Practical ways to support brain health, what affects cognitive performance, diseases that result from mild cognitive impairment, and tips for choosing the best brain supplements.
Maintaining brain health is essential for overall well-being and cognitive function, yet many people overlook how crucial it is to support it actively throughout their lives. Our brain, the command center of our body, requires proper nutrition, mental stimulation, and lifestyle choices to function optimally. In addition to eating a balanced diet rich in brain-boosting foods, supplements can significantly enhance cognitive function.
This blog post will explore practical ways to support brain health, including what affects cognitive performance, dietary supplements, diseases that result from mild cognitive impairment in healthy older adults, and tips for choosing the best brain supplements.
What is brain health?
Brain health refers to the overall condition and functioning of the brain, including cognitive abilities like memory, learning, and problem-solving, as well as emotional regulation and mental well-being. A healthy brain is crucial for daily functioning and overall quality of life, as it affects how we think, feel, and behave.
The environment around us can significantly impact our brain health. Here are some key environmental variables and how they can influence our brain:
- Physical Activity: Regular exercise improves blood flow to the brain, enhances neurogenesis (the formation of new neurons), and boosts the production of neurochemicals that support cognitive function. Activities like jogging, swimming, or even daily walking can help keep your brain sharp and reduce the risk of cognitive decline.
- Seasons: Seasonal changes can affect brain function and mood. For example, shorter days and less sunlight during the winter months can lead to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), characterized by symptoms like depression and fatigue. In contrast, exposure to natural light during the spring and summer can improve mood, energy levels, and brain health.
- Infections: Illnesses and infections can affect brain health by causing inflammation or fever, impairing cognitive function. Chronic diseases or severe illnesses can long-term affect mental health and cognitive abilities.
- Social Interactions: Positive social interactions and a strong support network are vital for cognitive stimulation and good brain health. Engaging in social activities, forming meaningful relationships, and participating in community events can enhance cognitive function and emotional well-being.
- Living Conditions: The quality of your living environment impacts brain health. Factors such as exposure to environmental noise, pollution, and unsafe living conditions can contribute to stress and cognitive decline. A healthy and stimulating living environment supports better mental and emotional health.
- Toxins: Exposure to environmental toxins, such as heavy metals, pesticides, and pollutants, can negatively affect brain health. For instance, lead exposure has been linked to cognitive deficits and developmental issues in children. Reducing exposure to these toxins can help protect healthy brain function.
- Stress: Chronic stress can impair cognitive abilities, affect memory, and increase the risk of mental health disorders. High stress levels can lead to brain structure and function changes, making it harder to manage emotions and perform daily tasks effectively.
- Food Intake: A balanced diet rich in essential nutrients supports brain health. Foods high in antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins can improve cognitive function and protect against neurodegenerative diseases. For example, fatty fish, nuts, and leafy greens benefit brain health.
These environmental factors can alter the way our genes function, influencing our mental health and risk of brain disorders. How these changes manifest can differ based on individual characteristics such as gender, age, and genetic predispositions.
For instance, women and men may experience different effects from stress or hormonal changes, and older adults may be more susceptible to environmental influences on cognitive function.
Moreover, personal experiences and circumstances, such as the stress level you experience or the support you receive from friends and family, also play a critical role in shaping how your brain responds to environmental changes.
Since these factors interact in complex ways, the impact on your brain health can vary significantly from person to person.
Understanding and managing these influences can help maintain and improve brain health, improve quality of life, and enhance cognitive functioning.
Why is cognitive function important?
Maintaining a healthy brain is crucial for overall well-being, as a compromised brain can lead to severe consequences that affect every aspect of life. When brain health deteriorates, it can result in cognitive impairments, emotional instability, and decreased quality of life.
These issues can manifest as memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and mood disorders, ultimately impacting other parts of someone’s life.
Understanding the potential consequences of neglecting brain health is crucial, as it empowers us to take preventative measures to avoid the following adverse effects.
Brain fog
Brain fog is a term used to describe various symptoms that make it hard to think clearly. It affects your ability to focus, remember things, and pay attention. As the name suggests, it clouds your mind and makes everyday tasks more complex, like conversing, following instructions, or remembering your actions.
Brain fog, also known as mental fog, can occur after illness, as a side effect of certain medications (like chemotherapy), or as a sign of another health issue.
A study published in the National Library of Medicine defines brain fog as “slow thinking, trouble focusing, confusion, poor concentration, forgetfulness, or a cloudiness in thought processes.”
Although brain fog isn’t necessarily a disease or disorder, it can cause a person multiple health challenges. Usually, it stems from:
- Lack of sleep or poor sleeping habits
- Dietary issues
- Hormonal changes
- Medications
- Medical conditions
- Stress
- Viral infections like COVID-19
Solutions like hormone replacement therapy or 10X’s Focus supplement may help alleviate brain fog, allowing you to enjoy life with a clearer, more focused mind.
Dementia
Dementia is a condition where a person’s ability to think, remember, and reason decreases so much that it impacts their everyday life and activities. People with dementia might have trouble controlling their emotions and may experience changes in their personality.
The severity of dementia can vary; it can start mild, where it just begins to affect someone’s daily life, or become severe, where the person relies entirely on others for basic tasks like eating.
Some signs of dementia include:
- Forgetfulness
- Struggling with routine activities
- Trouble with communication
- Confusion about time and location
- Impaired decision-making
- Difficulty managing tasks
- Losing items
- Shifts in mood and behavior
- Difficulty interpreting visual and spatial details
- Avoiding work or social interactions
Dementia impacts millions, and its likelihood increases with age, affecting roughly one in three individuals aged 85 and older.
However, it is not a regular aspect of aging. Many individuals live well into their 90s or beyond without developing dementia. Among the various forms of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent.
Alzheimer’s disease
A healthy brain has billions of neurons (about 86 billion to be exact), cells that help send messages throughout the brain and to the rest of the body using electrical and chemical signals. Alzheimer’s disease interrupts this communication, causing many of these neurons to stop working correctly and eventually die, leading to brain atrophy.
As people age, their brains usually shrink a bit, but they don’t lose many neurons. In Alzheimer’s disease, though, the damage is much more severe.
Many neurons stop working correctly, lose connections with other neurons, and eventually die. Alzheimer’s interferes with essential processes like communication, energy use, and repair within the brain.
Stroke
Poor brain health can result from a stroke, which damages the blood vessels in the brain. This damage can disrupt blood and oxygen flow, leading to problems with brain function.
Additionally, it increases the risk of vascular dementia, a condition where the brain’s blood supply is impaired, causing memory loss and other cognitive issues.
You might develop vascular dementia if a stroke blocks an artery in your brain, but not all strokes lead to this condition. Whether a stroke affects your thinking and reasoning depends on how severe it is and where it occurs.
Vascular dementia can also be caused by other conditions that damage blood vessels and limit blood flow, which means your brain doesn’t get enough oxygen and nutrients.
Depression
Depression is a severe mental health issue that impacts how you feel, behave, and think. While depression is often seen in older adults, it’s not a normal part of getting older.
Research indicates that most older people are happy with their lives, even though they may face more health problems than younger people. However, if you struggled with depression when you were younger, you might be more likely to experience it again as you get older.
Depression can also lead to noticeable changes in the brain. For example:
- Brain shrinkage: Studies suggest that certain brain areas may shrink in people with depression, like the hippocampus (important for memory), the thalamus (which relays information), the amygdala (which handles emotions), and the prefrontal cortex (which manages thinking and decision-making). The extent of this shrinkage depends on the severity and duration of depression.
- Increased brain inflammation: Depression is linked to inflammation in the brain. This inflammation can worsen over time and may contribute to long-term depression. Untreated depression can lead to more inflammation, which might harm brain cells and affect brain function.
- Neurotransmitter imbalance: Depression is often associated with low levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. An imbalance in these chemicals can lead to brain volume and function changes.
- Brain connectivity issues: Depression can affect how different brain regions connect and communicate. Both reduced and increased connectivity have been observed in people with depression, which can affect mood and emotional responses.
- Reduced oxygen levels: Depression may be linked to lower oxygen levels in the brain, possibly due to breathing changes. Reduced oxygen can cause inflammation and damage brain cells, affecting mood and cognitive functions.
Overall, depression impacts brain structure, function, and chemistry, contributing to its symptoms and effects on mental health.
Delirium
Delirium is a sudden change in mental state that occurs over 1-2 days and is often an early sign of illness. It can cause agitation or confusion in some people and drowsiness or withdrawal in others. The main symptom is a decreased responsiveness to the surroundings.
While delirium and dementia may seem similar, they are different conditions. People with dementia are more likely to experience delirium.
Delirium has various causes, and identifying and addressing these causes is crucial for recovery. Most people improve within a few days, but some may take longer.
The importance of nutrition and cognitive health
Recent research shows that caring for our brain health is essential and that we can make a difference over time. The brain can change and adapt throughout our lives, a process known as neuroplasticity. This means it’s always early enough to start focusing on brain health.
Important brain supplements
Whether you aim to enhance memory, focus, and mental clarity or reduce the risk of future cognitive decline, knowing how supplements can help you make informed choices for achieving optimal brain performance.
B vitamins
Nutritionists commonly emphasize the importance of B vitamins for maintaining cognitive function. Supplementation can be beneficial for supporting brain wellness if you lack any of these vitamins.
Essential B vitamins to include in a supplement plan to combat brain fog are:
- Vitamin B1: Boosts energy levels
- Vitamin B2: Aids in medication metabolism
- Vitamin B3: Reduces inflammation
- Vitamin B5: Promotes overall brain health
- Vitamin B6: Helps combat diseases
- Vitamin B7: Enhances cellular communication
- Vitamin B9: Supports emotional balance
- Vitamin B12: Contributes to heart health
Omega-3 fatty acids
Research suggests that eating fish and getting enough docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) could help keep people healthy, especially older adults with memory problems or mild cognitive issues. There might also be some benefits for certain people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.
Vitamin-E
Vitamin E is crucial in protecting fats, including omega-3s, from oxidative stress. For instance, low levels of vitamin E can damage the fats in red blood cells, causing them to burst, which is why vitamin E intake is often recommended. This antioxidant property has also sparked interest in its potential to protect the brain.
In adults, vitamin E may support the brain’s ability to adapt and change throughout life. Vitamin E helps maintain cognitive function and brain plasticity by reducing oxidative stress in the brain. This might explain why higher vitamin E intake is linked to better cognitive health in older individuals.
Magnesium
High blood pressure is a known risk for dementia. Eating more magnesium can be suitable for your heart and blood vessels. Studies show that increasing magnesium intake can help reduce damage to the brain’s white matter in middle to early old age. According to research, eating more magnesium is linked to better brain health for everyone, especially women.
Vitamin-C
In a study, researchers found that vitamin C levels are kept high in the brain and neurons compared to other organs, and the body has robust systems to keep these vitamin C levels stable in the brain and neurons.
This means it’s hard to lower these levels, and it’s also tough to raise them significantly for long periods. Oral supplements usually only boost brain vitamin C by up to 20%. Still, if there’s a lot of oxidative stress or inflammation in specific brain areas, you might see more significant increases where there’s a local deficiency.
They concluded that neurodegenerative diseases often cause a lot of oxidative stress. Because of this, vitamin C (ascorbate) is thought to help treat conditions like stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s.
L-theanine
L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea, is recognized for reducing stress, improving mood, and supporting better sleep. A study exploring how l-theanine affects different cognitive functions found that it can enhance attention, improve working memory, and support other executive functions.
Vitamin-D
Vitamin D is crucial for maintaining key bodily functions, including calcium balance, bone integrity, and neurological development. According to this study, vitamin D deficiency has been associated with various issues, such as dementia, depression, diabetes, autism, and schizophrenia.
Thus, it’s vital to tackle vitamin D deficiency and prevent numerous adverse health effects ahead of time.
Folic acid
Folate deficiency is linked to issues like depression and dementia, particularly in older adults.
This deficiency can be caused by aging, poor diet, malabsorption, medication, or increased demand, or it can remain unexplained.
Folate, or folic acid, is crucial in mood regulation, cognitive function, and social behavior. When folate metabolism is impaired, it can cause cognitive problems similar to those seen with aging.
A review by E.H. Reynolds found that the length of time someone has a folate deficiency and how long they receive treatment are as crucial as the severity of the deficiency and the amount of folic acid used. Folic acid should be used cautiously if there’s also a vitamin B-12 deficiency or epilepsy.
While folic acid supports the nervous system at any age, a deficiency in older adults can worsen brain aging, increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia, and, in severe cases, lead to a reversible type of dementia.
How to choose the right supplements for brain health
Brain health supplements can support cognitive functions, like memory, but choosing the right one can be tricky. Here are tips to help you pick a good supplement:
- Check the ingredients: Ensure the supplement has ingredients proven to help brain health. Look for ingredients that have been shown to support brain function in studies.
- Avoid unnecessary additives: Avoid supplements with artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners. These additives may not be healthy and could harm brain health. Check the label to make sure the supplement doesn’t include these ingredients.
- Choose a trusted brand: Buy supplements from well-known, reliable manufacturers like 10x Health. Look for those that follow good manufacturing practices and have a strong reputation.
To ensure safety, remember to talk to a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement.
Supplement your brain health starting today!
Addressing brain health early through targeted supplementation can significantly impact long-term cognitive function and overall well-being. You can proactively mitigate the risks associated with various brain conditions by integrating supplements curated by 10x Health, designed by medical professionals to support optimal brain performance.
Also, exploring your genetic blueprint with 10X Health’s Gene Test provides valuable insights into personalized health strategies, enabling more precise and effective interventions.
Embracing these approaches helps enhance mental acuity and prevent future health issues and empowers you to take charge of your cognitive health with informed, science-backed solutions.
