Interactive Leonardo: The 50s

A lifestyle featuring a low-fat, high-fiber diet, regular exercise, stress management, and brain-building nutritional supplements can help you regenerate your brain, even out your moods, and promote better sleep. The aging of the brain between the years 40 and 60, studies suggest, can be slowed through a regular exercise program. Practicing stress management exercises such as meditation, yoga, and biofeedback has been found to nourish and oxygenate the brain, even out mood swings, and also help people sleep better.

Brain-Building Supplements
Although you should consult your physician before beginning a nutritional supplement regimen, there are relatively few risks involved with taking the following brain-building supplements:

• Vitamin E protects neurons from damage by free radicals and even restores damaged neurotransmitter receptor sites on neurons. Leading brain researchers recommend a daily dosage of 400 international units of vitamin E. Some studies have shown that taking vitamin E helps prevent Alzheimer's disease and even slows the progression of Alzheimer's once it already exists.

• Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that also increases the antioxidative potential of other nutrients. It is also a vital ingredient in the creation of several neurotransmitters, including acetylcholine, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Take 1,000 mg. of vitamin C, several times daily.

• Ginkgo biloba powerfully enhances cerebral blood circulation and oxygenation. A daily dosage of 90 mg. is often sufficient. In hundreds of studies, ginkgo has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to improve cognitive function, neurophysiology, and blood flow to and in the brain.

• Lecithin's active ingredient is phosphatidyl choline, the nutritional building material for acetylcholine, the primary neurotransmitter of thought and memory. Much research demonstrates that consuming lecithin or phosphatidyl choline can improve cognitive function. A reasonable dosage of lecithin is about 1,500 mg daily.

• Coenzyme Q10, a naturally occurring enzyme that is found throughout the body, has been found to promote cognitive function in some subjects. This is because it increases the energy-generating potential in each of the body's cells, including the neurons. Coenzyme Q10 helps the cells' energy centers (the mitochondria) to produce energy.

• Valerian and chamomile, mildly sedative herbs, are safe and gentle sleep remedies. Try drinking a cup or two of valerian tea or chamomile tea before going to bed. Next Page >

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