Thursday, December 20, 2007

More Keys To Maintain Your Brain

Here I continue with a subject I can't resist and can certainly use - a series of tips on how to maintain and enhance brainpower. (See earlier column from Dec. 13.) In introducing them, the authors of the book where I found them, You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty, Dr. Michael F. Roizen, of the Cleveland Clinic, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, of Columbia University, have some wise words: "There are many ways to keep your brain operating at maximum efficiency, maximum power, and maximum quality."

o get you into the right mood and eliminate any room for excuses, I'll start with a few of the easiest ones.

Feed On Brain Food. Yes, there is such a thing. Serve up one of our best friends, those omega-3 fatty acids found in greatest abundance in the fat of such fish as salmon, mahi-mahi, tuna and herring. These omega-3s have multiple beneficial effects: (1) They improve the function of your message-sending neurotransmitters (chemicals that carry messages back and forth between nerve cells), (2) they slow cognitive decline in people who are at risk, and (3) keep arteries clear, which means they also keep an adequate supply of blood flowing to the brain.

Drs. Roizen and Oz, the authors, suggest you aim for 13 ounces of fish a week, or if you prefer take two grams of metabolically distilled fish oil a day or DHA (a form of omega-3) from algae or an ounce of walnuts every day.

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