Is It Possible to Regenerate Your Brain?

Contrary to popular belief, recent studies have found that there ARE some ways to regenerate your brain.

Studies  at the National Institute on Aging Gerontology Research Center and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have shown that both calorie restriction and intermittent fasting, along with vitamin and mineral intake, increase resistance to disease, extend lifespan, and stimulate production of neurons from stem cells.

Fasting has also been shown to enhance synaptic elasticity — possibly increasing the ability for successful re-wiring following brain injury. These benefits appear to result from a cellular stress response, similar in concept to the greater muscular regeneration that results from the stress of regular exercise.

Other research suggests that increasing time intervals between meals might be a better choice than chronic calorie restriction, because the resulting decline in sex hormones may adversely affect both sexual and brain performance. Sex steroid hormones testosterone and estrogen are positively impacted by an abundant food supply.

But if your not keen on starving yourself, there are other options. Another recent finding from the Burnham Institute for Medical Research and Iwate University in Japan reports that the herb rosemary contains an ingredient that fights free radical damage in the brain. The active ingredient (carnosic acid)  protects the brain from stroke and neurodegeneration such as Alzheimer’s, and from the effects of normal aging.

Simply using  rosemary in its natural state  is known to get into the brain, and has been consumed by people for over a thousand years. The herb was used in European folk medicine to help the nervous system.

Other brain boosters found in walnuts and fatty fish (such as salmon, sardines, and lake trout) are thought to help ward off Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, they likely help prevent depression and have been shown to help prevent sudden death from heart attack.)

Turmeric, typically found in curry, contains curcumin, a chemical with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In India, it is even used as a salve to help heal wounds. East Asians also eat it, which might explain their lower rates (compared to the United States) of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, in addition to various cancers. If curry isn’t part of your favorite cuisines, you might try a daily curcumin supplement of 500 to 1,000 mg.

Physical exercise may also have beneficial effects on neuron regeneration by stimulating regeneration of brain and muscle cells via activation of stress proteins and the production of growth factors. But again, additional research suggests that not all exercise is equal. Interestingly, some researchers found that exercise considered drudgery was not beneficial in neuronal regeneration, but physical activity that was engaged in purely for fun, even if equal time was spent and equal calories were burned, resulted in neuronal regeneration.

Exercise can also help reduce stress, but any stress-reducing activity can help the brain. There is some evidence that chronic stress shrinks parts of the brain involved in learning, memory, and mood. (It also delays wound healing, promotes atherosclerosis, and increases blood pressure.)

It should go without saying that short-term cognitive and physical performance is not boosted by fasting, due to metabolic changes including decrease in body temperature, decreased heart rate and blood pressure and decreased glucose and insulin levels, so you’re better off not planning a marathon or a demanding work session during a fasting period.

As part of a healthy lifestyle the prescription of moderating food intake, exercising, and eating anti-oxidant rich foods is what we’ve long known will boost longevity, but it’s good to know that we can bring our brains along with us as we make it into those golden years without being the 1 in 7 who suffers from dementia. Try this for immediate brain health!!

By Rebecca Sato / Source: Daily Galaxy

Feel Like Your Memory is Declining?

Yikes. New US research says  that after peaking at about age 22, our mind power starts to decline at about age 27.

Professor Timothy Salthouse of the University of Virginia found reasoning, spatial visualisation and speed of thought and memory all decline in our late 20s. Mind power exercises designed to stall or reverse the mental aging process and declining memory may need to start much earlier, he said.

His seven-year study of 2,000 healthy people aged 18-60 is published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

To test mental agility, the study participants had to solve puzzles, recall words and story details and spot patterns in letters and symbols.  In nine out of 12 tests the average age at which the top performance was achieved was 22. The first age at which there was any marked declining memory was at 27 in tests of memory, speed of thought, reasoning and visual puzzle-solving ability.

But the good news is that  abilities based on accumulated knowledge, such as performance on tests of vocabulary or general information increased until the age of 60 among those who continued to exercise their brain.

 

Who do you BELIEVE You Are?

If I asked you to describe yourself, what self-image would you paint? Another way to put it is this: Who do you believe you are?

Your self-image is exactly what the term says – a mosaic of ideas you hold about your own self. In short – how you view your own personality, capabilities, skills, body, mind and personal potential.

But while most agree it’s important to have a good self-image, very few people seem to know how to acquire one – or even how they got the self-image they now have.

The History of Your Self Image
You began to form your self image and sense of  worth as a very young child. The important people in your life sent you constant messages about yourself. Over the years these messages were collected in your impressionable subconscious mind – and have creating today’s self image.

Then over the years belief moved in and set those messages into mental cement. The result is that today you BELIEVE you actually ARE your subconscious collection of other people’s impressions of you. This process has continues to this day and tends to reinforce what you already believe about your self.

Think About That for a Moment
And the really interesting thing about beliefs is this: They are usually NOT open to question or reason. We just believe them to be so.

So if you believe you lack self-confidence, are a poor public speaker, do not know how to lead others, will never be successful, cannot create a good relationship, and so on – guess what. You will defend that belief, even to yourself.

This occurs because intense emotions always come along with beliefs. And this emotional “cement” causes your brain to resist any attempt to question your beliefs with reason.

Plus in the meantime your subconscious mind, which has a photographic memory of every event of your life, will make SURE your actions reflect your beliefs.

How to Overhaul Your Self-Image
Your self image determines what you will (and will not) achieve in your life.

Are you who you want to be? Are you living the life you want to live? If the answer is no – it’s time for a complete overhaul of your self image. Anything else will just be a band-aid that will simply create more of the same.

After over 35 years in the field of psychology, there is one thing I can absolutely guarantee to you. That one this is this: YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY *NOT* WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE. Your self image does not mirror who you really are today.

You are NOT that collection of painful or limiting memories.

You are not your past history. So stop believing that old stuff and stop acting as though it were true. Here’s a reminder of what you REALLY are:

1. You are Totally Unique
There is literally no one else like you. No one else thinks like you, has your ideas, or does things the way you do things. No one else has your unique set of talents and abilities. Your brain is as unique as your fingerprints. No one has your mind and memories. No one. You are NOT ordinary. Actually no one is.

Stand up and carry yourself with dignity, because this IS your life. You and only you live in your and it is your unique right to decide how to best do that.

2. Your Limits are Not Real
It is today an accepted truth that we really create our own reality You have a choice to simply react to what is happening to and around you or you can choose to respond. There is a huge difference between reacting and responding. Reacting is an automatic knee-jerk response to life  while responding involves making a conscious choice.

3. You Have Unlimited Personal Power
Here’s something else I can guarantee: Most of those old limiting beliefs about your self will NOT hold up under conscious examination. And once you begin to challenge this old stuff, you will discover that what you thought were your limits do not actually exist.

The greatest personal power you have is the power to choose your own thoughts.

The late Earl Nightingale said: You become what you think. The truth of this is so powerful it is almost overwhelming. You and you alone decide what you will think — and what you will believe your limits and potentials are. And you and you alone will decide what to do with this awesome power.

 

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