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You might be battling with the ADD/ADHD disorder. What measures you are applying to keep your body and brain at pace? Be careful and don’t choose ‘anything’ available to eat so that you are keeping yourself healthy.
The purpose of this week’s article is to summaries the things that we have learned about brain function and to emphasize some of the most important insights. This will hopefully provide you with a ‘big picture view’ of this vital topic. I am going to do my best not to enter into too much technical detail while presenting this ‘big picture’. This is why I am going to present the information in the form of the “Top 8 Nutrition Tips for Optimum Brain Function”
1. Maintain Balance: The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. To think therefore that it can operate successfully on just one kind of ‘miracle substance’ is a fallacy! Your brain needs a huge variety of nutrients and vitamins and minerals to function properly. Do your best not to deprive it of that by concentrating too heavily on just one type of food or supplement.
2. Do not skimp on protein: This may seem like a no-brainer, but it is often the case that people skimp on protein, either through neglect or through following the latest diet fad. The fact is however, that your body and brain cannot function properly without the basic building blocks provided by sufficient amounts of protein in your diet. Making sure that you get enough protein is especially important if you are following a vegetarian diet as you will need to constantly combine certain foods to make sure that you achieve the right protein mix.
3. Choose consistent energy supplying methodology: Our bodies can’t perform effectively without being controlled by brain. As it is significant energy consuming part of our body at using approximately 20% of consumed energy, it plays greater role in the body. Brain should be supplied constant energy. When energy supplying process is continuous and balanced, its impact is seen for extended periods. Low-GI food is recommended to fulfill this particular aim. The foods release energy for longer periods and are good dietary options to nourish brain.
4. Eat the right kinds of fats: Fats perform key functions in terms of protection and membrane formation in the brain. These roles are best fulfilled by fats that are optimally suited for this role and that are therefore needed by the brain in sufficient quantities. The most important ‘brain fatty acids’ are: Omega 3, Omega 6 and ‘pure’ DHA. Including sources of these fats in your diet is one of the most important things that you can do to improve brain power.
5. Don’t forget the vitamins and minerals: The human brain needs several kinds of vitamins and minerals in order to do its job of being the nerve center of the body properly. Some of the most important ones are: Vitamin E, B Vitamins, Vitamin C and Magnesium.
6. Don’t take toxins and other harmful substances in your food: The fact remains true that the food items which are laced with pesticides must not be taken as they are dangerous for your body. Some of the chemicals are though less harmful but they too create lots of problems when they are taken uncontrollably. Most prominent types of those chemicals include specific categories of artificial colours and flavours besides a few trans-fatty acids produced from heating fat byproducts.
7. Supplement where necessary: It is quite difficult to achieve the right ‘mix’ in terms of getting all the right nutrients, vitamins and mineral required for optimum brain function from your diet. It may therefore sometimes be necessary to increase the levels of some of them through supplements. This is often necessary in the case of certain vitamins and also with trans-fatty acids.
8. Get enough exercise: This is perhaps not a ‘nutrition tip’ as such but it is nonetheless one that is very important. Regular exercise aids circulation of blood through the body and is therefore of very beneficial for the functioning of the brain as the most ‘energy hungry’ part of the body. Exercise can also potentially reduce body fat levels. This is very important as studies have shown that fat stored around the body (especially around the middle) can interfere with certain aspects of healthy brain function.
Whatever discussed above is part of our common sense. It is ironical that people understand intricacies but don’t initiate any measure. You can make up your mind why still some people are ‘fuzzy’ and ambitionless. When we fight with the symptoms of ADD/ADHD we must take special care to keep our brains ‘do the right thing’ in terms of nutrition.
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