Tag Archives: brain

Gluten attacks the brain and damages the nervous system

  By ironman45 | March 13, 2012 - 4:34 pm | brain health, celiac/crohns/UC/IBS, gluten
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Some people are literally stumbling through life thinking they are a klutz when really gluten is to blame. Before gastrointestinal symptoms like upset stomach appear, neurological damage may already be done, according to the Center for Peripheral Neuropathy. The Gluten Free Society calls gluten a “potential neurotoxin.” Gluten damage may cause everything from unexplained dizziness to numbness in the hands and feet. (more…)

Magnesium improves brain plasticity to ease anxiety and boost cognition

  By ironman45 | January 2, 2012 - 6:50 am | brain health, stress
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Magnesium is an essential mineral required to perform more than 300 critical biochemical enzymatic reactions within the human body. Optimal circulating magnesium levels are well known to promote cardiovascular health. Emerging evidence published in The Journal of Neuroscience explains the importance of this mineral to promote proper electrical and neurotransmitter function in the brain. (more…)

Choline on your mind

  By ironman45 | December 22, 2011 - 7:29 pm | alzheimers, brain health
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Some nutrients, like vitamin D, always seem to be making headlines — while others, you just never hear about.

Take choline, for example.

When was the last time you heard about that one? Possibly never — but you might want to add it to your vocabulary, because this B vitamin found in egg yolks, liver, and chicken may have the power to protect your brain and keep dementia at bay. (more…)

New evidence chemotherapy for breast cancer causes brain damage

  By ironman45 | December 21, 2011 - 12:21 am | brain health, breast cancer
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Primary breast cancer (meaning a breast malignancy that hasn’t spread to other parts of the body) isn’t usually thought of as causing neurological problems. After all, if cancer hasn’t spread to the brain, why would it? Researchers have been forced to wonder about the answer to that question because a growing body of evidence over the past several years strongly suggests that women with breast cancer are at increased risk for not only problems with brain function but with actual alterations in their brain structure, too. (more…)

Milk thistle provides a protective shield to the liver, heart and brain

  By ironman45 | October 17, 2011 - 1:43 am | brain health, heart disease, Liver
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The liver is one of the most critical organs essential to human health. It serves more than 300 functions in the body to detoxify against chemical and environmental intrusions, and it promotes metabolic function as well. Silymarin is commonly known as milk thistle, and new science is emerging to validate the healing potential of this powerful plant. Publishing in the journal Hepatitis Monthly, researchers provide solid evidence that natural milk thistle extracts can halt and even reverse the effects of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), an affliction affecting as much as a third of the adult population. Supplementation with milk thistle will dramatically lower the risks associated with fatty liver disease, atherosclerosis and cognitive dysfunction. (more…)

Beets boost brain blood

  By ironman45 | September 28, 2011 - 4:33 am | brain health
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Beets boost brain bloodAn article published online on October 15, 2010 in the Nitric Oxide Society journal Nitric Oxide: Biology and Chemistry reveals that foods that contain nitrates, such as beets and leafy green vegetables, improve blood flow to the brain, which could help maintain cognitive function. Nitrates convert to nitrite in the body, which helps dilate blood vessels, thereby increasing the flow of blood and the delivery of oxygen and nutrients. (more…)

How to Recover from a Concussion – Athletes Take Note

  By ironman45 | August 2, 2011 - 1:35 am | Athlete Nutrition, brain health
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New, advanced brain imaging shows that the thalamus region of the brain is significantly disturbed by a concussion, potentially resulting in excessive formation of abnormal circuits in the thalamus. Subsequently, this may alter perception, memory, mood, sleep, and coordination. In this article, I offer my theory that these alterations are driven by excitotoxic damage caused by excessive substance P and can be prevented by both reducing substance P and boosting BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). Both of these results can be achieved with good nutrition and exercise, offering the first science-based strategy, of which I am aware, to actually fix the adverse effects of concussion. (more…)

Blueberries protect the brain

  By ironman45 | July 19, 2011 - 5:47 pm | alzheimers, blood pressure, brain health, cancer, eye health, food, heart disease, parkinson's
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Almost everyone thinks blueberries taste great and likes to see them on the breakfast table.  But there is a lot more to love about these tiny fruits. Blueberries are one of the richest sources of antioxidants, the natural substances that fight damage caused by free radicals. This makes them highly effective in fighting chronic degenerative diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, macular degeneration, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. And now we know that blueberries safeguard the brain.

Although it is not clear how blueberries affect the brain, it has been shown that the flavonoids they contain are able to cross the blood brain barrier. This enables them to influence regions in the brain involved in memory and motor function, and enhance neural connections, thereby improving cellular communication and stimulating neural regeneration.