Walnuts to Improve Brain Function?
Walnuts do not only taste good but can have many health benefits including improved brain function.
Walnuts have been shown to improve memory, cognition and neuronal effects related to oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation (INF) in animals and human trials.
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We are sharing this information with you to keep you informed, improve your health and well-being and help you understand critical health care information and how it impacts your health and your wallet. So what are the implications?
Walnut looks like the brain. The folds and wrinkles of a walnut resembles the brain. The shape of the nut even approximates the body part, looking like it has left and right hemispheres. And it’s no surprise walnuts are nicknamed “brain food”—they have a very high content of omega-3 fatty acids, which help support brain function.
Walnuts develop over three dozen neuro-transmitters for brain function. They may also help head off dementia. A recent study found that walnut extract broke down the protein-based plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. They found walnuts reversed some signs of brain aging in rats. Walnuts also appear to enhance signaling within the brain and encourage new messaging links between brain cells
Fibrillar amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) is the principal component of amyloid plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Scientific studies suggest that walnuts may reduce the risk or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by maintaining Abeta in the soluble form. Basically, walnuts had inhibited the protein from becoming solid. It is proposed that polyphenolic compounds (such as flavonoids) present in walnuts may be responsible for its “anti-amyloidogenic” activity.
What can you do in addition to eating walnuts?
According to the Mayo Clinic:
Evidence suggests that the same factors that put you at risk of heart disease also may increase the chance that you’ll develop Alzheimer’s.
Examples include:
- Lack of exercise
- Smoking
- High blood pressure
- High blood cholesterol
- Elevated homocysteine levels
- Poorly controlled diabetes
- A diet lacking in fruits and vegetables
We can discuss many more options such as weight control, nutritional supplementation and beneficial fats because lifestyle management is crucial in preventing chronic degenerative diseases.
Remember health is a journey and not a destination. What you do in the practice of health care will go miles and pay dividends over time.
If you still feel that you are struggling in creating a healthy living plan, you will be thrilled to know that Algonquin Chiropractic Center has powerful programs that will teach you the specific steps that will help you to become and stay healthier.