Two more ways to protect your brain....

Today's Post: Friday, 7-24-2009

We’ve already posted that taking turmeric supplements (&/or eating curried foods often) that contain curcumin & related compounds tends to prevent the amyloid build up that causes Alzheimer’s disease and tests suggest may even act to remove it. (Doing this also tends to prevent many cancers including a common kind of breast cancer.)

We’ve posted that the actions, foods, and supplements that protect your heart and keep your blood sugar and insulin levels low enough to be in the desirable range also protects your brain both from age related mental decline and from Alzheimer’s disease. (Such things as NOT eating foods containing hydrogenated oils, eating lots of nonstarchy vegetables, NOT drinking soft drinks, NOT eating foods made from refined grains, and getting regular, vigorous exercise, eating foods that contain sugar only occasionally, plus taking certain supplements -- can do this well.)

We’ve posted that people who eat blueberries several times every week not only stay sharp mentally better than those who don’t, if you haven’t been eating blueberries and have lost a step mentally and begin to eat blueberries several times every week, you’ll often regain much of your mental abilities that you lost.

Today’s Early to Rise had yet another way to protect your brain. Since this method has many other health benefits as well, I wanted to be sure to post about it today. In fact, you may well already be doing this for one of its other health benefits. (I was doing just that.)

Even better, the information in this posts reveals, though it doesn’t say so directly, a SECOND way to protect your brain.

I’ll include the article; and then comment on it and add the second new way to protect your brain right after it.

"This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com."

"Protect Your Brain With One Powerful Nutrient

By Dr. James LaValle

You might think that a head injury has little in common with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other neurodegenerative diseases. And, yes, they are unrelated on the surface. But when it comes to protecting your brain from all of these traumas, you can rely on one natural nutrient: magnesium.

Studies have confirmed that better magnesium levels help protect brain tissue from the damage that can be caused by any head trauma.

Magnesium acts as a natural calcium channel blocker, which makes it a principal nutrient for helping to control blood pressure. In the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study, researchers found that people who took in enough magnesium while on a calorie-controlled diet were able to lower their blood pressure. And this same calcium channel blocking effect plays a role in protecting the brain.

The brain operates on a balance between "excitatory" and "inhibitory" activity. A neurotransmitter called glutamate is the primary trigger for the excitatory activity. When brain cells are activated by glutamate, calcium ions rush in. This is fine as long as the excitation is kept under reasonable control. But too much calcium entering the cells can be deadly to brain tissue. That's where the calcium channel blocking effect of magnesium comes in.

Magnesium is also known to help control glutamate levels, possibly because it blocks the primary excitatory receptor (NMDA). And it helps glucose metabolism in the brain. Together, these functions of magnesium prevent brain cell death.

As I mentioned above, magnesium doesn't just protect your brain from physical injury caused by an accident. Over-excitation of the brain as a result of excessive glutamate activity is a major cause of neurodegenerative disease. Stress hormones promote excitatory activity, as do dietary sources of glutamate. Of course, we need to control the amount of stress we have in our lives and watch what we eat. But getting enough magnesium is also critical for prevention.

The recommended daily allowance for magnesium is 400 mg/day. However, I think 500 to 800 mg is necessary for most people. Beans, nuts, and seeds are good dietary sources of magnesium - but to get optimal levels, it's helpful to take supplements too. At the LaValle Institute, we like magnesium taurate and magnesium glycinate in particular, because taurine and glycine are amino acids that also help calm the brain.

[Ed. Note: It truly is possible to improve your health just by making wise choices when it comes to diet and lifestyle. James B. LaValle, RPh, ND, CCN - founder of the LaValle Metabolic Institute and a nationally recognized expert on natural therapies....]"

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So if you eat greens, beans, & nuts, if you aren’t allergic to them, that are high in magnesium; take a multivitamin plus minerals that has 50 mg or so of magnesium; and also take an additional 400 to 600 mg a day of magnesium, you will protect your brain; process sugars better; & tend to have lower blood pressure or not get high blood pressure.

You also get a side benefit from the magnesium and from the fiber in these foods. You’ll be almost immune from getting constipated.

Important note: Taking in this much magnesium AND taking a lot of Milk of Magnesia that’s also high in magnesium can overdo your blood levels of magnesium enough to cause health problems or even be dangerous. So be sure to avoid doing that.

The second way to protect your brain that this reveals is to do your very best NOT to ingest MSG.

MSG has been shown separately to cause the people who do ingest it regularly to be fatter than they otherwise would have been even if they eat the same amount of food!

So, we’ve already posted about that suggesting you stay away from MSG.

But NOT ingesting MSG may well protect your brain also. The MSG stands for Mono Sodium Glutamate.

Here’s a quote from the article. ” Over-excitation of the brain as a result of excessive glutamate activity is a major cause of neurodegenerative disease. Stress hormones promote excitatory activity, as do dietary sources of glutamate.”

Taking in enough magnesium helps to protect you from this effect. And the second way to protect yourself from this effect is to NOT ingest MSG.