NEXT | PREVIOUS
INTRODUCTION
The brain is more complex than the electronic computers found in machines. As a biocomputer, it is:
- image-enhancing
- error-correcting
- action-oriented
- self-organizing
- self-renewing
The brain instantaneously sees a movement and creates its own "video." In this "brain video," you enhance, speed up, slow down, replay, or completely change the original image, in the blink of an eye. You can detect a mistake and use it to help develop a more successful image of the desired movement. That image can be processed and translated into more successful and effective actions.
Practice is central to the healthy execution of this process. The brain needs practice time to perfect thoughts, movements, ideas, or plans. True understanding and grace comes with practice.
From the very beginning of life, the brain organizes itself. It takes direction from the genes that direct all body systems. The nerve cells of the brain respond to the growth factors and messages from neighboring cells. They take on special qualities to carry out their mature purpose. For example, some nerve cells connect to muscles, other nerve cells, skin cells, immune cells, and hormone glands to orchestrate the body's daily activities.
The brain grows and develops over the course of the human life span. Proper nutrition provides the means by which the brain operates and renews itself. Like the rest of the body, the brain depends on specific nutrients to carry out its role. When we use our senses, we experience the "lightning-fast" operation of the brain. The brain works electrically and chemically. We take this process for granted, concentrating on the marvels and joys we perceive.
Science has mistakenly described the brain as a conventional machine. What machine, however, can renew, repair, and reorganize itself like the brain? The electrical wires and circuits that control an automobile cannot renew, repair, or reorganize themselves. In the brain, glial cells coat the nerve cells with fatty insulation. This insulation assures that "lightning-fast" electrical messages reach their intended destination. The wires and insulation of a machine's electrical system are inert. When they stop working, a mechanic must diagnose the problem and replace the defective part. The brain, on the other hand, can repair and rewire itself, thereby renewing itself on a daily basis.
Proper nutrition empowers these marvelous recuperative abilities of the brain. Without sustained delivery of proper nutrition, the brain cannot fully develop and carry out its self-sustaining activity. Specific nutrients enable the brain to develop fully, so that we have rich and productive lives.
MICRONUTRIENTS
Iodine is an example of a micronutrient needed by the brain. Today, we rarely see damage to the brain caused by iodine deficiency. Iodine is added to table salt so that people living away from the sea coasts do not run the risk of iodine deficiency. The Kiwanis, a fraternal organization, have championed the elimination of Iodine Deficiency Disorder. When this disorder is eliminated, children learn better, workers are more productive, and the standard of living dramatically improves. Iodine controls thyroid hormone. Thyroid hormone controls the growth and development of the brain. It is no surprise that this nutrient helps protect us from mental retardation, learning problems, depression, and dementia.
FAT-SOLUBLE VITAMINS
Vitamins have a profound effect on brain development. They are divided into fat-soluble and water-soluble categories.
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal brain development. Vitamin A deficiency is a problem for people living in developing countries and also for people who have difficulty absorbing fat-soluble vitamins, like Vitamin A. The addition of the pro-Vitamin A carotenes in expectant mothers has profound benefits for the brain and other organs of the developing fetus. Vitamin A and the carotenes are also important for the normal development of a child's brain.
WATER-SOLUBLE VITAMINS
Folate is a water-soluble vitamin. It has been added to many foods because it prevents a serious malformation of the nervous system. The nervous system must assume a tubular structure before birth. Incomplete closure of this tubular structure produces neural tube defects, like spina bifida. When a mother does not have adequate levels of folate in her diet, even before conception, the risks of neural tube defects increase. Increasing dietary folate dramatically reduces the number of neural tube defects. The benefit of folate supplementation was so dramatic that early research into the subject was stopped, and now its addition to various foods is commonplace.
Vitamin B-12 is another water-soluble vitamin. The brain requires it to manufacture the fats that are essential for its normal electrical activity. It is also crucial for neurotransmitter production. Neurotransmitters carry messages from one cell to another. They also make muscles contract, activate immune cells, or release hormones. They control nearly all body activities in this way. Sufficient reserves of these chemicals help the body perform closer to its true potential. Learning and stress are associated with increased brain activity. If the brain is better nourished, we meet the demands of learning and stress with a clearer mind, full of energy and optimism.
People suffering with depression sometimes have low levels of folate or Vitamin B-12. Supplementation can speed recovery from depression. These vitamins are required for the production of the neurotransmitters. If the brain cannot fill the neurotransmitter gas tank, the engine does not run.
Vitamins also work to clear the brain of wastes, thereby decreasing the risks from the free radicals produced in the brain during its daily activity. Some of these chemical wastes damage or kill nerve cells. Homocysteine, an amino acid, comes from protein metabolism. Increased levels are found in people with brain conditions like depression or dementia. Folate, Vitamin B-12, and Vitamin B-6 lower homocysteine levels in the brain.
Folate and Vitamin B-12 have the greatest effect on lowering homocysteine levels in the blood. Methylcobalamin is the only form of Vitamin B-12 that reaches the brain. Other forms of Vitamin B-12 do not cross the barrier between the brain and the bloodstream. The liver manufactures methylcobalamin from food or supplements containing other forms of Vitamin B-12. Another form of Vitamin B-12 is cyanocobalamin, which contains a cyano group (cyanide). The liver, to produce methylcobalamin, must remove this cyanide. Smoking also produces cyanide. As cyanide levels increase, the body cannot manufacture adequate amounts of methylcobalamin.
B vitamins and Biotin also play critical roles in the brain. Thiamine is important to memory. Riboflavin aids vision. Niacin is essential for neurotransmitters. Pantethine, the coenzyme form of Vitamin B-5, is required for hormone and neurotransmitter synthesis. It increases mental clarity, energy, and has a positive effect on moods.
FATS AND OILS
Linolenic and linoleic acids are also essential nutrients. Because the body cannot produce either linolenic or linoleic acid, they must come from the diet. Fats are the building blocks of brain membranes. Without fats, the brain fails to work normally. Starvation or anoexia nervosa shrinks the brain by depriving it of fats and other essential nutrients. When nutrition returns to normal, a miracle occurs: the brain returns to its normal healthy appearance!
DHA is a fat produced by the body. Research has shown the value of supplementing infant formulas with DHA, and many of them now contain it. DHA supplementation has dramatic positive effects on visual, motor and mental abilities. It may also have positive effects on mood, concentration, and attention. Fish oils, found in cold, salt water species, are rich sources of DHA. It can also be produced from algae. State-of-the-art technology (e.g., molecular distillation) extracts these important brain nutrients without using potentially toxic solvents like benzene or hexane. This technology eliminates supplement contamination with pesticides and heavy metals like mercury and cadmium.
AMINO ACIDS, PEPTIDES AND PROTEINS
Amino acids are the building blocks of neurotransmitters, peptides, and proteins. Glutamic acid is a neurotransmitter that excites brain activity. Glycine is an amino acid neurotransmitter that has a calming effect on the brain. The body cannot produce essential amino acids like tryptophan. Essential amino acids can only be extracted from dietary proteins. Tryptophan produces the neurotransmitter serotonin, which governs sensation, mood, and motor activity.
By manufacturing specialized proteins and other biomolecules, the body becomes a self-renewing machine. Enzyme proteins are used by the body for self-renewal. Structural proteins act like steel girders, creating the inner-cellular framework. Transporter proteins create a cellular transportation network. These transportation networks move the neurotransmitters from where they are produced to the synapse, where they are released. From the synapse, they complete their mission as messengers to the neighbor cell, crossing the synapse and binding to receptors on neighboring cells. Receptors are manufactured from combinations of proteins, sugars, or fats. They send an electrical message along cell membranes. They also run the cellular factories responsible for the metabolism, repair, and renewal of the cell. The messages receptors send control the energy, seasons, and moods of the body's cells. Peptides, derived from proteins, can act as hormones and neurotransmitters.
SUGARS, GLYCOFORMS AND GLYCONUTRIENTS
Sugars are called glyconutrients Glucose is the brain's principal source of energy. It creates the well-known, and much-loved, "sugar buzz." Sugars are also carbohydrate building blocks. Some are used to store energy for the body. Others, known as glycoproteins and glycolipids, are incorporated into the proteins and lipids (fats) found on the inside and outside of cells. Glycoproteins and glycolipids help cells contact their neighbors. For the brain to develop and work normally, its cells need proper connection. For example, nerve cells self-destruct when they fail to properly manufacture and recycle these special, sugar-containing molecules.
MINERALS
Calcium and magnesium are key nutrients required for brain activity. Brain enzymes need other nutrients, such as iron, manganese, copper, zinc, and chromium. Calcium sends electrical messages and releases neurotransmitters. It also directs brain metabolism, growth, and development. "Too little" or "too much" of these nutrients causes problems for the brain. Shortages of these minerals make it impossible for the enzymes to work. Excesses can lead to nerve cell damage and destruction.
NEXT | PREVIOUS
Copyright©2002 MEND. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission.
|
