Nutrients for Brain Health

In order to understand how to do that, we need to know which brain nutrients optimize mental function as well as take sensible precautions in the selection of those compounds.

In 1986, America alone had health care costs for dementia and Alzheimer's disease with over $50 million dollars a year spent.

It's accelerated since then and shows no real signs of stopping.

Needless to say, we need to take care of our brain and it will certainly take care of us.

(This page will also discuss the best brain natural nutrients and what you should look for before adding them to your nutritional supplement regimen.)  

Good Brain Natural Nutrients

A key component of this Nutrients For Brain page is knowing how diet and brain power coincide. People need to remember that the body is a highly coordinated, interdependent organism that works synergistically together.

If we have, for example, a healthy vascular system with clean arteries, this ensures good blood flow to the brain as well as the rest of the body.

If, however, we eat excessive sugar in the form of highly refined carbohydrates as well as hydrogenated oils foods, this do not contribute to brain health. Oxidized fats are toxic to the body.

Our diet is a critical factor to healthy brain function. A good rule of thumb is this: avoid processed foods.

Natural foods like olives, cold-pressed olive oil, raw nuts and seeds cold-water fish, and avocados have Omega-3 essential fatty acids that the body and brain need for healthy function. So, what should you eat? Overall, fish, nuts, seeds are good brain nutrients.

So are eggs and red meat but there's a downside there. Eggs and red meat are high in choline and initial investigation says "extra choline in the adult diet boosts brainpower," but eggs are high in cholesterol and meat is not good for the intestinal tract.

Therefore, you should eat them sparingly. You can, however, obtain the choline you need through a good supplement. This is doubly important as choline is one of the forerunners for acetylcholine; it's a critical neurotransmitter needed for healthy brain function.

The best health brain foods are red meat, fish, nuts, and seeds. When looking for nuts, look for those with a high Omega 3 content. Almonds are an excellent choice. Which fish should you choose? Look for cold-water fish like tuna, mackerel, and salmon.

However, bear in mind the FDA has recommended that people limit their intake of fish due to high contamination of toxins like dioxins, PCBs, and even mercury.

Salmon and sardines are good choices as they are both high in DMAE, a naturally occurring nutrient found fish. This nutrient is important as it helps protect the integrity of our cell membranes.

Perhaps DMAE's primary importance is that it plays a prime role in the manufacture of acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is a precursor to memory, concentration, and in countering mood swings.

So, maybe the old wives' tale is true that fish is good brain food. The downside of too much fish consumption is the possibility, however remote, of ingesting toxins and it also lacks fiber in going through the intestinal tract.

For vegans and vegetarians, obtaining needed amounts of essential fatty acids is difficult due to no meat intake. I therefore suggest good brain nutrients supplements (I discuss what to look for farther down the page).

Nutrients for Brain Compounds

Let's now talk about key brain nutrients that can not only stave off brain degeneration but actually significantly improve your brain's function.

Gotu Kola
In one study, when Gotu Kola was given to children with capsicum (cayenne pepper) and ginseng, it increased I.Q. of mentally retarded children. Mowrey, Herbal Tonic Therapies, (New Canaan, Connecticut: Keats Publishing, Inc., 1993) 53.

Gotu Kola is ranked, and deservedly so, as one of the greatest herbs.

Like most medicinal herbs, its taste is earthy yet mildly bitter and sweet combination. (We also make it as an herbal tea in addition to supplementing our diet with it in tablet form.) Without question, however you take it, Gotu Kola deserves to be ranked with powerful memory supplements such as Gingko and DMAE.

 Some of the benefits of Gotu Kola are better concentration, memory, improved blood flow through blood vessels, and general better cognitive function.

Gingko Biloba
Gingko Biloba, or Ginkgo Biloba as some spell it, is one of the most powerful brain nutrients on the planet. Gingko Biloba has long been recognized as one of the very best memory supplements known to humankind. Gingko also has an illustrious history as it is considered to come from the oldest tree species on earth -- a species of tree that dates back literally over 200 million years! Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles Neuropsychiatric Institute used positron-emission tomography to study brain regions associated with memory and found that gingko biloba correlated with better brain functioning in these areas.

The herb works by increasing blood flow throughout the body and is thought to support memory recall by repairing circulatory malfunctions in the brain.

Nutrients for Brain Precautions

Whenever you embark upon possible supplementation, we encourage you to discuss it over with your doctor. Pregnant and nursing women especially should not take any supplements without doing so. DMAE, Ginkgo Biloba, and Gotu Kola are powerful, but what about side effects? At this time, there are no real known side effects with DMAE. Gingko Biloba, however as it's a blood thinner, when used with prescription medication, there could be some unwanted interaction.

Taken by itself, it is safe if the dosage is small. Gotu Kola actually can cause sensitivity to sunlight.

Be advised if you have the type of skin that can burn easily, you should be mindful of this. Overall, though, it is a very safe herb. Take in recommended dosages with all herbals.

How To Choose Good Brain Nutrients Supplements

1. The supplements should be produced at pharmaceutical standard GMP registered facilities. Facilities that are GMP registered comply with the most rigid standards so as to minimize the possibility of product contaminants. (These are the same standards pharmaceutical companies in the United States are required to operate under as mandated by the FDA.) Nutritional supplements are not regulated by FDA and as such fraud is rampant with many so-called supplements containing contaminants with 1 in 5 not having the ingredients as proclaimed on the label!
2. Ensure the supplement manufacturer has a Certificate of Analysis (COA) on file for review by you the customer thus confirming the potency of the herbal ingredients listed on the label.
3. Ideally, make sure the supplement does not contain any fillers or additives such as sucrose (sugar), starch, gluten, silica (sand) or any other artificial colors, dyes, or flavors.
4. Make sure the herbal nutrients are made from standardized herbal extracts. Standardized extracts mean you are getting the key active ingredients which is what provides the therapeutic benefit. Many supplement companies don't use standardized herbal extracts deliberately as it's very expensive to do so. The consequence? You get lesser quality ingredients and therefore lesser results.
5. Make sure it is a complete supplement with a full complement of vitamins and minerals. Having Biotin, Folic Acid, vitamin B5 is necessary for the production of DMAE. You deserve the best so find the best.

Nutrients for Brain Supplement

After much research, we found a company based in New Zealand that meets the above criteria. I mention New Zealand deliberately as it has among the most rigorous regulatory requirements in the world for the manufacture of nutritional supplements.

Their standards even surpass the U.S. FDA requirements for prescription medications. They have a product that meets all the above criteria entitled Neuro-Natural Memory. It has standardized extracts of gingko biloba, choline, gotu kola, DMAE, and other nutrients for brain cells.

It has a full gambit of vitamins, minerals, amino acids that you need for optimum brain health. I've been using this company's supplements for over a year. In all honesty, we've not used neuro-natural memory extensively as it was only released in July 2005 after rigorous research.

I hope this article on nutrients for brain has been useful to you.

Yours in health,
Nutritional-Supplement-Bible.com