How to Keep Your Brain Sharp as You Age
Every brain changes with age, and mental function changes along with it. Mental decline is common, and it's one of the most feared consequences of aging. But cognitive impairment is not inevitable!
Here’s what you can do to maintain cognitive function as you age:
Improve Your Diet
A number of studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet has been associated with decreased rates of cognitive decline and reduced instances of Alzheimer’s disease.
This type of diet emphasizes:
-lots of phytonutrient-rich fruits and vegetables
-whole grains
-healthy fats like olive oil and omega-3s from seafood
-limit: red meat, sweets, and processed foods
Keep Your Mind Active
Read a book, do a crossword puzzle, learn a new language or how to play the guitar!
Be Physically and Socially Active
Spend time with friends and family. Get at least 30 min of exercise a day and take it outside whenever you can. Better yet, combine these things and go on a walk with a friend!
Quit Smoking
Treat Any Underlying Health Conditions
See your doctor for an annual check up! Make sure your blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure are under control.
Get Plenty of Good Quality Sleep
Sleep is so important to your overall health. The National Sleep Foundation guidelines advise that healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Be sure to get those zzzz’s in!
Nutritional Supplements
It is tough if not impossible to get all that you need through diet alone. Here are some supplements that are important to keep your brain sharp!
Salmon Oil Plus
NeoLife’s Omega-III Salmon Oil Plus contains a family of eight omega-3s, including DHA and EPA, and each serving provides the omega-3 equivalent to one serving of fresh salmon. All sources are screened for over 200 potential contaminants and our standards meet even the most rigorous global safety standards.
Super B
NeoLife’s Super B includes eight members of the B-vitamin family in balanced ratios as they occur naturally in foods. Studies show that Vitamin B can slow brain atrophy and slow cognitive decline, help growth of red blood cells, and is integral in nerve and brain function.
Antioxidants: Neolife Tea, Tre, and Flavonoid Complex
NeoLife Tea
NeoLifeTea has naturally occurring flavonoids from green, black, and white teas.
Tre
Tré is a great source of flavonoids and is power packed with pomegranate and açaí extracts, green tea polyphenols, resveratrol, and vitamins.C and E.
Flavonoid Complex
And of course there’s Flavonoid Complex which is packed with many different flavonoid-rich fruit and vegetable concentrates.
ProVitality
Pro Vitality is packed with lipids and sterols from whole grains, carotenoids from fruits and vegetables, omega-3 fatty acids from fish, and 21 essential vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins – all in convenient on-the-go packaging. Pro Vitality is NeoLife’s whole-food based foundation for lifelong health and vitality.
Zinc
Zinc is the most abundant trace metal in the brain and is integral in the process of breaking down the protein amyloid. Zinc is necessary for the activity of over 300 enzymes that aid in metabolism, digestion and nerve function.
Mind Enhancement Complex
This is an herbal complex with 7 herbs: Ginkgo, Gotu Kola, Red Sage, Rosemary, Sweet Basil, Thyme, and Skullcap
This combination of herbs can help focus concentration, clear thinking and accurate recall.
They also promote blood flow and reduce platelet aggregation (clots), have antioxidant properties, help maintain acetylcholine levels, and can lower anxiety/stress.