Brain Power

There’s an old photograph of a woman hanging by my bed in my room. Most people who see it comment on how much the woman in it looks like me. She does. We have the same eyes and curve of our nose and in so many pictures of myself I see the same soft smile spread across my face. This woman was my Grandma Linda.

Last night after a long shift at The Fishery I went to see Friends with Benefits with Ari, Brittney, Bri, and Katie. As I'm writing this (recalling them as they were sitting to my left) I realize they were sitting in alphabetical order. Good job ladies!

I'm not the biggest romantic comedy junky, and normally wouldn't have spent the 12 big ones (highway robbery if you ask me) to see it, but it had been a long night, I had consumed far too much coffee to relax, and watching JT on screen for a couple hours isn't the worst way to end a night.

It was an entertaining movie, with some good laughs, but Richard Jenkins, who plays Justin Timberlake's father with progressing Alzheimer’s, caught me off guard. His portrayal of someone struggling with the realization that his mind is slipping away from him, while in some of his "moments of clarity" was ridiculous, hit close to home for me. It was a far too familiar feeling I felt creep over me watching his scenes. I found myself sobbing while everyone around me was hysterically laughing.

Quite often my mind wanders to the photo of Linda on the wall of my room; more often than it wanders to the actual memories I have of her. I wonder if behind the curves of our nose and the shape of our eyes, we share the same genetic make-up. I wonder if one day I will be the one who doesn't remember my granddaughter’s name.

I've been doing research on Alzheimer’s for a while now, and most of the sources agree on three things that can be used as preventative tactics. Diet, Exercise, and Stress Management. For this post, I’ll focus on Diet.

With the right diet, you can actually influence the health of your genes. The main things to stay away from are trans-fat and saturated fat. These fats are found in animal products, especially red meats, and multiply the free radicals in your body. Free Radicals kill healthy brain cells. Antioxidants help to eliminate these free radicals and are found in vitamins A and C as well as superfoods such as blueberries, spinach, seaweed, salmon, tea, and many other foods.

In a similar way, scientists believe that a vast intake of fruits and vegetables, eating fish rich in omega-3 oils and vegetarian protein substitutes (like soy) are protective against memory loss.

Halle-freaking-lujah. At least I've been doing something right.

There are also supplements that can improve your overall brain health, these include:

·  coenzyme Q10

·  alpha lipoic acid

·  ginkgo biloba

·  phosphatidylserine

·  DHA (an omega-3 oil)

·  acetyl-L-carnitine

Hope this post will ease at least one other mind than my own. Ta Ta for now.