While some believe we are the sum of our experiences, it might be more accurate to say that we are the sum of what we remember.
Our memories are what define us, our relationships, and our future choices. For these reasons and many others, it’s important to pay attention to keeping your brain healthy. Here are some scientifically valid ways to keep your brain and memories sharp as you age.
Exercise — Boosts blood flow to the brain, upregulates brain-derived nootropic factor (BDNF), heat shock proteins, and autophagy, which may prevent and help treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Endurance exercise may increase neuronal autophagy more than other forms of exercise (R, R2 R3).
Fast — Fasting activates autophagy, which removes damaged proteins from cells, including brain cells (R).
Lower your protein and carbohydrate intake — Reduces mTOR and IGF-1 which allows for improved recycling of damaged proteins (R).
Take Saunas — Boost your heat shock proteins to prevent misfolded proteins from contributing to Alzheimer’s disease (R).
Lithium — Shown to promote autophagy and promote brain health (R, R2, R3, R4).
Take Supplements and Drink Tea
Drink green tea — ECGC can stimulate autophagy (R, R2).
Drink Black tea — Boosts AMPK and upregulates FOX03A (R).
Drink guarana/ take guarana extract — Shown to boost autophagy, SOD-3, HSP, and reduce intracellular reactive oxygen molecules (R).
Resveratrol, Pterostilbene — Boosts SIRT1, improves autophagy, and reduces inflammation (R, R2, R3, R4).
Blueberries, Cacao — Boost blood flow, BDNF, and reduces oxidative stress associated with amyloid beta (R, R2, R3).
Limit:
First generation anti-histamines use (diphenhydramine, doxylamine) — These are related to the development of dementia in the elderly (R).
Statins — They have practical applications, such as lowering cholesterol and reducing inflammation, but they prevent the synthesis of co-q-10, which is needed for energy production in the mitochondria (R, R2).
If you take a statin, highly consider supplementing with co-q-10. If you’re over 35, consider using ubiquinol, the active form of ubiquinone. This form doesn’t need to be converted to ubiquinol in your body, which becomes less efficient as we age.
Late night snacking — During sleep, autophagy and glymphatic circulation are more active. These processes help to degrade proteins that can lead to Alzheimer’s. Eating disrupts autophagy (R).
Eating excess processed food — Causes inflammation, lacks sufficient nutrients, causes microbiome disruption, and poor metabolic health (R).
Hopefully, you found some of this info memorable. If you have any suggestions to maintain a good memory, I would love to hear about them.
Here’s a cool video that shows some of the cellular pathologies of Alzheimer’s disease.