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Most Common Brain Disorders and Symptoms
Stroke and traumatic brain injury
Alzheimer's disease, Pick’s disease, senile dementia, fronto-temporal dementia, and vascular dementia
cerebral palsy, in which lesions (damaged areas) may impair motor coordination
Huntington's disease, and other genetic disorders that cause build-up of toxic levels of proteins in neurons
leukodystrophies, such as Krabbe disease, which destroy the myelin sheath that protects axons
mitochondrial encephalomyopathies, such as Kearns-Sayre syndrome, which interfere with the basic functions of neurons
multiple sclerosis, which causes inflammation, myelin damage, and lesions in cerebral tissue
infectious diseases, such as encephalitis, neurosyphilis, and AIDS, in which an infectious agent or the inflammatory reaction to it destroys neurons and their axons
epilepsy, in which lesions cause abnormal electrochemical discharges that result in seizures
Symptoms of Brain Disorders
Many diseases that cause cerebral atrophy are associated with dementia, seizures, and a group of language disorders called the aphasias. Dementia is characterized by a progressive impairment of memory and intellectual function that is severe enough to interfere with social and work skills. Memory, orientation, abstraction, ability to learn, visual-spatial perception, and higher executive functions such as planning, organizing and sequencing may also be impaired. Seizures can take different forms, appearing as disorientation, strange repetitive movements, loss of consciousness, or convulsions. Aphasias are a group of disorders characterized by disturbances in speaking and understanding language. Receptive aphasia causes impaired comprehension. Expressive aphasia is reflected in odd choices of words, the use of partial phrases, disjointed clauses, and incomplete sentences.
Best Super Food for the Brain
1.Water. Dehydration raises stress hormone levels, causing serious brain damage. Drink at least ten glasses of water a day.
2. Fish. DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, is the main component of brain synapses. A lack of omega-3 has been shown to diminish intellectual performance and is linked with dementia. If you don't eat fish, omega-3 is also found in walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and flax seeds. In addition, you can take it as a supplement; 1000 mg a day is what we recommend. (For a list of the best fish to eat, click here.)
3. Antioxidant-Rich Fruits and Vegetables. The best of these, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, strawberries, spinach, raspberries, brussels sprouts,
plums, broccoli, beets, avocados, oranges, red grapes, red bell peppers, cherries, and kiwis. Five servings a day of fruits and vegetables is recommended.
4. Complex Carbohydrates. For energy, your brain needs fuel, and the best choice is glucose. Complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, starchy vegetables and fruits digest slowly, providing a steady supply.
5. Green Tea. Ingredients in green tea (and to a lesser extent, black tea) slows the build-up of plaque in brains from amyloid deposits. Drinking tea is associated with mental alertness.
6. Eggs - Free Range are best... Eggs are rich in choline, a fat-like B vitamin, which has been shown to enhance memory and minimize fatigue.
7. Alpha Lipoic Acid. This powerful supplement is both water and fat soluble, meaning it enters all parts of cells to neutralize free radicals. It is the only antioxidant supplement that can easily get into the brain. There is some evidence it is useful in the prevention of strokes.
8. Acetyl L Carnitine. This is an essential contributor to the production of the neurotransmitter "acetylcholine," which is required for mental function. Double-blind clinical trials suggest acteyl-L-carnitine delays the progression of Alzheimer's disease and enhances the overall performance of people with the disease.
9. Phosphatidylserine (PS). Stimulates cells in your brain to make new dendrites and axons. People who take PS remember more names, faces, phone numbers, and written information.
10.Fermented Soy, fermented soy products facilitates better blood flow throughout the body.
Best Brain Food Vitamins
Phosphatidylserine
Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a phospholipid that is found in all cells, but is most highly concentrated in the walls (membranes) of brain cells, making up about 70% of its nerve tissue mass. There it aids in the storage, release and activity of many vital neurotransmitters and their receptors. Phosphatidylserine also aids in cell-to-cell communication.
Phosphatidylserine is involved in the upkeep and restoration of nerve cell membranes. Among its list of functions, phosphatidylserine stimulates the release of dopamine (a mood regulator that also control physical sensations, and movement), increases the production of acetylcholine (necessary for learning and memory enhancement), enhances brain glucose metabolism (the fuel used for brain activity), reduces cortisol levels (a stress hormone), and boosts the activity of nerve growth factor (NGF), which oversees the health of cholinergic neurons.
Research has shown that dietary vitamin supplementation with phosphatidylserine may slow and even reverse the decline of learning, mood, memory, concentration, word recall related to dementia or age-related cognitive impairment in middle-aged and elderly subjects.
Acetyl L-Carnitine-ALCAR
Acetyl L Carnitine (ALCAR) a natural remedy super antioxidant, occurring form of L-carnitine that specifically benefits the brain. ALCAR helps supply the brain with energy by improving energetics in the mitochondrion, the cell's energy generator. ALCAR promotes biosynthesis of acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter for brain and nerve function. Acetyl-L-Carnitine has been shown in clinical studies to benefit cognitive ability, memory and mood.
Acetyl-l-Carnitine is an amino acid the body uses to turn fat into energy. It is not normally considered an essential brain food nutrient because the body can manufacture all it needs. However, supplemental carnitine may improve the ability of certain tissues to produce energy. This effect has led to the use of carnitine in various muscle diseases as well as heart conditions.
R - Alpha Lipoic Acid Supplements - DHLA
What is Alpha Lipoic Acid?
Other names: lipoic acid, R - Alpha Lipoic Acid, R-DHLA
Alpha lipoic acid is a fatty acid found naturally inside every cell in the body. It's needed by the body to produce the energy for our body's normal functions. Alpha lipoic acid converts glucose (blood sugar) into energy.
Alpha lipoic acid is also an antioxidant, a substance that neutralizes potentially harmful chemicals called free radicals. What makes alpha lipoic acid unique is that it functions in water and fat, unlike the more common antioxidants vitamins C and E, and it appears to be able to recycle antioxidants such as vitamin C and glutathione after they have been used up. Glutathione is an important antioxidant that helps the body eliminate potentially harmful substances. Alpha lipoic acid increases the formation of glutathione.
Alpha lipoic acid is made by the body and can be found in very small amounts in foods such as spinach, broccoli, peas, Brewer's yeast, brussel sprouts, rice bran, and organ meats. Alpha lipoic acid supplements are available in capsule form at health food stores, some drugstores, and online. For maximum absorption, the supplements should be taken on an empty stomach.
Why Use R - Alpha Lipoic Acid
Alpha lipoic acid is thought to work as an antioxidant in both water and fatty tissue, enabling it to enter all parts of the nerve cell and protect it from damage.
Preliminary studies suggest that R DHLA alpha lipoic acid may help. In one of the largest studies on the use of alpha lipoic acid, 181 people took 600 mg, 1200 mg or 1800 mg of alpha lipoic acid a day or a placebo. After 5 weeks, alpha lipoic acid improved symptoms. The dose that was best tolerated while still providing benefit was 600 mg once daily.
Brain Function - Lipoic Acid
Alpha lipoic acid can cross the blood-brain barrier, a wall of tiny vessels and structural cells, and pass easily into the brain. It is thought to protect brain and nerve tissue by preventing free radical damage.
Age-Related Conditions
As an antioxidant, alpha lipoic acid can neutralize free radicals which can damage cells. Free radical damage is thought to contribute to aging and chronic illness.
R Alpha Lipoic Acid...best form Natural source DHLA
One study showed a combination of lipoic acid and acetyl-l-carnitine restored vitamin C levels in the liver cells of old rats to those seen in young rats. Another study showed that lipoic acid restored heart muscle cell structure in old rats to that of young rats after only two weeks of administration. In addition, lipoic acid was able to reverse the age-related increase in a dangerous pro-inflammatory cytokine, a natural bodily substance, called interleukin-1b.
What impressed us the most were studies published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that lipoic acid and acetyl-l-carnitine:
Improved ambulatory function in old rats, with a significantly greater degree of improvement in old rats compared to young ones.
Partially reversed the decline in mitochondrial membrane function while inducing an increase in oxygen consumption, thereby improving cellular metabolic function in old rats.
Improved memory and reversed age-associated neuronal mitochondrial decay in old rats.
Restored an enzyme required for mitochondrial energy production (carnitine acetyltransferase), while simultaneously protecting against lipid peroxidation in old rats.
Alpha lipoic acid consists of two different forms (isomers) that have vastly different properties. The “R” form is the biologically active component (native to the body) that is responsible for DHLA lipoic acid’s phenomenal antioxidant effect. The “S” form is produced from chemical manufacture and is not very biologically active. Alpha lipoic acid supplements consist of the “R” and “S” form in a 50/50 ratio. That means a 100 mg alpha lipoic acid supplement is providing 50 mg of the more biologically active and efficient “R” DHLA form.
The human body normally produces and uses R-lipoic acid, the active form. R-lipoic acid DHLA significantly reduces inflammatory reactions and has been shown to be more potent than the combined “R” and “S” form that comprise alpha lipoic acid. R-lipoic acid increases cellular and mitochondrial antioxidant activity and prevents mitochondrial decay associated with aging.26 Because of this, the increase in oxidative stress with aging is said to be reduced. DHLA R- Alpha lipoic acid is neuroprotective and has been shown to help improve poor memory, while slowing cognition deficits associated with aging. R-lipoic acid has also demonstrated its ability to reduce the gain in body fat from aging by improving metabolic function. Studies have also shown R- Alpha lipoic acid to reduce oxidative damage to fats in the body and to block damage to the heart from stress. DHLA R-lipoic acid can increase glucose uptake in insulin resistant cells because it can mimic insulin’s properties. This active “R” natural DHLA form of alppha lipoic acid can regenerate the oxidized forms of antioxidants by recycling coenzyme Q10, vitamin C, vitamin E, and glutathione back into their active state.
What is Resveratrol?
Resveratrol- also known as trans-resveratrol, is a phytoalexin produced and sourced naturally by several plants when under attack by pathogens such as bacteria or fungi. Resveratrol has also been produced by chemical synthesis and is sold as a nutritional supplement derived primarily from Japanese knotweed. In mouse and rat experiments, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-lowering and other beneficial cardiovascular effects of resveratrol have been reported. Most of these results have yet to be replicated in humans. In the only positive human trial, extremely high doses (3–5 g) of resveratrol in a proprietary formulation have been necessary to significantly lower blood sugar. Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes and is a constituent of red wine. Experiments and resveratrol studies have shown that resveratrol treatment extended the life of fruit flies, nematode worms and short living fish but it did not increase the life span of mice.
Heart/Blood Vessels, Antioxidant Vitamins and Resveratrol Supplements
When researchers deconstruct heart disease health studies, they see many different things happening at the level of the cell. Cholesterol and other fat-related substances are one small part of a bigger picture that involves many other factors. Fortunately, many facets of heart disease can be controlled through dietary means. Resveratrol is a dietary agent that has powerful and diverse effects on the heart and blood vessels.
FRENCH PARADOX
The “French paradox” says that a person can eat a lot of fat, yet not get heart disease. Why? One of the reasons is that the wine they drink contains resveratrol, which is a powerful antioxidant. By now, many people have heard that oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is a problem in heart disease. This is why vitamin E helps prevent heart problems—it scavenges the radicals that oxidize this fat/protein. However, the kind of radicals that vitamin E blocks are not the only kind of free radicals people have to worry about. There are other types, which is why it’s important to take all of the known antioxidant vitamins. In a study published in Free Radical Research, resveratrol was put to the test against vitamin E and a synthetic antioxidant. All three were very good at scavenging artery-damaging radicals, but resveratrol emerged as the best defense against certain types of radicals. This points out the importance of using a multi-approach to antioxidants.
One of the serious complications of free radical damage is hardening and thickening of arteries. A “vicious cycle” of radicals, artery damage, and narrowing due to scar tissue that, in turn, promotes more free radical activity and more damage, has been described. Resveratrol, melatonin and Probucol are suggested as treatments for this progressive process. Resveratrol’s antioxidant supplement action helps stop free radical damage and opens the arteries by enhancing nitric oxide.
Nitric oxide is a critical component of heart/artery function. It allows blood vessels to “relax,” which enhances blood flow. In a recent study, a high-cholesterol diet decreased nitric oxide by about a third. Resveratrol supplements significantly reversed the trend.
In this respect, resveratrol is similar to Viagra, which also affects nitric oxide. However, whereas Viagra only affects small vessels, resveratrol affects the main arteries.
Finally, resveratrol also stops the proliferation of cells in blood vessels that narrow the arteries, and it also keeps blood cells from sticking together. Both are very important for preventing heart attacks. The ability of resveratrol to keep blood cells from sticking together was investigated by Canadian researchers who wanted to know what role, if any, other components of wine might play in the process. They found that ethanol itself inhibited one type of stickiness-promoter, and quercetin inhibited a different one , but nothing else they tested was active against this aspect of heart disease except resveratrol, which inhibited not only thrombin, but a host of other stickiness-promoting factors.
Vinpocetine
Vinpocetine is chemically related to, and derived from vincamine, an alkaloid found in the periwinkle plant.
Vinpocetine was introduced into clinical practice in Europe more than two decades ago for its role in cerebrovascular disorders and related symptoms. Experiments with this natural periwinkle extract brain food indicate that it can dilate blood vessels, enhance circulation in the brain, improve oxygen utilization, make red blood cells more pliable, and inhibit aggregation of platelets. Vinpocetine even has antioxidant properties. Levels peak in the bloodstream within an hour and a half after ingestion. Vinpocetine easily crosses the blood-brain barrier.
Vinpocetine has been extensively studied in Europe. These clinical studies have found it to provide several advantages for the human brain, including memory enhancement, increased cognitive performance, improved cerebral circulation and higher mental acuity and awareness.
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