Monday morning and the crew have gathered in the kitchen
for coffee, shooting the breeze about the weekend’s misadventures. The circle
gets to you. Wide stare. Nervous laugh. You can’t remember a thing about Friday
night. There is much laughter – they think you were on a bender. But you know
the truth. You were perfectly sober. You just can’t remember. Forgetfulness is
unnerving, but it is not necessarily a symptom of early-onset Alzheimer’s
disease.
The cumulative effect of environmental toxins and stress
can also leave your brain tired and memory foggy, as can nutritional
deficiencies: research shows that human brain continues to grow and develop
throughout life. The better you feed it, the more efficiently it performs.
According to Jean Carper, nutritional expert and the author of Your Miracle
Brain, brains cells can malfunction because of damage caused by free radicals –
unstable chemicals that are produced when oxygen is burnt to make energy for
cells. The brain also needs specific nutrients to build neurotransmitters,
explains Carper – nutrients you either give it or you don’t.
For example, the
neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is critical for memory, needs choline,
which is concentrated in egg yolk. “The type of neurotransmitters your neurons
make and release, and their ultimate destiny within the brain, depend greatly
on what you eat,” says Carper. “When brain cells don’t get enough of the right
nutrients, neurotransmitter systems can go awry, with disastrous consequences.”
Our Stone-Age forefathers had the ideal diet: nuts, roots, berries, eggs, fish,
and the occasional slice of free-range woolly mammoth. They must have had their
problems, but it is safe to bet that memory loss was not one of them.
PILE ON THE
ANTIOXIDANTS
Antioxidants, found in an army of fruits and vegetables,
fight free radicals and reduce inflammation and oxidation in the cells.
“Overwhelmingly, research shows that animals fed antioxidants over a lifetime
have better mental abilities and live longer,” says Carper. “Loss of brainpower
begins years before it is diagnosed and mainly results from gradual,
undetectable hits on brain cells, hits that go unrepaired and lead to screw-ups
in the brain’s circuitry, possibly neuronal death.” Denham Harman, MD, of the
University of Nebraska, is the forefather of the free radical theory of ageing.
He points to a critical age of 28 when antioxidant defenses decline
significantly, making you vulnerable to age-related damage. So if you have not
been conscientious in caring for your brain before then, it is definitely time
to start.
BEST SOURCES:
Berries (especially blueberries and strawberries) contain the phytochemicals
anthocyanin and quercetin, which have been shown to reverse memory deficits in
laboratory animals. Cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli and cabbage);
leafy greens (such as raw spinach and kale); prunes, raisins, garlic, avocado,
oranges, red peppers, baked beans, and onions are all rich sources. Goji
berries, which are low in sugar and high in antioxidants, are very good as
well.
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