4 Mind 4 Life - New Brain Power Info.

Note: If you enjoy this article, consider reading Brain Foods: List Of “Bad Brain Foods”.

What are “brain foods”?

Brain foods are foods that help improve functioning within the brain. One example of a brain food is fish. Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids which allow the blood vessels of the brain to remain healthy and fluid. Fish also provides nerve cells within the brain with necessary nutrients that allow cells to function at their highest level.

Due to the profound benefits that have largely been associated with eating fish, it is recommended to include fish within your diet at least a couple times per week. If you cannot include fish within your diet, you may want to consider taking fish oil supplements. Taking supplements and eating fish have been proven to be equally as effective.

There are many great foods that have been researched and documented to boost brain power. Knowing which foods boost brain power will allow you to make necessary dietary changes that will positively impact your brain. I’ve compiled a list of 50 Good Brain Foods and posted them below. Beneath the list is a section featuring more information about “good brain foods,” more information about the glycemic index, and other various food technicalities.

A list of “50 Good Brain Foods“:

1. Acai berries
2. Almonds
3. Avocados
4. Bananas
5. Blackberries
6. Blueberries
7. Brewer’s yeast
8. Broccoli
9. Brown rice
10. Brussels sprouts
11. Cantaloupe
12. Cashews
13. Cauliflower
14. Cherries
15. Cheese
16. Chicken
17. Collard greens
18. Cranberries
19. Dark chocolate
20. Eggs
21. Eggplant
22. Fish
23. Flaxseed oil
24. Green Tea
25. Lean beef
26. Legumes
27. Milk
28. Oatmeal
29. Oranges
30. Peanut butter
31. Peas
32. Plums
33. Potatoes
34. Pumpkin seeds
35. Raspberries
36. Red cabbage
37. Red grapes
38. Romaine lettuce
39. Salmon
40. Soybeans
41. Spinach
42. Stabilized rice bran
43. Strawberries
44. Tomatoes
45. Tuna
46. Turkey
47. Walnuts
48. Water
49. Wheat germ
50. Yogurt

Understanding “Good Brain Foods”:

Foods in the complex carbohydrates family are amongst the best type of brain foods. In complex carbohydrates, the molecules are longer. Because the molecular structure is longer, it takes a longer period of time for our intestines to digest and break-down the complex carbohydrates into simple sugars that our body is able to use. Why is a longer digestion or breaking-down process optimal? Because they don’t provide us with a large surge of energy and then die down. They provide our bodies and brain with optimal amounts of balanced energy for our body and brain to access.

What is the glycemic index?

The speed and intensity to which sugars from foods impact our brain cells is measured directly by the “glycemic index” also known as the “G.I.” Foods that are ranked with a high-glycemic index are likely to make our bodies create a lot of insulin. The part of the body that produces insulin to regulate our sugars is known as the pancreas. Diabetics often have a dysfunctional pancreas and need to take insulin because their body cannot naturally cope with the sugar levels.

Eating foods with high glycemic indexes

Eating foods high on the glycemic-index will put lots of stress on the pancreas and will directly affect the body, brain, and our hormone levels. Because the pancreas becomes over-stressed and overworked, the body may feel sluggish and the brain may feel initially energized, but will likely crash within a short period of time. That is why eating foods with a low-glycemic index are recommended.

They don’t put pressure on the pancreas to excrete much insulin and our blood sugar levels remain steady. When our blood sugar levels are steady, our brain is being fed a constant, steady supply of energy to work with; rather than excess energy for 20 minutes followed by a mental burnout for several hours. To figure out which foods are better for your brain and overall brain power, use this glycemic index search form.

Types of brain foods - Glycemic Index examples:

• Cereals: Oatmeal and bran cereals are the healthiest. Corn flakes have a higher glycemic-index ranking.

• Dairy: Milk has a relatively low glycemic index: higher than legumes, but lower than fruits.

• Fruits: Apples, blueberries, cherries, and grapes are examples of fruits that have a lower glycemic index rating. Whole fruits rank lower than juices due to the amount of fiber in fruit which slows the production of simple sugars.

• Grains: Spaghetti and rice have a low glycemic index ranking. White bread is less healthy and is higher on the glycemic index.

• Vegetables: Legumes, kidney-beans, soybeans, lentils, and chick peas are all examples of great brain foods. They have the single lowest glycemic-index of any food group. Carrots and potatoes have significantly higher glycemic indexes.

Preparation of your food

The way in which you eat and prepare your food definitely can affect the ways in which the body and brain uses it. For example: eating a cupcake after a meal of vegetables may actually slow the absorption of sugars. You may not get nearly as much of a “sugar high” or crash-and-burn affect. Eating most fats can also slow the absorption of sugars inside your body. Over-cooking certain types of starches can be much like pre-digesting them. This causes them to unload their sugars into the blood at a much quicker rate than usual, which isn’t good.

Amino acids and neurotransmitters

Certain types of proteins also affect your brain’s overall ability to perform at a peak level of functioning. Proteins provide our brains with amino acids, from which neurotransmitters are created. Neurotransmitters carry signals between neurons (brain cells) and allow parts of the brain to effectively communicate with one-another. When you feed the neurotransmitters with quality food, they deliver messages to other neurons more quickly, more effectively, and more powerfully.

When you eat foods that aren’t brain boosters, the neurotransmitters have a much tougher time carrying messages from neuron to neuron - their strength is much weaker. Neurotransmitters are created via substances tyrosine and tryptophan. Tyrosine is not an essential amino acid because the body can make it without any help from food. Tryptophan, on the other hand, is an essential amino acid that can only be obtained via your diet.

Low carbohydrates vs. high carbohydrates and low protein vs. high protein

Several low carbohydrate foods with high amounts of protein and tyrosine include: soy, eggs, dairy products, and seafood. These are all foods that are likely to increase activity in the brain quickly and speed things up. On the other end of the spectrum, we have foods that are likely to calm down the brain. They are low in protein, but high in carbohydrate and tryptophan. Foods that will calm the brain include: almonds, sesame seeds, chocolate, sunflower seeds, legumes, and pastries.

Optimal proportions of proteins to carbohydrates depend on the individual. Everyone is different and certain people have slight sensitivities or abnormal reactions to various foods. It really all depends on the individual, therefore, experimenting is a must. You need to do it yourself to figure out what type of diet feels optimal for your body and brain. Use some common sense in addition to the list of “50 Good Brain Foods” above and you should be off to a great start.

Consider taking multivitamin supplements

You can also consider taking multivitamin supplements. Taking vitamins are healthy, though it can cost you a little bit of money. I take one multivitamin on a daily basis and am satisfied with it. Though I don’t fully know the degree to which it is helping, I have a good feeling that it does make a difference. I don’t always eat a perfectly balanced diet - and I don’t think that most people are able to eat a consistent balanced diet. Here is where vitamins come in to play: they pick up your slack. Any vital vitamins that you may have missed in your diet during the day are usually covered by taking vitamins for memory loss. If you think that you could benefit from taking multivitamins, it sure wouldn’t hurt to give them a try.

For more in-depth information on brain foods, see the article: 5 Supercharged Brain Foods.

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1. Appreciate your surroundings (i.e. their natural beauty)

To further allow yourself to develop consciously, it is important to be appreciative and thankful for everything in your environment. Each day and every day, the little things that we may be taking for granted are often some of the most amazing forms of beauty. Simple things like the sunset, a field of flowers, or the face of our neighbors are all beautiful expressions that we may not be taking the time to appreciate. When we are able to realize that everything is connected and that we were truly meant to love and appreciate one-another, we naturally become inherently grateful for our surroundings and what the Earth has to offer.

There are so many amazing expressions of the Universe that - if you are able to appreciate and look at them from a loving perspective - you will actually be able to significantly progress in conscious development. Things like: weather patterns - (sunny days, stormy nights, winter snow, etc.), various forms of wildlife - (plants, animals, trees, etc.), and our family members - (brothers, sisters, grandparents, parents, etc.) all should be appreciated for who they are and the beauty that they bring to life. So many times we get caught up in a rat-race that we lose sight of the beauty that’s already surrounding ourselves!
In order to become more conscious of ourselves, we must also learn to become more conscious of others, and the expression of everything in our reality. When stuck in a vibration of lower consciousness, we often aren’t able to develop the perception that allows us to see the little things in life as expressions of beauty. Making it a habit to focus your attention and love towards things that are already in your life will work wonders for your state of being and will make you more aware of the divine expression that this Earth has to offer.

2. Bring new life to Earth

Each time that you are able to make a contribution to life here on Earth, you bring forth another brilliant expression of our universe. Each time that you bring human life, plant life, animal life, etc. here on Earth, it is something to be truly proud of. There are many ways to bring life to the planet to share the beauty of humanity. Several ways that you could contribute to bringing life to this planet include: settling down with your partner and raising a family of children, having one child, adopting a child, planting a flower, raising an animal, etc. - you get the idea.

Not only does the process of bringing life to Earth feel great deep down, it affects our planet in a positive manner. Each new birth is an expression of our grace - each person and thing has a beautiful message to contribute. Do what you can to help bring new life to our planet. It is a great activity that goes hand-in-hand with boosting your level of conscious awareness. The inner feelings that you may feel as a result from bringing forth new life may be just what you need to find true happiness and take you to the next level consciously.

3. Lead a flexible life

Flexibility is a key part of gymnastics… it also is a key part of life and the process of becoming more conscious as a human being. Leading an overly-structured life often becomes overwhelming and unpleasurable. You need to take time to appreciate the moments of spontaneity and spur-of-the-moment type events. Being flexible is a great attribute to cultivate in your life. Flexibility leads to contentment and happiness with ourselves.

Setting a schedule to plan out your events is often times a great, smart thing to do. However, you do not need to stick to a rigid / permanent schedule at all times. Don’t allow the things that you’ve scheduled to be set in stone! When positive opportunities arise that interfere with your schedule - (whether it be a little or a lot) - should be taken and your schedule should be ditched! Let’s say you have a scheduled work-out routine for an example. Let’s further say that one of your friends from out-of-town stops in your town to visit their family. While in town, this friend gives you a call and wants to spend time with you on Saturday from 9:00 A.M. until 11:00 A.M. Let’s also say that every Saturday from 9:00 to 11:00 A.M. you usually hit the gym to do your workout routine.

Here is a prime example of a situation where flexibility should be utilized. Tell your friend that you will hang out with him or her. Plan to workout from 6:00 to 8:00 A.M. or from 11:30 to 1:30 P.M. instead of your old time. Accommodating time to spend with your friend could prove to be one of the best times that you have ever had. Don’t allow your rigid scheduling to ever takeover your ability to be flexible. You never know what opportunities that you may miss out on if you keep a rigid schedule. Though learning to be flexible is just a small habit that will make you more conscious (by opening up your life to new opportunities), it is a highly important principle to implement into your life and reality.

4. Learn from consciously advanced individuals

More consciously advanced people have a lot to offer those who are less consciously advanced. They often provide us with great discoveries, insights, and guide our lives in a positive direction. If you happen to know someone that is at a higher cognitive level of functioning than yourself, spend some time with that individual. Ask them questions about their life, questions about your life, or any questions about life in general. See how they feel about raising consciousness and what methods they find most effective.

In many cases, advanced meditators, counselors, therapists, healers, psychics, yogic gurus, and spiritual masters are all at higher levels of consciousness than the average person. Most of these individuals hold great gifts that allow them to teach others to advance consciously and help others to tap their unique personal power and live their purpose. If you currently don’t know anyone that is at a higher level of conscious functioning than yourself, go out an meet some people! Go to a meditation retreat, yoga studio, etc. There are certain healthy activities like meditation that people at a high-level of conscious functioning enjoy practicing and are attracted to! Often times they practice these activities on a daily basis.

If you are still stuck for finding others to connect with for face-to-face discussion, you can always search online. Give Google a nice run through and search for others who are interested in conscious advancement, enlightenment, etc. Often times you will stumble across a forum or website that has a high amount of friendly interaction. Most times people involved with forums are happy to share their wisdom and advice. One forum with tons of great advice is Steve Pavlina’s forum. Though you must register to participate, the registration process is simple and 100% worth your small investment of time. I have connected with some highly-conscious individuals who have provided me with tons of knowledge to build off of. This is a great place for you to start if you are currently stuck.

When receiving advice from others, always look for some way to apply it to your life. If you don’t apply their advice, it is useless. After you’ve applied their advice and teachings to your life, evaluate the results. Also realize that just because someone tells you something works, doesn’t mean it will necessarily be as effective for you as it is for them. Everyone is different and just because a certain technique works for another person, doesn’t mean it will be effective in your life. This is why it is important to always learn from yourself. Personally evaluating the effectiveness of certain conscious-practices is all part of becoming more conscious. Though others can provide you with great insight and wisdom - it will greatly help if you learn from a personal evaluation after you’ve applied it.

5. Live a well-balanced life

Keeping a balanced life can be very difficult at times. However, keeping activities in proper balance is a great way to become more aware and involved in many areas of life. Spending too much time getting involved with just one activity is draining and unenlightening. For example, let’s say that you only worked on your blog for an extended period of time. During that period, your relationships would probably definitely suffer, your physical health would slowly deteriorate, and your life would probably not feel complete. Why? Because you are not keeping your blogging habit in balance with the rest of your life.

Often times, there are a large number of hobbies and activities that capture our interest. It is important to find those activities and keep them all in a proper state of balance with each other. Be flexible with your life - don’t allow one area to dominate the rest. I used the example of spending too much time blogging, but the same principle applies for any area of your life. Spending too much time with others doesn’t give you any time for yourself or your personal interests and goals. Therefore, if you hang out with your friends all-the-time instead of doing things like: getting a job, expressing your emotions, and working towards your life’s goals, your life’s balance will get severely thrown out of place.

This is why it’s important to always attempt to keep your life in balance; do what you need to do to to make your life work best. You may need to change up your schedule to be flexible for certain events (i.e. you may need to limit your time blogging so that you don’t get caught up spending too much time online) - but the most important thing is that you are doing what works best. Make a conscious effort to focus your energy towards what inspires you most, but don’t forget to take time for key things like: friends, family, expression, and exercise. Oh yeah, by the way, keeping things in balance doesn’t mean you need to form a rigid, structured schedule… You can be flexible and still lead a well-balanced life.

6. Consider taking healthy supplements

Supplements have long been known to help aid in mental processing and boost physical functioning. I personally have taken a multivitamin in combination with 3.6 grams of fish oil on a daily basis for almost 2 years straight. Overall, I feel that the combination has worked phenomenal for helping my physical functioning and mental processing - especially the fish oil. At certain times throughout the 2 year period, I mixed and matched (experimented with) different supplements like Zinc, chelated Magnesium, etc. and evaluated how I was affected.

I found that I was definitely affected differently by certain supplements and supplement combinations. Some supplements that I took just served as a placebo, while others made me tired. As I took fish oil, I could literally feel a difference in my relaxation and in my outlook on life. Fish oil has greatly helped me to become a more conscious human being. Not only that, there is so much well-documented research associated with positive changes and fish oil, that I have found no need to stop my daily dose of 3.6 grams. As far as my multivitamin supplement goes - I take it to ensure that my body is getting an optimal amount of vital nutrients at all times. I often exercise a lot and burn off a lot of potentially useful vitamins. Taking a multivitamin replenishes my body’s need for essential vitamins.

If you haven’t yet considered taking supplements, I highly recommend that you at least give one a test run. I know that they can be slightly expensive if you are in a financial bind, but they could significantly boost your mental and physical functioning. I have heard great things about flaxseed oil, fish oil, multivitamins, ginkgo biloba, and even vitamin B12 in certain cases. Do a personal experiment to see what works best for you. In the end, you may decide that all supplements are ineffective and that they don’t help your consciousness. For most people though, I’d be willing to bet that fish oil gives them at least a cognitive boost… scientific research has proven that fish oil increases I.Q. and emotional stability. So always be open minded and consider taking supplements if you aren’t already. One last thing: fish oil sometimes takes 2 + months to fully kick-in. For me it took nearly 2 months for me to feel it’s effects. I didn’t notice overnight changes, but over a period of 2 years, I have noticed significant changes in my thought-patterns and entire life.

A side-note: just because a supplement is all natural doesn’t mean that it is effective or healthy. Always do some research before experimenting with various supplements! If you are currently on medication, talk to your doctor to see how the supplement you are taking may react.

7. Celebrate your accomplishments

Celebrating your accomplishments is a form of self-praise and self-respect. When you value yourself and appreciate yourself, you are likely to celebrate your accomplishments, and most importantly, have accomplishments to celebrate! When reaching a milestone in your career, exercise routine, or even your spiritual life, it is important to celebrate your achievements. Celebrating what you have achieved serves as positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement will make you even more likely to accomplish your future goals; it is a concept that has been psychologically proven to be healthy and encourages positive behavior.

Whether you feel that throwing a big party is necessary, or treating yourself to an expensive restaurant with some friends is best, there are many ways to celebrate personal achievements. You could go to the store and buy yourself a new outfit, take the day off of work to celebrate, go to a movie, invite friends over, etc. There are many way to be creative with how you celebrate too. One way of celebration (and conscious advancement) could be treating yourself to a meditation retreat. Whichever form of celebration that you feel will provide you with optimal satisfaction is probably the best way to celebrate! Celebrating is fun, rewarding, and a great way to make yourself happier. It will also enhance your levels of overall self-love and respect - both of which are integral ingredients in the process of raising your consciousness.

8. Always have positive intentions

Positive intentions often arise from having a positive mindset. Having a positive mindset and forming the habit of holding good intentions is a great way to boost your level of conscious awareness. When you intend for positive events to happen in your life and always have positive expectations - your life will naturally attract positive people and will yield happiness. Holding bad or negative intentions will usually result in the manifestation of negative events in your life.

The quickest way to change your mindset from a negative one to a more positive one in order to help you form good intentions is to change your focus. Exercises for learning to shift your focus include: meditation, self-hypnosis, brainwave entrainment, and neurofeedback. See more helpful suggestions provided in this article: 26 Ways To Create Your Reality. As soon as you can shift your focus from negativity to the positives in life, you will be able to shift your mindset. When you understand how to change your mindset through the act of changing your focus, you can learn to always have positive intentions. Each and every time that you intend to advance consciously, you are holding a positive intention! Each time that you hold the intention “to hold a positive intention” when in a negative mindset, you are holding a positive intention (a little more complicated concept).

Learning to always hold positive intentions gives us hope when faced with even the darkest, gloomiest of situations. Positive intentions and thoughts are what allow and inspire individuals to consciously advance. When you hold no intentions at all, you are allowing your life to be run on autopilot - whether that is a good thing or not, I don’t know… I do know, though, that when you form your own positive intentions - you become more in control of your consciousness.

9. Read and recommend 4 Mind 4 Life dot com to others

Remind yourself of ways to become more conscious by re-reading this series and other articles here at 4 Mind 4 Life dot com. I always try to provide you with the most valuable advice to help you boost your level of consciousness. Though the main focus of this website is boosting brain power, your level of consciousness goes hand-in-hand with how powerful your brain is; the more powerful your brain, the easier time in raising your consciousness you will have.

If you know anyone that is interested in raising their current state of consciousness to a higher level, feel free to recommend them to this series. Point them to my table of contents section and feel free to print out any articles that you find helpful. Recommending 4 Mind 4 Life to others will help give others an idea of what it takes to guide their consciousness to a higher level of functioning. Realize that for every person that this series impacts, the quicker that humanity advances as a whole towards a state of peace and love.

I can only promote my message to a certain extent. Each time that you help me by recommending my website or this series to another person, you will be helping guide others towards positive change. Hopefully we all will one day be able to live in a state of harmonious peace and love here on Earth. I send my blessings to: everyone who reads this series, recommends this series, recommends this website, or applies advice from this website to better their own consciousness!

10. [This space is intentionally left blank for you to fill in]

Nobody knows and understands what works best to help your consciousness better than you! Be creative, fill in the last blank already! Choose an activity that you enjoy that renews your sense of wellbeing and resonates with your soul. By choosing an activity to use that is intrinsically motivating to you, you will be able to easily carry through with the process of raising your consciousness by just practicing this certain activity. By letting you choose an activity to use to make you more conscious, you are much more likely to succeed on your quest to advance in your state of consciousness.

This marks the last number of the last post in the Raising Your Consciousness: 10X10 Series. I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed it and personally feel that it will serve as a great reference to every visitor in the table of contents section. Feel free to print out your favorite chapter from this series (or all of them). Keep them to yourself or share them with others. Feel free to link to this series from your website if you feel like blogging about it. My goal when writing this series was to motivate others to raise their consciousness and start a movement towards becoming more conscious individuals here on Earth. For now, soak in this series, and let it saturate in your mind for awhile. Are you ready to become more conscious?

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1) Take Fish Oil Supplements - Fish oil supplements are great for preventing virtually all mental diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. They stabilize mood and help promote maximum brain functioning. I take Nature’s Made supplements (3.6 grams daily). Fish oil supplements have been proven as effective as actually eating fish. They stabilize brainwave patterns and increase overall brain activity. In fact, there are currently many studies that show fish oil prevents A.D.D. from developing. For more information about fish oil, check out this article.

2) Exercise Daily - Exercising daily has been known to be good for the brain and studies have shown that it prevents Alzheimer’s. Exercise builds new neural connections in your brain and is one of the only activities that causes “Neurogenesis” – the production of new brain cells.

3) Do Sudoku’s & Crossword Puzzles - Sudoku’s and crossword puzzles cause people to critically think and naturally increase their brain activity.

4) Read Something Challenging Daily - Reading something challenging daily causes synapse growth and increases thinking ability. By challenging your brain and using it will help prevent you losing it!

5) Eat Healthy - Eating healthy is a huge factor in determining a healthy brain. The food you put in your body is what your brain is forced to work with. Eating a lot of McHardeesKing will cause your brain to function poorly. Eating a lot of fruits and vegetables will actually enhance your executive brain functions.

6) Engage In A Debate - By engaging in a debate, you are challenging your brain’s ability to generate a stimulating conversation which requires rapid thinking and high levels of focus. This is VERY good for you! To start one of these, just ask someone “who should be president?”

7) Turn Off The T.V. - T.V. promotes less mental activity and a lazy brain. Rip that T.V. chord out of the wall, take it to the street, get a baseball bat and beat the plasma and high-definition straight out the back of the cathode ray tube! …Or, just turn it off… and go do something else.

8) Control High Cholesterol - Eat properly, exercise, consider fish oil, consider taking a cholesterol medication if you need to…lower cholesterol correlates with a reduced risk to develop Alzheimer’s.

9) Get Enough Sleep - We all know that sleep is good for the brain, yet most people still do not get enough. Have some self-control and set aside at least 8 hours of sleep each night. As we age, we still need plenty of sleep. Sleep refreshes the brain and promotes relaxation and releases anti-aging hormones.

10) Practice Meditation - Meditation has been known to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, promote positive thinking, and reduce depression and anxiety. Meditation also increases memory, alertness and task-performance. Meditating increases the thickness of gray-matter and increases overall brain activity.

11) Think Positive Thoughts - Positive thinking reduces stress, makes people feel happier, and is a trait associated with longevity and a healthy brain. Set aside 10 minutes a day and focus only on thinking positive thoughts. It will make you naturally feel more energized and happy.

12) Get Adequate Vitamins (Especially Vitamin E) - Vitamin E has been studied in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and is found to be somewhat helpful. I recommend getting adequate amounts of all vitamins. Pop that daily multi-vitamin and consider taking some extra Vitamin E…

13) Reduce Stress - It’s never a good idea to unnecessarily stress yourself out. Some stress is healthy, but too much actually kills brain cells with excess amounts of cortisol. Use techniques like deep breathing, self-hypnosis, and brainwave entrainment to reduce stress.

14) Write In A Daily Journal- Writing is a great activity to keep your mind stimulated and reflect on daily activities. Writing definitely stimulates the brain in profound ways that talking doesn’t. Go buy a journal to write your thoughts in each day, it will be a great investment!

15) Get Out Of The House! - Get out of your house, go do something outside. Get some sunshine on your skin, exchange smiles with a stranger, experience the beauty of nature! Just being outside can really have an significant impact on your mood and brain.

16) Do Some Neurofeedback - Neurofeedback promotes brainwave flexibility and the conscious control of mental activity to reduce stress, increase focus, and keep a healthy brain. If you can afford Neurofeedback, I recommend checking out the Biocybernaut institute and reading the book “Getting Started With Neurofeedback” by John N. Demos.

17) Listen To Music - Listining to music is severely underrated for keeping a healthy brain. Listening to music stimulates increases of activity in the right hemisphere of the brain. The right hemisphere is associated with emotions and creativity. If you bump some tunes while exercising, you could really give your brainpower a big energy jolt.

18) Play Nintendo - Contrary to popular belief, limited amounts of Nintendo is actually good for the brain. Nintendo promotes altered brainwave patterns in the visual cortex and overall brain flexibility. It is only when Nintendo playing time gets out of control that it isn’t good for overall brain function… About 30 - 60 minutes of Nintendo each day will actually benefit the player’s brain.

19) Drink Fruit Juice - A study has been done showing seniors who drink fruit & or vegetable juice at least 3 times a week have a lower risk of developing A.D. than those who don’t. The antioxidant action of “polyphenols” is well noted to help prevent A.D. is found in many other A.D. prevention studies.

20) Eat Curries - The consumption of curries have been studied in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Apparently, people from India eat a lot of curries and have a significantly reduced Alzheimer’s disease rate than the United States. It has been found that eating “curries” actually prevents Alzheimer’s via an enzyme found in the curries. This enzyme reduces “free radicals” in the body and is great for the brain!

21) Don’t Do Drugs- (Drugs are bad for you…) Drugs kill brain cells, make you naturally more stressed out, and decrease healthy brain activity. Just stay away from them; common sense…

22) Cut Alcohol Consumption - Alcohol isn’t good for brain function. Either cut alcohol consumption or make a conscious effort to reduce your alcohol intake.

23) Play Brain Fitness Games (i.e. “Brain Age”) - Games like Brain Age for the Nintendo DS and “Big Brain Academy” do actually challenge your brain and promote quick thinking. The nice thing about these games is that they chart your progress.

24) Consider Taking “Statins” – A class of drugs created to lower cholesterol levels that includes: Lipitor, Crestor, & Zocor. Studies have shown that these drugs can aid in Alzheimer’s prevention.

25) Selective Estrogen Receptor Molecules (SERMs) – These drugs (i.e. Evista) were made to prevent bone-loss from Osteoperosis. These SERMs have also been proven to be effective at lowering the risk of developing “cognitive impairment” – a memory disease which often precedes Alzheimer’s.

26) Change It Up, Do Something Different! - Your brain grows new connections when it’s environment changes. Experience more in life, stop following the same daily routine. Your brain actually grows when it is exposed to a new atmosphere. Get out, get change!

27) Control High Blood Pressure - Know your blood pressure, get it checked regularly, avoid salty foods…you know what to do. Lowered blood pressure is associated with a reduced Alzheimer’s risk.

28) Plan Your Day - By planning at least a couple of activities in advance for each day, you will always have something to look forward to. This is good for your brain because it keeps you excited and wards off depression.

29) Hang Out With “True Friends”- Being with people that truly care for you and always love you benefits you emotionally and mentally. You will naturally be less stressed and always have someone to share a stimulating conversation with.

30) Live For The Moment - Take whatever action you need to “today” to make your dreams come true “tomorrow.” You never know what could happen to your life… Though this last one may not relate to preventing Alzheimer’s disease, I feel that it is generally a good rule for everyone to live by!

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