Simple tips for a healthier brain
Tell me that I can simply be healthier, then I want to know how. Tell me that I will also become smarter and I want to know all your secrets. Charlotte Labee is a writer and brain expert and we are extracting her most important tips.
Our brain, what makes it so fascinating?
“Everything in our lives is influenced by our brain. Our brains are at the top of the central nervous system for a reason and control everything. I believe that when we are more aware of our brain and its functions, we will stand differently in the world. The brain is so fascinating and we actually know so little about it.”
What are the signals that say our brain is out of balance?
“Fatigue, having a short fuse, poor sleep, physical complaints with no identifiable cause, when your bodily processes do not function as they should, like with migraines, digestive issues, neck pain, or back pain. Lack of focus, inability to achieve goals, brain fog, memory decline, feeling mentally or physically unwell, a sugar addiction, binge eating, anger outbursts, aggression, addiction, falling back into old patterns, and the feeling that you can get more out of your life.”
What does stress do to your body?
“A lot, but there is a difference between healthy stress and unhealthy stress. Stress can also be positive, allowing us to survive. It goes wrong with chronic stress, and that is what many people deal with day in and day out. Under stress, your body consumes many more nutrients than when you are relaxed. Magnesium is, for example, a stress mineral that is depleted during stress. But this can cause problems for your body, as magnesium affects more than four hundred processes in your body and brain. And that is just one. Stress causes an imbalance, making organs no longer function well together.”
And your brain?
“That negative chronic stress can literally make you tired, causing you to lose focus and not think clearly anymore. It has been proven that under stress, certain parts of the brain no longer function properly. Stress actually makes us dumber. This is a good story, as ninety percent of people in our country often experience stress. It seeps into everything, which is why relaxation is so important.”
How can we actually improve our memory?
“That is so cool, because there is a lot possible to improve your memory. I will share some handy tips with you.”
1. Stop eating sugar, this creates a layer around your brain cells causing your memory to decline. This is a bit of childlike language, but that's how you can see it.
2. Stress worsens memory, so stop stressing. Of course, I am talking about negative stress.
3. Eat antioxidants. These ensure that free radicals cannot cause damage, which means decline in cognitive functions. Our memory, that is.
4. Drink blueberry juice every day for three months, but make it yourself. You take one glass of water and two large handfuls of blueberries, put them in the blender and hello better memory.
5. Make sure you get enough Omega-3, which you get from fatty wild fish. Be careful that it is not farmed, as that contains Omega-6 which can actually harm your memory.
6. Drink enough water and eat nuts.
7. Move! The more you move, the better your cognitive functions are. In the Netherlands, we move too little and as a result, there are more and more brain diseases.
