Big players in
BRAIN HEALTH
deliver hope A rundown of the latest discoveries LYNN U NICHOLS
IF YOU HAVE ALZHEIMER’S IN your family, or if you are experiencing some memory loss and it’s making you panic, here’s some good news. Prominent doctors in the United States are researching brain health and some of what they have to say is mind blowing, no pun intended. In a recent video series called Regain Your Brain, 10 doctors were interviewed, revealing some astounding research. Most have written books, so search them if you want more. Here are the highlights. YOU’RE NOT STUCK WITH THE BRAIN YOU HAVE
This is a catchphrase of well-respected Dr. Daniel Amen, psychiatrist and founder of the Amen Institutes. He’s literally done thousands of brain scans and analyzed what they reveal to support his famous saying. He believes that lifestyle changes can improve your brain health and 30 |
Fifty&Better
hence, improve your memory and even ward off Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers used to believe that after a certain age we didn’t make new brain cells, we only lost them due to unhealthy habits. Not true. Amen’s research shows that the hippocampus makes 700 new stem cells a day, all we have to do is keep them alive by controlling risk factors that affect our brains. BRIGHTMINDS
Dr. Amen makes the risk factors easy to remember in his coined acronym BRIGHTMINDS. Here’s a quick rundown: B = blood flow. Increasing blood flow to the brain means it works better. Makes sense, right? To enhance blood flow, exercise and quit smoking. R = retirement. When you stop learning, your brain starts dying—so learn new things.
