The inspiration for this Better Brain Toolbox blog post is deeply personal on a few levels. Having experienced brain health challenges within the family – in various forms – it’s easy to consider it as a part of normal aging. The great news is it is not! As it turns out, through lifestyle choices and changes, we have the ability to thwart disease and optimize brain function.
Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor and the information here is not intended as a replacement for care from the appropriate healthcare professional. Please also see the respective disclaimers in each resource referenced.
While conducting research for this post, the list of books and resources expanded, and the topic has evolved and grown from it’s original scope. It’s been a bit like going down a rabbit hole – in a good way. I can literally create a Better Brain Toolbox using items and activities within my control. I am so psyched!
Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through affiliate links (marked with asterisks) in this post.
Keep Sharp!
It all began with the book *Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age by Sanjay Gupta, MD. Learning that many of the cognitive decline issues are not an inevitable part of aging was encouraging and empowering. Many of us know him as a CNN Medical Correspondent, but I was fascinated to find that he is also a neurosurgeon. In this book, he reviews the Five Pillars of brain health. I think what he indicates as the most important thing we can do to help our brain health will surprise many.
Essential Oils to Boost the Brain?
Next, I discovered a very interesting book: *Essential Oils to Boost the Brain & Heal the Body by Jodi Cohen. I already know firsthand about the power of essential oils, so I was thrilled to find this gem! At a glance, it may seem that essential oils are out of place in our toolbox. Hold that thought! Remember that essential oils are the concentrated essences of plants, flowers, herbs etc. As the subtitle for this book reveals, the author covers “5 steps to Calm Anxiety, Sleep Better & Reduce Inflammation to Regain Control of Your Health.”
The Better Brain
Later, I stumbled on *The Better Brain: Overcome Anxiety, Combat Depression, and Reduce ADHD and Stress with Nutrition by Bonnie J. Kaplan, PhD and Julia J. Rucklidge, PhD. Especially with our experiences dealing with the pandemic, anything we can do to help our mental health is a plus. The power of the food we eat in this respect offers some valuable information for our Better Brain Toolbox.
Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety
Finally, as I was researching I found *Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety: Nourish Your Way to Better Mental Health in Six Weeks by Drew Ramsey, MD. Similar to the previous book, the information here talks about the importance of nutrition for your mental health, and states that “one of the most powerful — and underutilized — tools to help us combat depression and anxiety can be found at the end of your fork.”
Actually, the title of this book reminded me of *Eat to Beat Disease by William Li, MD. In his book Dr. Li outlines details regarding boosting the body’s 5 Health Defense Systems to prevent diseases – which naturally includes diseases that impact the brain.
Many of these books were published very recently with a lot of updated information from relevant studies. I especially love the Notes section for each chapter in the back of the books. Each book could easily be a separate blog post. For now in this post, I’ll highlight a few nuggets from the first 2 books listed. I’ll then circle back and cover tidbits from the remaining books in a subsequent post.
Keep Sharp Nugget
The nugget that I’ll share here is Dr. Gupta’s response to the question I hinted at in the beginning:
When people ask me what’s the single most important thing they can do to enhance their brain’s function and resiliency to disease, I answer with one word: exercise — as in move more and keep a regular physical fitness routine.
*Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age – Sanjay Gupta, MD
I was surprised! I definitely expected nutrition would beat out exercise. He goes on to share that low intensity activities (i.e. walking, gardening, ballroom dancing, etc.) are more beneficial than previously realized.
Keep Sharp Bonus Nugget
As a bonus, I’ll share another quick tidbit that Dr. Gupta mentions regarding the relaxation response. Studies have shown that those who meditate have thicker areas of their “cerebral cortex, including the prefrontal area”. Why is this significant? Per Dr. Gupta, “These cortical areas help with attention and sensory processing and are used for planning complicated cognitive actions.”
>>>Moving Meditation
For those of us who are challenged by the stillness aspect of meditation, take heart! The relaxation response can also be triggered through various moving meditations. Qigong, tai chi, certain types of yoga, and even walking are a few examples. Try this free YOQI video Qigong Flow For Brain Optimization as a targeted example of a moving meditation. 😉 I especially like doing this flow in the morning.
To find out the remaining helpful information from Dr. Gupta’s book, get your copy of *Keep Sharp!
Essential Oils Nugget
Vagus Baby! No not that Vegas. 🙂 I’m speaking of the vagus nerve. One of the ways essential oils can benefit the brain is through the vagus nerve. This is instrumental to Step 1: Shifting Your Nervous System into Parasympathetic Gear in *Essential Oils to Boost the Brain & Heal the Body. NOTE: I briefly talked about the vagus nerve in the Yoga section of my Relaxing – Part 1 post.
The vagus nerve is the primary channel of communication between our brain and our body. It provides two-way communication between our gut, heart, immune system (as well as other major organs) and the brain. It’s basically responsible for switching between the parasympathetic state (aka relaxation response) and the sympathetic state (aka fight-flight-freeze). Jodi states:
Activating the healthy function of your vagus nerve with essential oils amplifies other healing protocols and helps you feel better almost immediately.
*Essential Oils to Boost the Brain & Heal the Body – Jodi Cohen
This is just a small part of what she covers in her book. To learn more you’ll definitely want to get the *book for yourself.
So that’s it for Part 1. Hopefully I have peaked your interest enough that you want to know more. If you do, you’ll be happy to know that Part 2 of the Better Brain Toolbox is now available. Make sure you check it out too!
GRATITUDE NOTE: Thank you so much for those of you who have supported me in this adventure!
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