Your brain is, in my opinion, the most important and often most neglected organs in your body. Most people don’t think twice about their brain, until it stops working properly! I am sure you would agree that mental decline is something none of us ever dream of getting. So let’s take action NOW, before we forget why we are even taking action.

Would it come as a shock to you that the #1 health issue for those aged 65 and older is “maintaining mental sharpness.” Is it for you also?

We do live in a society that requires our brains to be working 100% of the time – from the day to day tasks of thinking, feeling, comprehending, sorting, tasking, sensing and healing- your brain is quite literally “on fire” with energy. Some researchers are now suggesting that Alzheimer’s, Dementia and age-related cognitive decline are no longer “disease of age” but instead degenerative diseases (ie ones you CAN CONTROL).

In addition to regular chiropractic care here are my top suggestions to have a better brain, sharper focus and immense cognitive powers for the entire time God has you scheduled to be here.

1. Eat Like A Caveman – Several studies have shown that eating like our ancestors is great for your brain. Your “caveman” self would only have access to food whenever he/she was lucky enough to find it (nuts/seeds/berries/fruits) or kill it (meats, fish, poultry, game meats). While I doubt you will pick up your trusted bow and arrow or spear and go hunt for your food this week -lets “hunt” when we are at the local shopping store. Meats (buffalo, duck, beef, poultry) are readily available – just make sure they are as clean as possible, grass fed and wild caught. Fresh vegetables, nuts, legumes, spices and plant oils (olive, avocado, coconut, nut oils) have tremendous brain boosting power. Alzheimer’s, Dementia and age related decline is connected to spikes in blood sugar, so this type of diet will keep your insulin and sugar low and encourage you brains preferred fuel source – ketones. Just because you are a cave man doesn’t mean you get to load upon fruits and vegetables – watch out for high glycemic carbs, even natural ones. Same goes with grains – unless you plan to locate some ancient whole wheat grains (Einkorn or Emmer) grind them by hand and mixing it following the recipe in Ezekiel 4:9 – it’s best to skip those all together.

2. Blue Is Your Brains Favorite Color – Blueberries are superstars for your brain. Tufts University believes you should “Call the blueberry the brain-berry” because their studies have found that rats fed a diet high in blueberry showed little to no onset of brain related disease, when compared to rats fed a traditional rat-feed diet. Of note, the researchers took rats with obviously brain decay and fed them blueberry extracts and noted their brains became more “plastic” -i.e. the neurons were able to rewire themselves around the damaged areas, in essence reprograming themselves for normal function. This suggests that blueberries can protect, and REVERSE brain related decay.

3. Turmeric Isn’t Just For Indian Food – Turmeric is an extremely powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. This golden spice has been theorized to be able to replace approximate 800 different prescription medications, including those used for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia. Of interesting note, dementia is India is almost nonexistent when compared to other industrialized countries. Curcumin (another similar spice) has been found to protect brain cells by preventing beta-amyloid plaque (the clinical sign for dementia and Alzheimer’s).

4. Brain-ersize – You have probably heard “your brain is a muscle, you either use it or lose it.” While the latter is certainly true, your brain is mostly fat and nerve cells. But, every time you activate your muscles (ie exercise) you are stimulating the brain! Nerve fibers must become excited and fire a signal to contract your muscles, and your muscles must be able to give a reciprocal feedback signal to the brain. Biking, yoga, walking, running, swimming – these are all ways to make your brain go! Movement of your body also helps to pump the sacra-occipital pump (you spines connection to your cerebral spinal fluid). Just like any fluid that becomes rot with stagnation, you cerebral spinal fluid must get moving for your brain to stay young and healthy! This is why Chiropractic care is so important – it ensures proper movement and alignment for your spinal fluids to flow freely.

5. Meditation Moves Gyri – Anything you can do to reduce stress in your life, and in your brain, is anti-aging. Various types of stress can actually shrink you brain!. Studies have shown that medication has a significant impact on promoting a healthy mood and can even lower the inflammation levels of the body. Meditation can seem like a “crazy thing to do” – especially when googling “how to meditate” shows us pictures of people with one foot over their head and the other tucked somewhere we don’t want to discuss. When I talk meditation, I’m talking mindfulness – the idea of practicing the ability to finely tune your ability to pay attention to what is important vs what is not. It’s certainly a skill to be able to sit calmly and “tune out” the world, listening for the soft beat of your heart in your ear and opening yourself to a moment for God to talk to you. I promise you one thing: when you begin to see the results of prayer/mediation you will begin scheduling 30-1hr sessions daily for yourself.