Food and exercise for Thought

By: Charles Van Order

People are always so concerned with the inflamation of their hips, thighs, and/or buttox.   All the while something someone should be concerned with, that is even more important, is the inflimation of the hippocampus (the memory part of the brain)!

Studies have show that this type of inflammation can interfere with very important things such as memory.   It can also intensify depression, accelerate dentia and it is now being studied how it effects Alzheimer’s and other brain aging conditions.

So now you know the risks that are involved, what can you do about it?   Well, we all know the old addage “if you don’t use it, you lose it”.  The very same holds true for our brains.

A perfect example of this is if you get home and the first thing you want to do is just grab a cold drink and a bag of chips  and sit in front of the TV.  Guess what, you are doing the same thing to your brain that you are doing to your physical body.

Yes, we have all had that feeling of being worn out and getting home from a stressful day.  The last thing we want to do is exercise.  Especially our brain.  Heck, you have been using it all day right?  The beautiful part is you don’t have to pull out the encyclopedia and start studying.  There are other great, and easy, exercises you can do that you may find to be a lot of fun.

1. Pick up the newspaper.   This time flip to the funny pages (see I told you this would be fun). Usually here you will find crossword puzzles, sudoku, and other mind stimulating puzzles to keep your mind occupied and sharp.
2. If your children are home, why not offer them up a game of Monopoly or Trivial Pursuit. Board games have shown to stimulate the mind and get it working.  Plus it could be great bonding time for the family.
3. Meet up with some friends after work and have that drink outside of your house.  Studies have proven that participating in group discussion is a great exercise for the mind.
4. Play some music.  No, I don’t mean throw Lady Gaga in the CD Player.  Maybe pick up a used insturment from your local music shop.  Or get something that you have always wanted to play but never learned is a great start.  This will not only stimulate your mind, it will also allow you so much more expression in your creative world.
5. Simply take a walk through a local park or just down your suburban street.  Stop occasionally to look at the birds, the trees, the way the houses are designed.  Talk with the neighbors.  This is also good exercise for the body as well.
6. My favorite!  You can start a poker game.  That’s right, even playing cards is a form of brain exercise.  It makes you think, plan, strategize.  These are all strong points for exercising the mind and enjoying yourself too.

See, now that wasn’t so bad now was it?  There are many other ways of exercising such as the good old basics of reading and writing.  I would have mentioned those but they didn’t seem as much fun to put up next to Poker and Board game playing.  But seriously, just thinking about what mind stimulating activities you might want to do can be a little exercise as well.

OK, so now we have got down the exercise part we start to feel good.  But, unfortunately, just like our bodies, exercise by itself is not enough.  Yup, you guessed it.  Diet is another important step.  So what does one eat to help maintain a good mind?

Celery – yup, the snack that tastes great with some peanutbutter or cream cheese. Celery is a top source of a high-powered flavonoid known as luteolin.  This chemical is being studied and discovered that it may help keep the inflammation of the brain, in the hippocampus at bay. The best part is that when you eat celery, you actually burn off more calories chewing it then you take in by eating it.  Not a bad trade off.

Celery can be eaten raw, blended in with a tomato drink (V8 anyone?), or a personal best is to chop it up and put it in your tuna/egg salad for that added little crunch.

If you are not a big fan of celery, have no fear.  You can find the same inflammation fighter in green peppers, chili peppers, spinach, dark green lettuce, chamomile tea, and thyme.

So next time you are out with your friends having a stimulating conversation and you feel hungry and order a huge batch of chicken wings.  Remember to eat all the celery on the plate.  You will be helping yourself to a much longer brain life.

4 Responses to “Food and exercise for Thought”

1. Dianna Zhe says:

   March 1, 2010 at 7:26 PM

   Love your artical. Its so true. Cool site too. I’m going to try the facial. I’ll let you know how I like it. DIANNA

   Reply
2. Charles says:

   March 2, 2010 at 6:30 AM

   I am glad you liked it. Please try out the facial and leave your response there for Judy. I am sure she will be excited to find out how it worked for you!

   Reply
3. David says:

   March 2, 2010 at 6:48 AM

   Wow, what a great article. I always knew that I should be exercising more but never thought of exercising my brain! Ha ha. Thanks for posting this article and giving some “FUN” exercise ideas. Keep up the great work!

   Reply
4. Cass Nebens says:

   March 20, 2010 at 12:41 PM

   A well written post. I’m an online gamer and I’m always looking for information like this to give me reason to keep playing

   Reply