SUPPLEMENTS, VITAMINS, AND HERBS ARE NECESSARY IN ANY BRAIN IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM!!
Brain supplements are vital for your brain health and function. If you're serious about brain improvement you must seriously consider these products:
1. Matcha Tea
What is Matcha?
Real Matcha is the very high-quality, stone-ground powdered form of select shade-grown Japanese green tea leaves. It's like regular green tea on steroids, and then some: rather than just drinking green tea leaf-infused water, when you consume Matcha, you are actually getting the whole green tea leaf ... and a very high quality green tea leaf at that (real Matcha is shade-grown, carefully prepared, hand-picked Tencha-grade). You therefore are drinking the full benefits of the best of the green tea leaf itself.
Studies show that Matcha tea's benefits include lowering your risk of stroke to lowering cholesterol to fighting cancer to fighting cavities and gum disease to increasing mental clarity ... all without the jittery effects of coffee.
Further, high-grade Matcha green tea is exponentially more powerful than regular brewed green teas, so it's like amplifying all of these wonderful health and mental benefits in as little as one comparative serving. For example, Matcha green tea has approximately 70 times the antioxidants of orange juice, even higher than blueberries, and its unique EGCG catechin element (the subject of much current research) is one of the most powerful immune-boosting and anti-cancer substances known. And Matcha green tea contains approximately 137 times the amount of EGCG as regular steeped green tea.
Imagine what that does to your brain and body if you drink it every day.
Of course, there's no one single cure-all "superfood" that you should take at the expense of an overall healthy diet.
Yet, you do have to wonder why the Japanese seem to live longer than people elsewhere in the world. And just how those Japanese monks are able to focus and concentrate intensely for 12-hour marathon meditation sessions. Maybe it's because they always drink matcha at the beginning of these sessions? Matcha is an integral, interwoven part of the religion, the meditation and ceremonies.
And they've been doing it for over 800 years.
But there are numerous other health benefits that you might not know about: several studies have shown it possess anti-viral and antibiotic properties, which assist with everything from digestion to killing harmful bacteria to helping prevent colds and flu's. It increases your mental alertness and sharpness while also providing an almost meditative focusing, calming quality. It also has a naturally high vitamin C, flouride and chlorophyll content, among other vitamins and minerals, and nine times the beta carotene of spinach.
Organic Do Matcha is of the finest ceremonial teas. Highly recommended! It’s a perfect food supplement that I drink every day.
2. 88% Cocoa Dark Chocolate
Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease and brain disorders. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body.
3. Rooibos Tea
This is one you can drink anytime, including right before bed as a calming, settling way to wind down your day while fueling your brain and body with a truly mind-blowing array of nutritional elements that surprisingly are still relatively unknown.
But that's about to change, as the word is finally getting out about Rooibos.
You may have already heard about "red tea", or "redbush tea", and perhaps even tried some as part of an herbal tea blend. But real, 100 percent organic Rooibos from South Africa is what we're talking about here, and unlike the situation even just a few years ago, it's finally widely available in its pure native form if you look for it.
What is it? Rooibos (pronounced "roy-boss") tea is a South African/Afrikaans term which translates to "redbush", the name given to a bushy shrub that grows in the Cederberg province near Cape Town, South Africa. The redbush plant produces small yellow flowers and has needle-like leaves, which are collected, chopped and then bruised with special hammers, and then sun-dried and typically oxidized. Since the oxidation turns the leaves a red-orange color, the sun-dried product is used to make the traditional red tea.
The health benefits: researchers at Iwate University in Japan recently found that Rooibos tea protects the brain and nervous system against a process known as "lipid peroxidation". This process occurs when damaging free radicals attack nervous tissue and brain cells, resulting in destruction of the protective outer layers of the brain cells, which leads to cell death. Over time, the damage accumulates and can lead to degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
4. Tumeric
Turmeric is an excellent spice supplement because it, "may help stimulate immune system cells that gobble up the brain-clogging proteins that mark Alzheimer's disease", according to exciting new research by the University of California.
In fact, this isolated compound appears to, "stimulate a specific response against Alzheimer's symptoms", and the researchers believe it may be possible to infuse this compound into patients to actually treat the incurable and fatal brain condition, according to Dr. Milan Fiala of UCLA.
But it's not just Alzheimer's, there's news on the cancer front as well: other related research showed that curcumin, an antioxidant found in turmeric, can help prevent tumors from forming in the laboratory and in rats. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Fiala's team said they had shown earlier that curcumin may affect the brain cells of Alzheimer's patients. But they wanted to pinpoint the precise factor in curcumin, which is a complex compound.
The researchers isolated bisdemethoxycurcumin -- and determined it was the most active ingredient in curcumin. Using blood samples from Alzheimer's patients, they found that bisdemethoxycurcumin boosted immune cells called macrophages to clear a protein called amyloid beta, which clogs the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
5. Sage
Sage as a herbal supplement can be used for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. It is excellent for the brain. Sage is rich in antioxidants, it may help maintain the brain's concentration and focus.
6. Hemp Seed
Shelled hemp seed contains 33 percent pure digestible protein and is rich in iron and vitamin E as well as omega-3 and GLA. A recent report funded by the Canadian government states that hemp protein is comprised of 66 percent high-quality edistin protein, and that hemp seed contains the highest percentage of this substance of any plant source. Hemp also contains three times the vitamin E contained in flax.
While the food supplement hemp seed is an excellent source of protein that also contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, its most important feature is that it provides both essential fatty acids (EFAs) needed in the human diet–linoleic (omega-6 fatty acid) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3). These fats are "essential" because they cannot be manufactured in the body and so must be consumed as food. Hemp has an omega-6/omega-3 ratio of 3.38, which is closest to the optimum 4.0 average recommended by the World Health Organization for the human diet.
EFAs make up a large portion of the brain, hemp is especially beneficial for brain health, particularly memory function. Membrane loss of EFAs has been found in such disorders as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Research has shown that a diet with a proper balance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids–such as in hemp oil–may help delay or reduce the neurological effects of these diseases and improve quality of life.
7. Acai
Acai, which is pronounced AH-SIGH-EE, is a unique berry which grows and is consumed in and around the Amazon rainforests of South America. It's either eaten straight, or more commonly puree'd and mixed with other foods, herbs (particularly the Ginseng-like Guarana, also popular in this region) and drinks in various ways throughout South America and beyond. And it has been consumed by the native peoples of South America for longer than we can know, quite likely thousands of years, revered by many as nothing less than a wonder food -- given the wide range of very palpable health & physiological benefits that those who consume Acai have reported (for a long, long time).
When word got out about the myriad benefits of this odd berry and then numerous scientific research studies followed, various health benefits were both discovered and confirmed. Perhaps the most notable being antioxidant level testing using the standard ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbency Capacity) system, which found the Acai berry's antioxidant levels higher than any other tested so far, even exponentially higher than other known superfoods such as blueberries(!). No wonder it got people's attention outside of South America.
Sambazon, which brought Acai to the United States, was founded by two surfers who apparently discovered Acai during their surf expeditions in South America and relied on the berry for energy and stamina. The firm has been pioneering techniques to bring the health benefits of Acai to the rest of the world in an eco-friendly, native-friendly way, thanks to a combination of employing local workers paid fair wages (Fair Trade) to source true organic Acai berries using sustainable environment practices, state-of-the art Acai pulp-making, freeze-drying and other techniques to make Acai transportable in various forms around the world without significantly diminishing the health properties.
8. Gogi
Depression and Stress that comes from emotional sources can be calmed by the mood elevating properties of Gogi berries.
Physical stressors are often related to injury and illness. The food supplement Gogi berries have amazing abilities to help people fight both kinds of problems.
If you are going through a major life change -- death, divorce, job loss, or generally the economy -- stress can really get you down. Even the seemingly small stressors can leave you feeling overcome with fear and anxiety. Eating Gogi berries or drinking Gogi juice can bring you relief and contentment.
9. Omega 3 Supplement
Omega 3 Supplements are essential in dealing with emotional and immune disorders, and joint and muscle problems. Omega 3 can reverse aging, and keep mind and body fit. Fish oil is an excellent and well known source of Vitamin A and Omega 3. Omega 3 oils found in the fatty tissues of deep sea fish can help one maintain a healthy mind and body.
A daily diet that includes fish oil could keep the brain healthy, body fit and aging at bay by regulating the hormonal responses that govern mind and body functions.
In 1970, two Danish researchers investigated the health effects of the deep-sea-fish diet of Eskimos in Greenland. They found that there were only two recorded cases of atherosclerosis in the previous four years with almost no Alzheimer's cases. In addition, they observed that chronic inflammatory diseases are rare in spite of their high cholesterol, high fat diet.
A second New England Journal study revealed that diets enriched with oils from the fatty tissues of deep sea fish appeared to have anti-inflammatory effects. This could be the reason behind the low rate of arthritis and heart diseases among the Eskimos. In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration gave Omega 3 oils a qualified “health claim” because of its product efficacy in reducing the risk of chronic and degenerative diseases.
Omega-3 Oil supplements protect the brain from Alzheimer's. In an Alzheimer's study supported by the National Institute on Aging, 900 mg's of Omega fat DHA was given to people who had mild memory loss. At the end of six months, people who took DHA supplements showed an increase in their mental alertness. DHA supplementation improves memory in cases of Alzheimer's disease and memory loss that is found in brain aging.
On the other hand, a DHA deficiency can increase stress level that can cause brain DHA depletion and low blood levels in Alzheimer's disease patients. Thus, nutritionists have long endorsed fish as a must have part of a daily diet.
10. Oregano
Antioxidant Super Spice: In comparison to the antioxidant activities of a few select fruits and vegetables, the potency of oregano ranks supreme:
The spice supplement Oregano has 40 times more antioxidant activity than apples, 10 times more than oranges and four times more than blueberries.
One tablespoon of fresh oregano contains the same antioxidant activity as one medium-sized apple! Please realize that the point is not to stop eating apples or other wholesome foods and try to substitute oregano. Far from it.
Whole, natural organic foods each contain their own unique properties, complex array of nutrients and chemicals, and health benefits, so it should never be a case of shutting out a proven-to-be-healthful food in favor of something else – particularly for an herb or supplement.
The point is to maintain a varied diet consisting of healthful natural foods.
There are other supplements that offer excellent brain nutrition. Check out this page often for updates and remember to give your mind the brain nutrition and supplements it deserves. As you can see supplements are not limit to take a pill, many times they may be much healthier in their whole food form.
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