Unshrink your brain
It is a fact
that as we get older our brains deteriorate and we become
diminished in many ways, we say inappropriate things and we forget
stuff, things like why did we come upstairs and where did we put those
keys...
This article will attempts to
discover whether the loss of mental abilities
caused by age related brain shrinkage can be halted and perhaps
reversed?
Will mental or physical
exercise or nutrition halt or slow down the process?
It seems that brain shrinkage
in older people is a major factor in cognitive decline and developing
dementia. It seems that some slowing down of atrophy can
be achieved by improved nutrition and increased physical activity and
exercise.
As to actually undoing the
shrinking, making the lost brain matter return, well if you are under
25 then the brain is capable of healing and even some regrowth but if
you are older then there is not too much you can do about it except
perhaps using hormones, see later in the article.
What are the causes?
Apart from the normal atrophy
that comes with age, there are other reasons, wine in excess, frequent
cannabis use, diabetes, internet addiction, inactivity and strangely,
back pain.
Depression too can shrink
certain parts of the brain.
What
can we do about it?
Well
firstly we can get more
active
physically and we can make sure that we get the right nutrition,
certain B Vitamins especially Vitamin B12, can often make a difference.
Fish oils
containing the Fatty Acids; DHA and EPA Omega 3 have in many tests
shown to be of benefit and to hlt or seriously slow down degeneration
and atrophy. There are some products containing selected B
Vitamins that that make claims to help retain your faculties, they
contain increased dosages of B12, B6 and B9 (folic acid). Read More
Exercising your brain with
puzzles and learning a language can expand certain areas of the breain;
a study in England found that taxi drivers had slightly enlarged some
areas.
It may be possible to increase
the size of your brain without resorting to
extreme measures. Extreme measures can be, for example using brain
growth factors (the ordinary Human Growth Factor has no effect, I am
told), however most of the experts are sceptical about whether it is
possible for people without some conditions to actually recover lost
mass of brain tissue.
NHS
article - http://www.nhs.uk/news/2010/09September/Pages/vitamin-B12-brain-shrink-dementia.aspx
Insulin-like growth Factor
(IGF) -
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3602990/