Tag Archives: Brain function

April 1, 2019

DOES EXERCISE REALLY IMPROVE BRAIN POWER?

Research suggests regular aerobic exercise can boost the size of the hippocampus, the core of the brain’s learning and memory systems.

When you exercise your body releases a lot of good things, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is good for the health of brain cells.

The idea is that when you exercise you’re much more likely to cause the brain to make new brain cells.

This is backed up by a German study that showed how cycling while learning a foreign language helped people remember new words better.

September 17, 2018

BRAIN FOOD.

There’s some promising evidence that suggests a heart-healthy Mediterranean-style diet could cut your risk of developing problems with memory and thinking.

The diet is balanced with an emphasis on fruit, vegetables, legumes and fish, with limited consumption of meat, sugar and saturated fat.

Try the MIND way of eating. This diet, developed to help brain function, combines the Mediterranean diet and the blood pressure-lowering DASH diet. It’s packed with vitamin E, which may protect against plaques in the brain; omega 3, which could improve brain cells’ ability to communicate; and vitamin B, to help prevent memory loss.

Base your meals on these to give your brain the nutrients it needs:

  • Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and kale
  • Other veg, such as red peppers, squash, carrots and broccoli
  • Nuts
  • Berries
  • Beans, lentils and soybeans
  • Wholegrains
  • Seafood
  • Poultry
  • Olive oil – in fact studies have suggested that the antioxidant found in olive oil could reduce plaque formation that is a characteristic of Alzheimer’s.