Your brain health is a strong indicator of your overall health. Taking care of your brain is fundamental to aging well and living a long, happy, healthy life.

Have you ever considered that your brain health is a key to your overall health? Even your weight?

I talk a lot about detoxification because I’m a huge believer that most, if not all, of our personal and societal woes are linked to our toxic environment. Walk with me for a moment.

Let’s take food as one example. When we eat food that is more than minimally processed, is loaded with additives and preservatives, hormones, antibiotics and whatever else was fed to what we eat, we become just that. We are what we eat.

Just like the mother board in your computer is involved in every task your computer executes; your brain is involved in everything you do, think and feel. Therefore, the health of your brain affects the quality of your life. if your brain is not healthy you may suffer from cognitive disorders, physical ailments, make bad decisions, be depressed, fatigued, etc.

We don’t tend to think too much about our brain health because, unlike other aspects of our body, we can’t see our brain. But our brain is actually a big consumer of energy in our bodies. Our brain uses 20% of the body’s energy at a rate 10 times faster than the rest of the body per gram of tissue. The good news is we can reverse a lot of the damage done before it’s too late.

What Accelerates Brain Aging:	What Decelerates Brain Aging:
Brain injuries	Healthy weight
Drugs and alcohol	Getting 7-9 hours of sleep every night
Obesity	Omega-3's from good fats
Sleep apnea	Clean environment
Smoking	Great diet
Caffeine	Stress management
Diabetes	Exercise
Hypertension	Practicing gratefulness
Toxins	New learning
Poor diet	Positive peer group
Stress & depression	Physical health
Lack of exercise

Taking care of your body helps you take care of your brain, which better supports Your body and general wellness. If your brain is healthy you will have more energy, be more productive, make better decisions, have a better sense of well-being (happier, less depressed) and live longer with less morbidity and dementia. Nothing works properly if the brain is not firing on all cylinders.

So, what can you do to foster brain health? Short-term detoxes are good when you are already generally healthy and just need a reboot, but they’re short term. They are a short-term fix and less likely to produce lasting change if you are not already practicing healthy lifestyle habits.  Adopting a healthy lifestyle will produce bigger, lasting changes and avoid the ups and downs of yo-yo dieting and quick fixes. Here are some habits you can adopt to work toward a healthier brain and healthier you:

1.     Eat more whole foods and fewer processed foods.

2.     Drink and bathe in filtered (non-chlorinated. non-fluorinated) water; and get plenty of it.  If you can’t  afford to filter all of your water, choose high-quality filtration devices for your drinking water and shower heads.

3.     Drink less alcohol and caffeine

4.     Get adequate rest. This is downtime for your brain and body to make repairs.

5.     Eat organic whenever possible. This means no GMO’s, far less pesticides and other toxins, and no      artificial junk added.  So don’t just look for organic.  Read labels and make sure bad actors like added sugar aren’t in your organic picks.

6.     Start replacing the products around your house that are full of things you can’t pronounce or don’t know what it is.  This includes cleaning products and health and beauty products.

7.     Move!! Get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. Blood must flow to get to the brain, and lymphatic fluid must move to flush out toxins.  Walk the dog, get a buddy, enjoy nature.

I could go on for pages and days on ways to heal your brain, body and mind. If you’re hungry for more, keep tuning in here. if you want to jump in and want some help, you can always join one of my groups or consider one-on-one coaching. My greatest joy comes from clients saying they never thought they could feel so good, and in so many areas of their lives. So stick around; I have a lot to share.

Yours in Wellness,

Jackie