Curious about how the brain works? Learn how to improve the functioning of your brain with simple and easy tips.

My previous post on foods that are good for the brain has received a lot more attention than I had anticipated.  So, to that end, I would like to expound on some foods that I personally enjoy that are especially good for your brain.  Walnuts and Avocados are the top 2 brain foods for me.  Walnuts are easy to snack on and are especially tasty when paired with dried fruit such as dates, raisins, dried cranberries or whatever you choose.  It’s nature’s candy without all that gunk and junk – truly all natural.  Really, any nut and dried berry mix is very tasty and I encourage you to try out different combinations to see what is tastiest for you.  Almonds are a really good nut to eat as well.  They provide a boost of energy for the brain.  The almond contains phenylalanine, this little chemical works in conjunction with our cognitive processes and supports a healthy neurological functioning of the brain.

So, I’ve only mentioned snacks thus far.  I will focus on some common and also some not so common foods that contain bits of goodness that you have overlooked.  Anchovies and sardines are a great source of DMAE.  Anchovies taste great on pizza and don’t forget Caesar Salad.  These are just a few ways you can incorporate anchovies into your diet and extract all of that DMAE goodness these fish have to offer.  In Asian cuisine, fish sauce is derived from anchovies and therefore is also a great source of DMAE.  If you are unfamiliar with Asian foods, fish sauce may be a bit intense at first and may take some getting used to.  Fish sauce is extremely salty and is used sparingly.

Another great fish to consume is Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon known for its rich Omega 3 content.  The reason I specify the Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon is due to the cleanliness of their habitat and therefore their flesh.  Any salmon would be better than no salmon so, if you don’t find the Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, go for any salmon that you are drawn to.   It is through the consumption of these Omega 3s that DHA production is made possible.  DHA is the most abundant fatty acid in the brain.  Keep in mind – fresh is best (if possible, check the clarity of the fish’s eyeball to determine freshness – cloudy is no good, you’re looking for transparent clarity)  Salmon is such a versatile fish, it’s hard to go wrong in preparing it.  A few posts ago, I provided a fool proof recipe for broiled salmon – check it out here.

Eggs also provide a great source of DHA.  Even for people who don’t particularly enjoy cooking, eggs are a quick and easy way to boost your DHA levels.  Omelets are a great way to incorporate vegetables into your diet with minimal effort on your part.  If the omelet is your main meal, 3 eggs are the culinary standard and will provide enough coverage for a pocket of vegetables.  Spinach and mushroom is my personal favorite.  Also, don’t forget to add your sliced hard boiled egg to that Caesar Salad.  As you can see, the Caesar Salad is an appetizing way to consume anchovies and eggs, DMAE and DHA respectively.  Just take it easy on the dressing and you’re good to go!

Freshly juiced vegetables are a prime source of phytonutrients.  You can check out an in depth description of phytonutrients in my previous post: “What You Need to Know about Juicing, Polyphenols and Preventing Alzheimer’s“  My personal favorite vegetable juice combination is carrot, beet, kale, garlic, ginger and apple.  A few ounces of this vegetable juice and you’ll be ready to tackle all of life’s challenges with ease.  I just recently rediscovered the wonderful benefits of juicing and I hope all of you choose to improve your life with the simple incorporation of fresh vegetable juice daily.  I’ve tried a plethora of energy drinks from coffee to Red Bull and I must say that ounce for ounce the vegetable juice gives me the biggest boost of all energy drinks.  It’s amazing.  My smitten relationship with juicing has been rekindled by a good doctor friend of mine and it is appreciated.  You can juice about any vegetable.  I choose vegetables high in phytonutrient density and also vegetables that I wouldn’t particularly use in cooking on a daily basis.

So, let’s recap some of the foods that are good for the brain that we just discussed.

• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Avocados
• Anchovies
• Sardines
• Dried Fruit
• Salmon
• Eggs
• Vegetable Juice

I hope you find it easier to incorporate these brain foods into your diet in some form or another.  These are foods that are really good for the brain.  Please leave comments and suggestions on other foods you may be interested in exploring.  Post a recipe even.  Happy eating everyone and most of all have fun with it!

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Ok, so, maybe you’re new at this whole juicing thing and maybe, just maybe you’re a bit skeptical as to how your pallette will accept these new flavors in juice form.  Before I share some of my favorite concoctions, I want to emphasize that juicing is an efficient way for your to receive phytonutrients from vegetables that you might not otherwise get for whatever reason – I’m guessing it’s maily due to the fact that you don’t particularly enjoy vegetables.  Well, I am not saying that you will particularly enjoy the flavor of vegetable juice but, I am willing to bet that juice is much, much easier to take down than a heaping serving of those good ole greens that mamma always wanted you to eat.  So, without further ado, I present to you Juicing for Newbies.

The Breville 800 JEXL

Ultra-Newbie Cocktail

• 3 Carrots
• 1 Apple

Adventurous Newbie Cocktail

• 3 Carrots
• 1/2 Apple
• 1/4″ slice of Ginger (adjust to taste)

Fearless Newbie Cocktail

• 2 Carrots
• 1/2 Apple
• 1/2 ” slice of Ginger
• 1/2 Beet
• 3 sprigs Kale

The Better Brain Blog Cocktail (the garlic makes this one pretty challenging)

• 2 Carrots
• 1/2 Apple
• 1/2″ slice of Ginger
• 1/2 Beet
• 5 sprigs of Kale
• 1 clove Garlic (yes, raw garlic)

I hope these recipes help you acclimate and gravitate towards a juicing lifestyle.  As far as the juicers themselves go, me and my friends have done a bit of research and the Breville 800JEXL came out the winner.  Definitely, the best bang for the buck!

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A friend of mine recently reopened my eyes to the wonderful world of juicing.  Juicing is one of the most efficient ways to get your brain going before heading into those long days of work.  The feeling that I get after drinking a glass of vegetable juice is like no other that I can compare.  It’s like a strong clean breeze whisking away all the debris and dust that has settled on your mind.  The clarity that one experiences after a nice glass of kale, ginger, carrot, beet and apple juice surpasses that of coffee.  The perfect health cocktail to kickstart your brain and give it that super boost of energy.  The concept behind juicing is rather simple.  Essentially, through juicing you extract all of the phytonutrients and digestive enzymes without your digestive system having to sift through all of the fiber that holds this revitalizing juice.  Phytonutrients are not essential for life but, they do promote human health.  These life enhancing phytonutrients can be broken down into different class categories.  One such category are the polyphenols which have been touted as being responsible for decreasing the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.  The statistical data is staggering.  As reported in the 2006 September issue of the American Journal of Medicine, those who consumed 1 glass of vegetable or fruit juice daily were 76% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s in contrast to those who consumed less than 1 glass of vegetable or fruit juice per week.  Polyphenols are the key to maintaining healthy brain function and are certainly powerful in combating the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease.  It is believed that the skin of these fruits and vegetables are where the polyphenols are concentrated.

Vegetables and fruits that are rich in polyphenols include but are not limited to:

• apples
• pomegranates
• red grapes
• pears
• strawberries
• raspberries
• blueberries
• cranberries
• onions (yes, onions)

When juicing, there is one peculiar caveat – it is highly recommended and generally accepted (within the juicing community) that the only fruit juice that you blend in with vegetable juice be apple juice.  Let’s remember that one of the main purposes of juicing is to give your digestive system a rest.  The digestive system requires different enzymes to break down vegetable juices than it does for fruit juices.  By taking in only vegetable juices and apple juice as the only fruit juice, your digestive system will not have to work as hard thereby giving you more nutrients per caloric expenditure by your digestive system.  Simply put, efficient “eating” to the max.  So, while you may enjoy orange juice in your vegetable juice or other various sweet fruit juices, it’s a good idea to view fruit juices as more of a treat than the substance of juicing.

Juicing has always made me feel vibrant and energized.  I view it as the fuel my brain needs to perform intellectual tasks and computations.  Not only is juicing great for preventing Alzheimer’s Disease, it’s good for your overall well being.  The complexion of my skin is more youthful, smooth and clear.  My energy levels have allowed me to play basketball competitively again.  Juice! Juice! Juice!

If you’ve never juiced before, fret not, I will be sharing some of my favorite juice blends in my next post and recommend a juicer that many of my friends own and love.

Important note for Diabetics:

For those of you who are diabetic and are thinking of starting a juicing regimen, please allow me to point out a few important tips that will help you maintain a healthy blood sugar level.  Juiced fruits and vegetables are already broken down to a basic form that is readily accepted into the body.  This means that sugars will be released upon ingestion unlike solid foods in which sugars are released as the solids are digested over a period of time.  Sugars found in juice can spike blood sugar levels if the diabetic is not vigilant in following a few tips.  First and foremost is that fruit juices should be avoided or extremely limited.  There is a reason that fruit juice tastes so good, it’s called sugar.  Root vegetables (believe it or not) tend to contain more sugar than the parts of the plant that make it above ground.  If it’s a root vegetable, juice with caution.  Examples of these root vegetables would be carrots, beets, yams… (you get the idea)  If it’s above ground, you’re in the clear for the most part.

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It should come to no surprise that what’s good for the brain is also what’s good for your overall bodily health.  The inverse is also correct, what’s bad for your body is also bad for your brain.  Today, I will be focusing on High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Growing up in in America during the mid 70’s and early 80’s, I latered learned that I was one of the first wave of consumers to be pumped with this funny sounding food source called High Fructose Corn Syrup.  I would slather my pancakes in this HFCS.  This clear gooey liquid was sweeter than anything a kid could imagine.  As a child, I often pondered how they got the HFCS from the corn.  I had tasted corn and didn’t gather any level of sweetness that the HFCS clearly possessed.  After years of asking my mentors, aunts and uncles about how HFCS was made -- no one had an answer for me and I, too, found myself becoming less interested in how HFCS was produced.

Fortunately, I learned about HFCS and how it was manufactured during a Health Fair at a previous place of occupation.  I discovered the ill side affects that HFCS can have on your overall well being -- not to mention brain function.  I became curious and began to conduct my own research into this quandry that would baffle most lest for the scientific community that is well versed in Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)  To my surprise, almost everything I was reading about HFCS was positioned around the ill effects that HFCS could have on the body and brain function.

As a GMO, the HFCS is foreign to the human body.  Throughout history, the human body has evolved to live in synergy and harmony with the food that the Earth and nature have provided.  The human body is very familiar with natural unadulterated foods that still remain untouched by science and technology.  Due to the artificial nature of HFCS, the human body gets “confused” as to what is to be done with this HFCS.  Essentially, the body does not know what to do with this material and consequently puts it into storage to be sorted out later.  Unfortunately, that storing process has thrown our bodies and brains our of balance.

Check this statistic out:  The average American consumes roughly 145 pounds of HFCS in one year.  More often that not, most people don’t even realize that they’re ingesting HFCS.  HFCS can be found in almost every food item available at your local grocer.  The next time you go food shopping and you’re in the bread isle, take a quick glance at the ingredient listings for various brands of bread available.  I guarantee that, at least, 80% of the brands you research will contain HFCS.  Soft drinks are comprised basically of water, HFCS, coloring and artificial flavoring -- essentially, diluted HFCS.

Ok, now that I’ve outlined how prevalent HFCS is in American diets, let’s look at how it can adversely affect your health and overall well being.  Being a foreign entity to the human body, HFCS prevents the brain from registering it as a food source and therefore does not “count” HFCS’s caloric value.  This circumstance promotes overeating and over time can eventually lead to obesity.  In a recent study peformed by the American Medical Association, there is compelling evidence linking HFCS to the activation of a gene that promotes obesity.  A part of this chain reacting effect is the liver.  The liver is there to process out all the wastes and toxins from your body.  The liver is also responsible for elminating excess fats from the bloodstream.  Consuming a diet laiden with HFCS forces the liver to work extra hard to eliminate excess fat from the bloodstream.  Love your liver people, it’s the only one you got.

Now, let’s have a look at how HFCS can adversely affect the brain.  HFCS itself, being a GMO food starts off with a strike against it due to the body’s inability to process it as it would any naturally derived food.  The body is confused and has to find a way to deal with these foreign entities.  Storing them within in the body provides zero nutritional value to you and your brain.  So, essentially, your body has done the work of processing this HFCS without receiving anything in return.  Your body just did all that work for nothing.  In addition to the empty nutritional value, HFCS has recently been discovered to contain levels of mercury.  Even low levels of mercury have damaging effects on the nervous systems of fetuses and babies.  This most certainly includeds brain development as well.  Mercury exposure is just as dangerous to adults as it is in children and can adversely affect the brain’s memory and motor skill functions.

In summary, HFCS is certainly not considerd a food for the brain.  HFCS is an ingredient in almost all shelf life products available at your local supermarket.  I strongly suggest reducing or eliminating HFCS from your diet to give your brain and body a chance to repair itself from the daily rigors that HFCS places on your body.  There may be some readers who do not agree with this post and I want to iterate that I respect your opinions and am simply offering this posting up as a source of knowledge.  We all have the right to choose how we take care of ourselves, my purpose is to keep those choices, informed choices.  Be well my friends.

In this post, I wanted to focus more on the negative effects of HFCS on the human body.  However, as readers of the Better Brain Blog, I’m sure that many of your are curious as to how and why HFCS got into almost every food product available in the United States of America.  Again, I want to emphasize that I am merely presenting empirical data that you can choose to discard or absorb.  The choice is yours.  Now, without further ado, I present a 20 minute excerpt from the compelling documentary, King Corn.

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Broiled Salmon for Dummies

Ingredients:

• 1 Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon fillet (rich in DHA)
• 1 Lemon
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• Pinch of Salt

Preheat your broiler to “Hi” or 475 degrees.  On a baking sheet, place your salmon fillet skin side down.  Drizzle with a little lemon juice.  Drizzle with a little olive oil (1 Tablespoon).  Make sure your oven rack is adjusted to be about 1 foot away from the flame.*  After your oven has been on for about 10 minutes, place the baking sheet with the salmon skin side down onto the rack.  Now, you’ll have about 7-10 minutes to kill.  Maybe, you can come check for any new postings at betterbrainblog.com  Lolz, simply a suggestion.  Ok, now, what you’re looking for is a nice golden brown starting to form that slightly charred crust on your salmon fillet.  Once that is achieved, switch off the oven, take out your fish, sprinkle a smidge of salt and let it rest for 1 minute.  Garnish with lemon wedge and enjoy your freshly broiled DHA!

*For those of you with that old skool broiler that resides at the very bottom of your oven, kick your temperature down to 420 degrees since you won’t have the option for adjusting those racks.

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You’ve probably been bombarded to the point of forced learning, that Omega 3’s are good for you.  However, with all the mumbo jumbo sales pitch lingo, it’s hard to get a true understanding of why Omega 3’s are good for you and how to raise those levels without relying soley on supplements.   Omega 3’s can be broken down into 4 main fatty acids – DHA, EPA, DPA and ALA.  Of the 4, DHA is typically the most deficient in the human diet and that’s why we will focus on this particular fatty acid.  DHA can be attained through red meat, animal organs (for the adventurous) and eggs.  Fortunately, for the less adventurous, DHA is also found in oily cold-water fish.  Salmon, sardines (DMAE as well), anchovies (DMAE as well), herring and mackerel lead the pack when it comes to the type of fish you’re targeting to attain the highest DHA density.  Of course, fish oil supplements are a convenient way of making sure you get your daily dose of that good DHA.  Personally, I like eating fish and feel that the oil is a bit too intense to take down.

There are high levels of DHA being fed to the human embryo during the 3rd trimester.  DHA can also be found in human breast milk.  These high levels of DHA are passed onto the infant through breast feeding.  Recent studies are confirming that human breast milk can contribute to a higher IQ as opposed to those who were nursed from baby formula.  I understand that there are circumstances that make breast feeding unsafe or just not possible and I want to emphasize the empirical perspective on this topic.  DHA is obviously crucial to human development from the pre-natal stages through the early developmental years.  I conclude that DHA must be important if nature put it there.

With sufficient amounts of DHA in your diet, you will increase your learning ability, memory, focus and overall brain function.  Getting the proper amount of DHA in your diet also reduces your risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, emphysema, asthma, ADHD and depression.  Now, that you are armed with knowledge, go on that DHA hunt and give your brain the essential building blocks she needs to run super efficient.

Look for my super simple Broiled Salmon Recipe in the next post!

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One of the best things you can do for your brain is to dedicate at least 15 minutes a day for invigorating mental stimulation. Reading informative literature is one simple way for you to improve the efficiency of your brain. Denser readings that take more comprehension to digest and process into the brain can create the kind of mental stimulus that is beneficial to a higher functioning brain.  Crossword puzzles are another great tool you can use to create more activity in your brain thereby, reinforcing the synaptic transmissions between your neurons.

It seems the iPhone has come out with a plethora of applications to meet the needs for almost anyone and anything.  This includes a brain building application/game called Brain Challenge.  I’ve played a few of the iPhone Apps that were geared toward stimulating the brain and Brain Challenge was the only one that stood out to me. The graphical interface is very intuitive and full of an array of enticing brain stimulating activities. Brain Challenge applies a Daily Test for you to measure up how you’ve been performing. Your first Daily Test results will serve as a benchmark from which you can use to better your scores on a progressive basis. The Training Room is divided into 2 categories: Brain Training and Stress Training. The Brain Training section is filled with Logic, Math, Memory, Visual and Focus games. The Stress Training consists of Authority, Multitask, and Physical. As you can see, Brain Challenge is a comprehensive program that challenges and stimulates the brain on various levels of thinking.

For those of you who don’t have an iPhone, there is a Brain Teasers section on the right side of this page. I’ve sifted through hundreds of brain teaser sites and found these 3 to be the most beneficial and enriching. So, whatever your fancy; reading, crosswords, Brain Challenge, make sure you stimulate that brain of yours for at least 15 minutes a day.

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Having the brain at the very top of our bodies means that blood flow must constantly fight gravity to nourish our brain and feed it the oxygenated blood that replenish our cells. I stumbled upon the practice of inversion while experimenting with various method to reduce or eliminate my lower back pain which has recently become more chronic than acute. The effects of inversion not only relieved me of my lower back pain, these sessions of inversion or traction revealed other benefits that came as a pleasant surprise.

A few nights back, I had a few drinks and the next morning, the hangover ensued. In my attempt at a healthier lifestyle, I have reserved the consumption of alcohol for social settings and given the recreational drinking a proper burial. This has led to a dramatic decrease in alcohol tolerance thus, more prone to the dreaded hangover. Despite the deep throbbing pain in my head, I pushed myself out of bed using the very techniques that I outlined in “5 Tips to Getting Out of Bed” I had been performing traction every morning for the past week and I wasn’t about to let this hangover derail me from positive actions toward a pain free lower back.  By the way, I have what is called a Teeter Hang Ups inversion table.

Many of you may not have an inversion table readily available to you.  In this case, inversion can be performed through various yoga poses – shoulder stands, head stands, hand stands (please refer to a specialist or at the very least, be careful if you are attempting these poses for the first time).  For me, I feel that the Teeter Hang Ups table is the most convenient and relaxing  way to achieve the upside down pose.  So, give your brain a treat and bath her in your very own elixir of oxygen and nutrient rich blood.  Whichever way you end up upside down, hang loose and be well!

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A friend of mine read my recent post on 10 Minutes of Cardio to a Better Brain and brought up a really, really, good point – How to leave the comfort and  warmth of your bed in the morning.  For many of us, waking up has just never been our strong suit.  With these 5 sure fire tips for getting out of bed, you will be creating a better mindset and environment for achieving the dream of waking up (OK, you got me, guilty of pun) with minimal grumpiness.

1. Waking up with less effort starts the night before.  It is extremely important to get the suggested optimal sleep time of about 8 hours.  We all know what time we have to get up, it’s simple math, just turn back the clock 8 hours from when you are supposed to be up and you have your target bedtime.  I understand that life situations and circumstance can cut into the recommended 8 hours of sleep but, I must emphasize that ample sleep time is crucial for waking up with less effort.
2. Keep your blinds open and curtains drawn.  We are sensitive to photo stimuli and that most certainly includes mother nature’s light bulb we commonly refer to as the Sun.  The sunlight stimulates brain activity and prepares it for waking consciousness by releasing wake up hormones that readies us for full consciousness.  The light is a friend, use her as an ally.
3. Keep a glass of water by your bedside.  Drinking a glass of water upon waking dramatically increases your success rate for hopping out of bed.  The hydration gets the electrolytes going thus, priming your body and brain for conscious awareness.
4. Keep your alarm clock out of arm’s reach.  As a reader of the Better Brain Blog, I assume you all understand the reasoning behind this.
5. Stay away from the Snooze button.  Getting out of bed gets easier as it develops and transforms into a habit.  Like most new habits that are being forged, it may take a few weeks for your body and mind to adjust.

Now, let’s review the key tips to successfully getting out of bed.

• Allow yourself 8 hours of sleep time
• Keep your curtains and blinds drawn
• Glass of water by bedside
• Alarm clock out of arm’s reach
• Stay away from the Snooze

Allot yourself ample sleep time and let the natural light release the wake up hormones in your brain.  The glass of water seems negligible but, I cannot stress how much of a difference there is after drinking that glass of water.  Good habits are hard to break cause they’re hard to make.  And don’t forget to move that alarm clock out of arm’s reach.  Each new morning is yet another opportunity to learn how to wake up with minimal effort.  If you’ve read this far, the seeds of positive change have already been planted within your subconscious mind.  With visualization and intention, these seeds of positive change will flourish into habits that will only lead to an overwhelming sense of well being.

Tip: Waking at the same time everyday is excellent for syncing your Circadian rhythms.  Your Circadian rhythms are often referred to as your internal clock.  You may not believe in yourself just yet but, over time and unwavering commitment, getting out of bed will become second nature.  The rhythm is gonna get’ya, tonight!

Good luck and Good Night to All!

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