Balancing Brain Chemistry

Key to Mental Focus and Clarity

After age 40 our brain chemistry begins changing, and sometimes not for the better. In addition to the physical size of our brain shrinking, there are other changes. The most important negative changes include increased damage by free radicals and an increase in a sticky, caramel-like substance called lipofuscin.

Every day we learn of neurodegenerative diseases increasing. Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Lou Gehrig's disease see to be on the rise. If you know someone who's gone through any of these, then you know that they're no fun.

Let's talk about how these changes can affect you and what you can do right now to prevent future problems.

Free Radicals and Oxidation

Like all other organs, your brain gets assaulted by free radicals daily. Why is this important?

Free radicals can be compared to little fiery pellets that bounce around in your cells burning everything they touch. Since cells are like fragile little metabolic factories, these free radicals are like little bulls in the china shop of your brain. Nothing good comes from them.

Once cells are damaged, they can no longer do the things they normally do – make energy, create enzymes, manufacture important proteins and much more. In the case of your brain, this has a strong impact on how well you think, remember and respond to the world around you.

The good news is that you can reverse this trend by taking antioxidants. For more on brain chemistry and antioxidants, click here,

Lipofuscin - The Caramel Between Your Ears

If you imagine melting a big package of caramel and then pouring it over your computer, you will get an idea of the effect of lipofuscin on your brain. By the way, we don't recommend actually doing this!

At the very least, this process slows down your thinking and interferes with your natural brain functions. At it's worst, this may very well have implications related to Alzheimer's and other neurological disorders.

Since you can't scour out your sticky cells with a pot scrubber, what can you do to reduce or minimize this process from happening? First, it pays to understand some of the mechanisms that create it in the first place. You can learn more about how this process affects your brain chemistry by clicking here