Brain Hacks

Recently, researchers from McGill University found that sodium is an “on/off” switch for a major neurotransmitter receptor in the brain. This means that the amount of sodium in your body has a significant influence over diseases such as epilepsy and neuropathic pain. 

Sodium is an essential nutrient in the body (in small amounts). In your body, sodium regulates water levels and draws water into the bloodstream, which can increase the volume of blood and as a result can increase your blood pressure. High blood pressure makes your heart work harder, and the increased force of the blood can hurt other organs like the kidneys, brain, and eyes. 

Humans don’t need much sodium; according to the American Heart Association adults only need about 1,500 milligrams a day. However, most Americans actually consume 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day. Most of the sodium we consume is not actually from the salt we put onto our food; it is salt that is already in the packaged and processed foods that we buy. It’s important to read food labels and try to limit your sodium intake. 

Eating more potassium each day can also help balance out your blood pressure and negate some of the harmful effects of too much sodium. Foods rich in potassium like bananas, beet greens, yogurt, potatoes, spinach, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and white beans can help increase your potassium intake and fight high blood pressure. 

Who doesn’t love a nice soothing cup of chamomile tea? It’s one of the most popular ways people help themselves relax. Herbalists also use it to help treat anxiety and insomnia. A recent study showed that it does seem to have anxiolytic (anxiety- reducing) properties for people with generalized anxiety disorder. The warming and soothing properties of chamomile tea promote sleep, which is pretty much the best medicine for many problems you might have. One study showed that it can reduce levels of a stress hormone in the brain, and another showed that it may have antiseizure properties. Drink a cup or two of tea during the day for relaxation, or have some at night to promote sleep. Generally speaking, chamomile is one of the safest herbs available. However, if you are allergic to ragweed or have ever suffered anaphylactic shock, avoid this herb. 

Research has proved that when it comes to maintaining and strengthening your mental abilities, practice makes perfect. In one study, scientists recorded the number of words people could recall after listening to a lengthy list of random words. Before they received memory training, the older members of the study group were able to recall fewer words than the younger members. But after just a handful of memory training sessions, which included tips such as placing words in meaningful groups rather than trying to memorize them out of context, the older participants were able to triple their word recall. In another study involving children, memorization training revealed an improvement in cognitive abilities not related to the memorization training and a leap in IQ test scores of 8 percent, as reported in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

People with strong memories tend to have memory centers that communicate with the visual and spatial areas of the brain. While they may not have bigger memory centers than the next person, their brain communicates with itself more efficiently. That’s a result of how memory training works: you link what you’re trying to remember to a visual plan. For example, to remember a series of cards, you might imagine yourself walking through a palace and seeing one diamond chandelier in the entry with three club chairs arranged on a heart-shaped rug with four corners. When it comes time to remember the sequence, you “walk” through the room and come up with a 1 (ace) of diamonds, a 3 of clubs, and a 4 of hearts. Try it! You’ll soon find you have a much easier time remembering even complex information.

Improve your mathematic abilities by doing calculations in your head whenever possible. For example, balance your checkbook without the aid of a calculator. Mentally figure out sales tax on a purchase. Determine the price per ounce or unit at the grocery store. Calculate how much change you should get back whenever you hand over money. Come up with the correct tip at a restaurant without using a tip guide. Find ways to use math in your daily life. Reliance on technology tends to dull our math skills, so put your calculator app away and use your brain. If you really want to challenge your brain, study advanced mathematics or chemistry. 

Tofu, anyone? According to experts, soy protein appears to help lower blood cholesterol levels, decrease blood clots and platelet “clumping” or aggregation (both of which can increase the risk for a heart attack or stroke), improve the elasticity of arteries (which makes blood flow better), and reduce oxidation of LDL or “bad” cholesterol, which can lower the risk of plaque formation. All of this is good news for your brain because it means eating soy can help lower your risk for stroke. Good sources of soy include defatted soy flour, isolated soy protein, miso, firm and regular tofu, soy cheese, soymilk, and soy veggie burgers. Adding one serving a day can make a difference. If you’re concerned about reports linking soy to in- creased estrogen and potentially impairing male fertility or increasing the risk of breast cancer, the most current research says that consuming soy, even by breast cancer patients, is safe and beneficial. If you’re still concerned, just remember— everything in moderation!

Your brain functions best when the body carrying it around is healthy. Hawthorn berries have been scientifically proven to lower high blood pressure, a prime risk factor for heart disease. It’s also an excellent antioxidant that eliminates free radicals, the dangerous agents that roam the body and can cause damage to blood vessels, leading to atherosclerosis. Hawthorn also contains rutin, a substance that reduces the formation of plaque, a buildup of which can block blood flow and possibly lead to stroke or a heart attack. One study showed that hawthorn may provide protection for nerve cells and may reduce inflammation of brain neurons. A very preliminary finding showed hawthorn as effective in helping prevent injury from stroke. This means hawthorn shows promise in treating, if not preventing, stroke. 

According to study results published in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, cocoa powder has nearly twice the antioxidants of red wine and up to three times the amount found in green tea. The standard for evaluating the antioxidant properties of foods is called the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) score. Based on the US Department of Agriculture/ American Chemical Society’s findings, dark chocolate tested the highest for antioxidants over other fruits and vegetables. Dark chocolate came in with an ORAC score of 13,120; its closest competitor, milk chocolate, had a score of 6,740; and third was prunes at 5,770. 

Dark chocolate may help lower blood pressure in people with hypertension, and has been shown to decrease levels of LDL, the “bad” cholesterol, by 10 percent. In- cluding dark chocolate in your diet may benefit your heart by helping to block arterial damage caused by free radicals; and it may inhibit platelet aggregation, which could cause a heart attack or stroke. There have also been studies indicating that the flavonoids in cocoa relax the blood vessels, which inhibits an enzyme that causes inflammation. 

Avocados are a gold mine of nutrients that boost your brain health—not to mention help you maintain a healthy body. They contain a monounsaturated fat known as oleic acid, which has been shown to help lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease and arteriosclerosis. For your brain, that means a slimmer chance of stroke. Avocados are also rich in magnesium and potassium, which help to regulate blood pressure and prevent circulatory diseases such as stroke and heart disease. One cup of avocado contains 23 percent of the daily value for folate, which when combined with the monounsaturated fats plus potassium decreases your chances of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Ounce for ounce, avocados provide more magnesium than the twenty most commonly eaten fruits. They contain no starch and very little sugar, yet they provide an excellent source of usable food energy. However, one whole California avocado has about 300 calories and 35 grams of fat, 8.5 grams being monounsaturated fat. Eat small amounts of avocado for the optimum benefit. 

When you choose a partner and commit to a mutually rewarding intimate relationship, your brain produces the hormone oxytocin, known as “the bonding hormone.” Oxytocin is associated with social behavior such as trust and empathy. High levels of oxytocin support memory and help relieve stress and cognitive problems related to stress. Oxytocin is also known to influence “prosocial” behavior— that is, things like cooperation and caregiving. 

Women have higher levels of oxytocin, which may improve their ability to choose one partner (and also helps them bond with their newborns), while men’s levels increase five fold following orgasm. So commit to (and have sex with!) some- one for optimum brain health. 

Balance and moderation are key for a healthy and optimally functioning brain. Humans have a tendency to want more of what we like. If we drink one cup of coffee in the morning and it makes us feel more alert and focused, we drink ten. Then we wonder why we can’t focus! The same thing happens with everything from cake to sex. Or we go to the opposite extreme and banish all the little pleasures from our lives. We think since sugar is unhealthy, we should never have any more of it ever, and suddenly our entire life has turned into a dreary battle against high-fructose corn syrup. You can still be healthy and eat your brownies, just as long as you don’t eat too many of them. With moderation as your guide, creating a lifestyle and nutritional regimen that nourishes the brain can be more enjoyable and pleasurable than you may have imagined.