5 Ways to Keep Your Brain Fit & Healthy in Your 40s and Beyond
sustainable healthy eating
It is scary and sad to think that dementia and Alzheimers together are the leading cause of death for women in the UK, and that this has been the case for a decade, after they overtook heart disease to become the biggest killer. A staggering 125 women die every day suffering from dementia, or 5 an hour, accounting for just over 15% of deaths every year. It is said there is no cure and perhaps that it is true but what we do in our 40s and beyond (and earlier preferably) can go a very long way to prevent and lessen its effects. As the philosopher Erasmus said back in the 1500s, prevention is better than cure and this is a message that the NHS is now really getting behind.
So what can we do to make a difference to our brain health, which will affect we feel now in terms of clearer thinking and a better memory but also keep our brains sound in the future? Lots as it happens, from addressing what we are eating, including increasing important healthy fats and reducing dietary stressors, hydrating, exercising and moving more, and becoming aware of our antioxidant intake.
Take responsibility
First and foremost it is key to recognise that developing dementia and Alzheimers or reduced cognition is not an inevitable part of growing older. There are plenty of countries around the world (known as Blue Zones, eg regions of Sardinia, Greece, Japan, Costa Rica and the US) where citizens live to a ripe old age, free of disease and specifically free of senility [1]. And in the UK, there are plenty of people who do not suffer from it. With awareness comes taking responsibility, that is responsibility for our daily habits and lifestyle. Knowing that what we do every day, whether good or not so good, is a big determining factor for how well or badly we age and how well our brain functions puts the power in our hands. We can make a big difference by taking good care of ourselves and being aware of that is empowering.
Destress your diet
Stress is ageing for all our organs, including the brain. Stress doesn’t just come from our jobs, long to do lists, family worries and lack of time but also what we eat. While we can’t control every aspect of our lives, we can control what we put in our mouths and removing any dietary stressors is a quick way to bring about improvements. A food intolerance or overloaded liver, for example, can result in poor memory and brain fog, as can nutrient deficiencies. You can correct these by reducing or even better eliminating the bad guys such as stimulants, refined sugar and flour, ultra processed foods and bad fats and replacing them with healthier alternatives that enhance brain function rather than deplete it.
Stimulants such as caffeine found in coffee and energy drinks (as well as black tea and chocolate) are naturally dehydrating as they remove more water from the body than they put in. Dehydration is a major contributor to brain fog and poor concentration. If you would like help with cutting caffeine out from your diet, you can download my free guide here or buy my 7 Days to Coffee Free ebook here. A really interesting book on hydration is Your Body’s Many Cries for Water by F. Batmanhelidj.
Thinking of quitting your coffee love affair? Download my handy guide to Coffee Alternatives for free now →
Enjoy regular exercise
The key word here is enjoy! Exercise and every day movement has many benefits, not least because it stops us being sedentary, another activity (or should that be non-activity) that is linked to premature ageing and deteriorating brain health [2]. Regular exercise helps with weight management (obesity itself being linked to dementia and poor brain cognition [3]), releases endorphins that reduce pain and can increase our energy reserves, to name just a few benefits. Also importantly for our brains, it improves cognitive function such as memory, information processing and our ability to cope with stress and challenges, reduces anxiety and depression, and improves blood sugar management, which in turn makes us less vulnerable to the brain fog caused by a crash in blood sugar. Which exercise to do? Whichever form that you enjoy and will feel motivated to do regularly. If you’re already feeling stressed out and pushed to the max, gentler forms such as yoga and walking will be more helpful than intensive HIIT classes for example.
Improve your EFA ratio
Our brains are composed of around 60% fat and rely on a steady supply of good fats to function at their best. A common problem for many of us in the UK and beyond is too little Omega 3 and too much Omega 6, which creates an inflammatory imbalance in the ratio between these two essential fatty acids (EFAs). A ratio of 1:2 is optimum but the average is believed to be around 1:16 or higher. Symptoms of an imbalance include pain in the joints as well as impaired thinking. Upping our intake of Omega 3 rich foods such as wild salmon, sardines, walnuts, flax and chia and reducing the use of refined oils such as sunflower or vegetable which are high in Omega 6 can go some way to tipping the ratio back in favour of Omega 3. Something to bear in mind is that organic meat and poultry tends to be naturally higher in Omega 3 than conventionally reared meats which have raised levels of Omega 6 instead, while farmed salmon sadly contains way less Omega 3 than we think. Regular consumption of deep fried foods is also linked to neurodegenerative diseases, including depression, so if you are keen to lower your risk of developing any of these, perhaps opt for baked over fried and making a visit to the fish and chip shop a less regular occurrence.
Fight oxidative stress with antioxidants
What all the Blue Zones have in common is a high intake of plants in their diets, from a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and herbs and spices. These are all rich in antioxidants, which are chemical compounds (also found in certain animal foods) that protect our cells from a process called oxidative stress or damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are unstable cells produced naturally every day in the body during cell metabolism but that are added to in number by environmental pollution, alcohol, smoking and ultra processed foods. There are believed to be 25000 different compounds that protect the plants themselves and they confer that benefit directly when we consume plants, and the more brightly coloured the better. Without them in our diets, free radicals can run rampant in the body, with the resulting oxidative damage leading to a host of symptoms, including general ageing, lethargy and diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Eating a varied range of fruits and vegetables, herbs, spices, herbal and green teas (matcha being especially high in antioxidants) from across the rainbow colour spectrum, and rotating them regularly, should supply a good amount of antioxidant nutrients, including vitamins A, C and E as well as CoEnzyme Q10, the latter being particularly important as we age as we produce gradually less of it from the age of 30 and on.
So I hope I have demonstrated that there are ways to protect our brains as we get older and that developing dementia and Alzheimers needn’t be inevitable. Taking action now and thinking prevention rather than cure will benefit us now and in the future.
References
[1] Buettner, Dan, and Sam Skemp. “Blue Zones: Lessons From the World's Longest Lived.” American journal of lifestyle medicine vol. 10,5 318-321. 7 Jul. 2016, doi:10.1177/1559827616637066. To read the article click here.
[2] Falck, Ryan S et al. “What is the association between sedentary behaviour and cognitive function? A systematic review.” British journal of sports medicine vol. 51,10 (2017): 800-811. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2015-095551
[3] Dekkers, Ilona A et al. “Obesity, Brain Volume, and White Matter Microstructure at MRI: A Cross-sectional UK Biobank Study.” Radiology vol. 291,3 (2019): 763-771. doi:10.1148/radiol.2019181012