Brain Hacks

Your heart and your blood vessels are responsible for transporting oxygen-rich and glucose-rich blood to all parts of the body. When impaired or damaged, your heart and your blood vessels can’t get enough oxygen or glucose to the brain. So cardio- vascular problems can lead to brain problems. Coronary heart disease is easier to prevent than it is to treat, especially if you have a family history of heart problems. The keys to keeping coronary heart disease at bay are regular, heart-strengthening exercise (at least four times a week) and maintaining a healthful diet that is low in fat and cholesterol and high in antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. Basically, a low-fat diet will have less animal protein, very little fried food, and increased amounts of whole grains and vegetables. Be good to your heart, and it will be good to your brain.

Lead poses one of the greatest health threats. In high doses, this metal, which once was commonly used in household plumbing, can cause severe brain damage and even death. In low doses, it can cause nervous system damage in still-developing fetuses, infants, and children. Those most at risk are individuals living in homes constructed between 1910 and 1940, when lead service pipes were commonly used. Also risky are homes with plumbing consisting of copper pipes connected by lead-based solder (which was banned by federal law in 1986). Older chrome-plated bathroom fixtures, which are made of brass consisting of 3 to 8 percent lead, are also problematic. If you suspect your home may be subject to lead contamination, have it tested. 

Garlic lowers cholesterol levels, thins the blood, and boosts the immune system— all of which make for a happy and healthy brain. Garlic contains certain com- pounds that are known antioxidants and anti-inflammatories—there’s a reason it’s called a superfood. Recent research also suggests it may protect against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and that it may slow (or even reverse) damage from brain injury and environmental stresses. 

Incorporate fresh garlic into salads by chopping, crushing, or putting it through a garlic press (two or three cloves a day is optimum). Whole garlic bulbs can be roasted in the oven, and the individual cloves can be squeezed out onto bread or toast as a creamy spread. 

Potassium is an electrolyte that works closely with its counterparts, chloride and sodium. Potassium helps regulate the flow of fluids and minerals in and out of the body’s cells. It also sends oxygen to the brain, which lets the brain work better. Studies have shown that potassium may also reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Potassium is very important in converting blood sugar into glycogen, the storage form of blood sugar in your muscles and liver. This mineral is widely available in foods. Chronic diarrhea, vomiting, diabetic acidosis, kidney disease, or prolonged use of laxatives or diuretics could cause a deficiency. Most people excrete excess potassium in their urine. If the excess cannot be excreted—for instance, in the case of someone with kidney disease—it can cause heart problems. Some experts recommend a higher intake of potassium, around 3,500 milligrams per day, to help protect against high blood pressure. 

A diet low in fat and cholesterol and rich in foods containing potassium, magnesium, and calcium—such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and dairy foods—has shown evidence of reducing blood pressure. Potassium-rich foods include fresh meat, poultry, fish, figs, lentils, kidney beans, black beans, baked potatoes (with skin), avocados, orange juice, cantaloupes, bananas, and cooked spinach. 

According to Daniel G. Amen, MD, author of Making a Good Brain Great, the College Entrance Examination Board reported that students with experience in musical performance scored fifty-one points higher on the verbal part of the SAT and thirty- nine points higher on the math section than the national average. “It [learning to play a musical instrument] teaches the brain new patterns and stimulates wide areas of the cortex. . . . Learning a musical instrument, at any age, can be helpful in developing and activating temporal lobe neurons. As the temporal lobes are activated in an effective way, they are more likely to have improved function overall,” Dr. Amen says. In another study Amen mentions, music majors were the most like- ly group of college grads to be admitted to medical school (66 percent, the highest percentage of any group). 

Memory is made and reinforced by the strength of connections between nerve cells and the formation of memory-storage protein molecules inside nerve cells. When a memory of a new idea is formed, like a name or an address, thousands of nerve cells are involved. If you don’t use that bit of memory shortly after, it will soon fade away. But if you use it and reactivate the memory many times, you reinforce the stored chemical protein molecules that make up that memory. Reading these words creates thousands of electro-chemical reactions in your brain. Often the brain is referred to as a computer, but the malleability and interactivity of the brain is far beyond any computer that is presently in use or on the horizon. 

One way to challenge your brain is to work on improving your memory. Try memorizing lines of your favorite poems and see if you can recite them for the next seven days. Enhance your memorization at every opportunity and take advantage of the challenges life presents every day. For example, at social events, or whenever you are introduced to someone new, repeat the person’s name to yourself three times and then use it in conversation. Meet as many people as possible, and then test yourself the next morning to see how many you can remember. Give yourself bonus points for remembering how they were dressed or what they did for a living. 

Rain forest plants, while not as well known or as well studied as the herbs used in traditional Chinese and Indian medicines, contain many healing properties. You can learn more about them in the book Kava: Medicine Hunting in Paradise by Chris Kilham, who conducted research on medicinal plants around the world. In the meantime, here are some of the most important, as listed in the book Herbal Secrets of the Rain forest by Leslie Taylor:

• Acerola. Contains vitamin C. Promotes a healthy circulatory system—and your brain needs a healthy circulatory system! 

• Guarana. Promotes health and energy. 

• Muira puama. Relieves stress and promotes a healthy central nervous system. 

• Suma. Aids in the regulation of cholesterol. Also used as a general health tonic. Also known as Brazilian ginseng.

Rain forests currently provide sources for one-quarter of today’s medicines, and 70 percent of the plants found to have anticancer properties are found only in the rain forest. The rain forest and its immense undiscovered biodiversity hold the key to unlocking tomorrow’s cures for devastating diseases. Put some rain forest into your life—it’s good for your brain.

The brain uses a large percentage of the body’s glucose, but too much or too little glucose can have a detrimental effect on brain function. When you drink a can of soda, which contains ten teaspoons of table sugar, that sugar is absorbed into a bloodstream that usually only contains a total of four teaspoons of blood sugar. Your blood sugar level skyrockets, setting off alarms in the pancreas, and a large amount of insulin comes out to deal with the excess blood sugar. Some sugar is quickly ushered into the cells, including brain cells, and the rest is put into storage or into fat cells. When all this is done, maybe in about one hour, the blood sugar may fall dramatically and low blood sugar occurs. These rapid swings in blood sugar produce symptoms of impaired memory and clouded thinking. So think twice before swigging that soda—and don’t assume artificially sweetened soda is better for you. Instead, try water or an herbal tea. 

In a recent interview, Dr. Stephen Brewer, medical director at the Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona, suggested that it’s important to find ways to stimulate your senses as a way to keep your brain active. Among other things, he suggested that you:  

• Turn pictures in your house upside down; this will cause your brain to react and start mentally trying to put them the right way around again.

•  Try dressing with your eyes closed. 

• Leave cooked vanilla beans next to your bed to engage your sense of smell when you get up in the morning.

• Switch hands when brushing your hair or teeth from the one you usually use.

• Talk to yourself; one study suggested that this can improve your memory.

Like the athlete who takes time to warm up and flex his or her muscles before engaging in a strenuous activity, you can flex your brain cells with a few basic wordplay exercises to warm up your mental engine. Words are fun; they expand your mind. Pick up your dictionary and select five words you don’t know. Commit their definitions to memory and write five sentences using them in different ways. See if you can recite their definitions from memory the next day. And then learn five more. If you’re not in the habit of using your mind this way, acquiring a new vocabulary can be a challenge. However, practice makes perfect, and as you persevere, you’ll soon discover that the task of committing words to memory will become increasingly easier to achieve and more satisfying.