with their muted "coos" are especially relaxing to feed. Find the nearest statue and go crazy.

3. Contact a worthy cause and participate. You’ll get the good feeling that comes when you are making a difference in the world, even if it's in a small way.

4. Sit in total silence for 10 minutes. Take a mental “vacation.” Close your eyes and visualize yourself in a relaxing environment. (the beach, sailing, on a cruise ship, etc.).

5. Find something humorous. Whether it comes from a book, movie, or comic strip find a way to laugh. Surprisingly, laughter helps you relax physically (specifically it reduces the amount of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol) as well as psychologically.

6. Listen to the “right” kind of music – make it classical. According to WebMD, listening to a quiet concerto or symphony for 30 minutes can equal the calming effect of 10 milligrams of Valium (see our list of the most relaxing classical music on the left sidebar).

7. Punch a big, fluffy pillow. Better yet, imagine it’s someone or something you are very upset with. The upside? You’ll stay out of jail and avoid a broken knuckle.

8. Color. I know, you gave that up in second grade. But there’s a good reason to pick up a Crayola and fill in those empty spaces. Coloring is a form of “active” meditation that focuses your attention away from the woes of the world and soothes your spirit. In fact, coloring lowers blood pressure, slows down breathing, and helps you achieve inner peace. Especially relaxing are the intricate drawings known as mandalas (mandala means circle in Sanskrit). Find free mandalas for instant download at http://mandalaofthemonth.com.

9. Give yourself an ear massage. Yes it sounds crazy, but try it for a few minutes and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Gently rub your earlobes and the outer edges of your ears between your thumb and index finger and you’ll release endorphins, the brain’s “feel good” chemicals.

10. Make duplicate keys and copies of important papers. Hey, you’re inevitably going to lose or damage the originals, why not treat yourself to some instant peace of mind?

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Found in Fish Oil May Promote Brain Health

Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil and other foods might promote mental well being and prevent some types of brain disorders by helping brain cells repair and stabilize themselves (in effect it's like "lubricating" your mind). 

According a February 2010 BBC report, a three-month regimen of a fish oil supplement administered in liquid capsule form appeared to be as effective as drugs, cutting the rate of illnesses like schizophrenia by a quarter. 

An international team of scientists from Austria, Australia and Switzerland tested the treatment on 81 patients deemed to be at "high risk" for serious mental illnesses including schizophrenia.


The Wall Street Journal, quoting from the same study, noted the findings might cause doctors  to recommend fish oil to patients because there are known benefits (including better heart health) and little risk. 

In addition to fish oil, Omega-3 fatty acids are found in walnuts, fortified eggs, flax seeds, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts and cooked soybeans. Nutritionists recommend Omega-3 fatty acids from cold water fish like Alaskan salmon because they contain little or no mercury. 


Thinking about starting a fish oil regimen? For two opinions on correct dosage go to http://fishoil4health.com/fish-oil-dosage.html and http://www.fishoildosage.org/.