Dr Kailas Roberts, a registered psychiatrist from Australia writes on the Psyche that brain starts to slowdown as we age and if it does not receive optimal nutrients for grown and maintenance. In addition, our brain could also be damaged by accumulation of ‘debris’ (a byproduct of metabolic process), physical injury and through lack of physical training.
Dr. Roberts writes that some normal declining of brain (e.g. forgetfulness and deterioration in executive skills) starts at 30s. However, with some life style changes, one can maintain general health of brain fitness as well as its function even in older age.
Brain Diet
Our habits are stubborn and it’s much harder to change our food habits. That is easier said than done.
As anyone who has tried to sustain good habits and abstain from bad habits over the long term knows, keeping motivated can be difficult. This is especially the case when there is often an immediate reward for the bad habit (eg, the sugar rush with eating sweetened foods). … Never before have we had such easy access to things that are harmful to our brain, chief among them: sugar, saturated fat, and salt. The combination of their ubiquity and our hard-wired desire for them is a real problem.
The most evidence-based diets for brain protection are the Mediterranean diet or its close cousin, the MIND diet.
-Dr Kailas Roberts (source: Psyche)
According Dr. Roberts our brain requires appropriate diet to function it well. The good foods include: Green leafy vegetables and other preferably non-starchy vegetables, spices & herbs, legumes & beans, wholegrains, cold-water fish, olive oil, poultry, nuts & seeds, and berries. The bad food to be avoided include processed & sugary foods, dairy and red meat.
The basic idea with all these foods is to get a plentiful supply of antioxidants (compounds that have a protective effect in the brain), fibre, unsaturated fats (including Omega-3 fatty acids), B vitamins and an adequate amount of complex carbohydrates.
Key Points – How to maintain a healthy brain
The following five recommended brain healthy habits by Dr. Roberts:
- Ageing changes the brain, but it’s not all bad news. It used to be thought that it was all downhill once you reached your 20s, but it’s now recognised that the brain can continue to grow and adapt into old age.
- The roots of dementia run deep. Although dementia usually manifests in the elderly, relevant contributing risk factors and biological processes begin to exert an influence much earlier – offering an optimistic opportunity to intervene.
- Nourish your brain. A healthy diet can help ensure your blood pressure and cholesterol levels are in good shape, which will allow vital nutrients to reach your brain. It also might help dampen inflammation, another risk factor for poor brain health.
- Train your brain. Completing challenging mental activities will build your ‘cognitive reserve’, which could offer you protection from dementia and cognitive decline.
- Care for your mental health (and connect with others). Brain health and mental health are deeply intertwined – socialising is one of the most effective ways to protect both.
- Train your body. Your brain health is also dependent on your overall physical fitness, so aim to exercise regularly.
- Protect your brain. Blows to the head from injury or even from playing sport can harm your brain and increase your risk of developing dementia, so take care of your grey and white matter.
The above key list is adopted in verbatim from Dr. Roberts article on Psyche.