Keep your body in good shape to keep the brain healthy

Wed, Mar 14, 2012

The week of March 12 is Brain Awareness Week. As an adult neurologist, people typically ask me, how can I keep my memory healthy? This is a great question. I don’t think we have all the answers yet, but there are a few things you should know about the brain.

The most important thing about keeping the brain healthy is to keep yourself healthy. The brain needs a continuous supply of healthy, nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood flow. Problems with high blood pressure, cigarette smoke and elevated blood sugar levels are bad for brain health. Often when I meet people in the hospital, their symptoms are related to one of these issues.

Malnutrition is bad for overall brain health. Having certain illnesses, like the flu, affects the brain in unpredictable ways. Avoiding head injuries also helps keep the brain healthy.

Nutrition is important to the brain. Sometimes migraine headaches result when there is too much or too little of certain chemical nutrients. MSG (mono sodium glutamate) is a common trigger for migraine headaches. When food we eat contains too much of this, some of us do not feel well afterwards. Supplementing with calcium, magnesium or B-vitamin complex has been known to help prevent headaches.

http://www.annarbor.com/health/keeping-your-brain-health/