4 Mind 4 Life - New Brain Power Info.

“Mmm! This smoothie is so good, so refreshing, so … so cold! Aah!” If it tastes so good one minute, how can it feel like someone is prying my cranium apart? This horribly agonizing experience is commonly referred to as a brain freeze, or frozen brain syndrome. Nutritionists say at least a third of the planet fall prey to the brain freeze, usually as they try to scarf down a frosty snack on a hot day. Only lasting half a minute or so (thank God) is the brain freeze’s mind bending misery, perhaps close in comparison to the malady of a migraine.

What Causes Brain Freeze?

But do we even know how the brain freeze happens? Studies have shown that it can happen as a result of the body is stimulated by intense cold, nerve-ending in the roof of the mouth freeze up, and warm blood rapidly circulates to the brain. Too much coffee colatta or Popsicle consumption in a hurry can make things much worse. Your palate meeting the tasty frozen snack is actually the culprit that put your brain freeze into action.

Is Your Brain Really Frozen?

The hard palate (which is just to say the roof of your mouth) took on the massive amount of super cold slushy when you gulped it in. There’s a cluster of nerves just behind that plate that helps protect your brain from certain temperature changes. The primary nerve in this bundle is known as the sphenopalatine nerve, and it is able to detect and adapt to heat and cold. So, that means if you eat ice cream or any other cold food, then your sphenopalatine nerve will send out shockwaves to warn other nerves in its cluster. Your nerves have basically just told the rest of your brain to get ready for a major freeze.

When you get a brain freeze, your brain doesn’t actually freeze, but your sphenopalatine nerve can’t recognize the difference between extreme cold temperatures, and eating a spoonful of ice cream. It’s actually the shrinking of the blood vessels around the brain in reaction to the cold stimuli that cause you problems. This nerve shrinkage is behind your eyes (e.g. your nasal area) is what gives you the pounding headache that brain freezes are known for. Although, the pain isn’t necessarily caused by your blood vessels shrinking, more than the flow of blood that forces them to open up again.

Why You Feel “Brain Freeze”

In all the hullabaloo of shrinking and reopening blood vessels, your nerves are also causing you some pain. Pain receptors that are positioned closely to your sphenopalatine nerve will sense that the palate has encountered something frozen, but the pain it causes will be sent into an area deeper inside your skull. That’s why you think your brain is freezing instead of the top of your mouth and jaw area.

The fastest way to stop a brain freeze, or shorten it, is to stick your warm tongue to the roof of your mouth - it’ll warm your palate back up again. And once your palate’s all warmed up, your nerve clusters will call off the hounds, and your brain freeze will come to an end. You may also want to consider taking sips of warm water while you eat your frozen treats, and don’t allow them to come in contact with the top of your mouth; this should help you minimize the “brain frozen” feeling that you may have otherwise had to deal with.

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An individual’s quality of life is very dependent on the development of their brain - particularly their infant brain development. Beginning as a fetus, a human’s brain starts to develop. Mom has the huge responsibility of making sure her pregnancy diet is nutritious enough to support the baby’s development.  How come? Specific essential oils need to be received by the fetus for the best possible infant brain development- most importantly omega 3 fatty acids with DHA. A fetus’s brain begins to develop very early, as soon as three to six weeks after being conceived. Before a woman even conceives she can begin the foundation for this. All women of child bearing age are highly encouraged to include an abundance of omega 3 fatty acids with DHA in their diets.

What To Know About An Infants Brain Development

DHA consumption is now recognized, by scientists, to be what separates modern humans from our early ancestors. Many years ago our primitive ancestors began adding DHA into their diets, and the developing of our human brains was the product. This can begin to give you an impression of how closely brain growth is linked to omega 3 oils with DHA.

A diet that contained an inadequate amount of DHA, has been shown in our early cro-magnon ancestors to lead to a remarkable decline in brain capacity. A prompt growth in brain capacity took place when they relocated from desert areas to coastal areas, where they had access to an abundance of fish.

Infant Brain Development Research

The addition of DHA from fish oil is believed, by scientists, to be the basis of human brain evolution. Our astonishing ability to reason, communicate, learn, and create the wonderful things around us are all because of our large brains. The brain of the embryo is where this all starts. A baby begins to use its brain and nervous system to control many bodily functions before week 30 of pregnancy when many quick changes take place. In order for a pregnancy to be full term and the baby to be fully grown it needs to last another 10 weeks.

Understanding Infant Toddler Brain Development

Vital to ensuring a pregnancy goes full term, and for the brain and nervous system to grow are omega 3 fatty acids. We really have come a long way all thanks to ocean fish. Having them included in our diets has literally transformed out brains and helped keep us healthy.  There is are a lot of studies that are currently being conducted in the area of brain development in infant and toddler children.  In order to stay up to date, you can check out various psychological journals; they will talk more in depth about the subject.  Mothers who are insufficiently nourished during pregnancy tend to have babies with low birth weights, according to researchers at the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition in London. An inadequate amount of DHA has been observed in these infants.

A good pregnancy nutrition plan should include a vast amount of omega 3 oils with DHA because brain development disorders can be ever-lasting. To do this it is important to eat enough fatty fish or take high quality, pure fish oil capsules, or both. A mother needs to consume omega 3 fish oil every day for the highest levels of brain development. We all wish for our future children to be healthy and intelligent.  If you want more information on brain supplements and brain vitamins that you can be taking, be sure to do some research to make sure that they are healthy.

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