Your brain’s midlife crisis

Among other treatments, her quest found her adopting a brain-friendly diet including intensive vitamin supplements, taking up mental and physical aerobics in the form of salsa dancing, and after receiving a prescription, trying several drugs including Adderall and Provigil, both used to treat Attention Deficient Disorder (ADD).

As a result of her research, Ramin reports that she was functioning at a much higher cognitive level. “I know the fog has lifted,” Ramin says. “In time, I got my mojo back – ideas meshed, names made themselves readily available and words flew from my brain to my fingers to the monitor screen. Slowly, I worked my way back to a mind I could trust.”

Genetics only a small part
Genetics only play a small part in determining who will develop Alzheimer’s and there are things you can do to improve your chances of spending the final third of your life in excellent cognitive condition, Ramin says.

Not surprisingly, sleep, diet, exercise and stress management seem to play a key role in maintaining brain health. It’s advice we’ve all heard before, but it can affect not only your physical well-being, but your cognitive health as well:

• Get 8 hours of sleep.
• Manage both short-term and long-term stress.
• Drink alcohol only in moderation.
• Engage in daily mental and physical exercise. (Consider activities that engage both simultaneously such as ball room dancing.)
• Don’t smoke.
• Eat a diet rich in antioxidants, essential fatty acids, B vitamins and magnesium. (Ramin also suggest spices like curcumin — the yellow pigment found in turmeric — and cinnamon.)
• Be cautious of neurotoxins such as methylmercury found in some seafood.

Other ways to keep your brain healthy
Keeping blood cholesterol under control is good for your heart, but it could also be important for cognitive health as it might have an effect on rising levels of brain cholesterol, which could in turn lead to the production of a toxic protein that attacks the brain.

And while hormone therapy can be detrimental for women too many years past menopause or at risk for certain diseases, it has begun to get attention for its possible role in protecting the brain. In her book, Ramin quotes Stanford neuroscientist Robert Sapolosky: “It’s overwhelming clear in the literature,” he says, “that estrogen is critical in terms of keeping neurons from becoming dysfunctional and dying.”

Ramin also spent the better part of five years researching vitamins and supplements that enhance mental acuity. “In order to keep your marbles, you need plenty of antioxidants, essential fatty acids, B vitamins and magnesium in your diet,” she says. “Unless you’re a grazing animal, it’s highly unlikely that you can obtain all the antioxidants you need exclusively from the food you eat.”

When looking for a good multi-purpose vitamin, be sure it is rich in Vitamin B, Ramin says. “Put your vitamin through the folate test—if the label lists 400 micrograms of folate, it’s likely to be a good one,” she adds.

On the Web
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