The role of nutrition and exercise in neurological health

Nutrition and exercise are key to keeping your brain healthy throughout your life. They work together, affecting everything from how well you think and your mood to preventing and managing brain diseases.

How food helps your brain

What you eat directly impacts your brain’s structure, how it works, and its overall health. It’s now well-known that a balanced diet provides the necessary building blocks for your brain to perform at its best.

Eating a Mediterranean-style diet offers significant benefits for your brain. This way of eating includes lots of vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, and healthy fats like olive oil. It also emphasizes fish and beans. This approach seems to offer strong protection for your thinking abilities.

A main reason this diet helps your brain is what it limits: saturated fat and sugar. By eating less of these, this diet helps lower your chance of getting conditions like diabetes and obesity. These health problems are known risks for dementia. So, the Mediterranean diet is a powerful way to help keep your brain healthy long-term.

1. Key building blocks and energy

Glucose (from carbohydrates) is your brain’s primary fuel. A steady supply of glucose, ideally from complex carbohydrates like whole grains, is crucial. It helps you think clearly, remember things, and stay focused.

Essential fatty acids, especially Omega-3s, are vital parts of brain cell walls. DHA is particularly important. Omega-3s help brain cells communicate. They also support neuroplasticity, which is your brain’s ability to adapt and learn. Plus, they help reduce swelling in your body. Good sources include fatty fish (like salmon, mackerel), flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts.

Proteins and amino acids come from breaking down proteins. They are the basic parts for making neurotransmitters—the chemical messengers in your brain. Eating enough protein is essential for your mood, how well you think, and overall brain function.

2. Protecting against damage

Antioxidants like Vitamins C, E, Beta-carotene, flavonoids, and polyphenols protect brain cells. You’ll find them in colourful fruits, vegetables, nuts, and dark chocolate. These compounds shield your brain cells from oxidative stress (damage from unstable molecules) and free radical damage. Oxidative stress plays a role in many brain and nerve diseases.

Anti-inflammatory nutrients fight against ongoing inflammation. This inflammation, often caused by diets high in processed foods, unhealthy fats, and added sugars, can harm brain cells. Foods rich in anti-inflammatory compounds, typical of the Mediterranean diet (e.g., olive oil, turmeric, green tea, berries), help reduce inflammation throughout your body and brain.

3. Helping brain chemicals work

B Vitamins (B1, B6, B9 (folate), B12) are crucial helpers in many body processes, including making neurotransmitters. For example, Vitamin B12 is essential for repairing and maintaining nerve cells. Not having enough can lead to nerve damage and problems with thinking. Folate is very important for a baby’s brain development.

Choline is an important nutrient involved in making acetylcholine, a brain chemical important for memory and learning. You can find it in egg yolks, beef, chicken, and some vegetables.

Magnesium is involved in over 300 body processes. These include how nerves send messages and how brain chemicals are regulated. It helps with good mental function and emotional well-being.

4. The Gut-Brain connection

New research highlights the “gut-brain axis.” This is a two-way communication system between your gut bacteria and your brain. A healthy mix of different gut bacteria, supported by foods rich in fibre and fermented foods, can affect your brain health. They do this by producing brain chemicals and other compounds that impact brain function and inflammation.

5. Preventing and managing brain problems

Specific diets like the Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet (which combines Mediterranean and DASH diets for brain health) have been consistently linked to a lower risk of thinking decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and stroke. This is because they focus on whole, natural foods and helpful nutrients.

It’s also important to avoid harmful foods. Eating a lot of saturated fats, trans fats, refined sugars, and highly processed foods can lead to insulin problems, ongoing inflammation, and oxidative stress. All of these hurt brain health and raise the risk of brain diseases.

Water is essential; your brain is about 75% water. Even being a little dehydrated can make it harder to think, pay attention, remember things, and move well. This is because it affects your brain’s ability to get oxygen and get rid of waste.

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Alcohol and your neurological health

The link between drinking alcohol and your brain health is complicated and often harmful. While its connection to dementia is well-known, heavy drinking significantly threatens your entire nervous system. It can lead to various serious brain and nerve problems. Drinking too much alcohol for a long time can directly cause different types of nerve damage. These include:

• Alcoholic neuropathy: This means damage to nerves outside your brain and spinal cord. It causes pain, numbness, and weakness, often in your arms and legs.
• Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS): This is a severe brain problem. It’s mainly caused by a lack of thiamine (Vitamin B1), common in heavy drinkers. It causes sudden confusion, problems with muscle control, and unusual eye movements.
• Cerebellar degeneration: This is damage to the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance and movement. It can lead to unsteady walking, shaking, and slurred speech.
• Alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD): This is a general term for different types of brain injury and thinking problems from long-term alcohol misuse. It can affect memory, thinking, and your ability to plan and solve problems.
• Increased risk of stroke: Heavy drinking can contribute to high blood pressure and other heart problems. These raise your chance of having strokes, which directly harm brain tissue.
• Worsening mental health conditions: Alcohol slows down the central nervous system. It can make conditions like depression, anxiety, and psychosis worse, and all of these involve your brain.

Exercise and its significance

Studies consistently reveal that people who stay physically active throughout their lives have a lower risk of age-related decline in thinking skills. The same benefits apply to purposeful exercise that makes you exert moderate to vigorous effort. In studies where people were assigned to exercise, they showed positive changes in their brain’s structure and how it worked. Being physically active is vital for your brain. It increases blood flow, which delivers oxygen and nutrients to brain cells. Consistent movement can also help maintain and improve thinking skills as you age.

Tips to weave more activity into your day

Walk more: Instead of driving short distances, try walking. Park a bit further away from your destination. Get off the bus or train a stop early and walk the rest of the way.

Take the stairs: Choose stairs over lifts or escalators whenever you can.

Active hobbies: Engage in hobbies that involve movement, such as gardening, dancing, or yoga.

Brisk walks: Aim for walks that raise your heart rate. Even a few 10-minute brisk walks spread throughout the day can add up.

Aerobic activities: Consider activities like cycling, jogging, or swimming that get your heart pumping.

Strength training: Incorporate exercises like squats, lunges, or using light weights. This helps maintain muscle mass and also benefits your brain.

In conclusion, prioritising a nutrient-rich diet, minimising harmful substances like excessive alcohol and processed foods, and consistently engaging in physical activity are not merely recommendations; they are fundamental pillars for supporting cognitive vitality, emotional well-being, and long-term brain resilience throughout your life.

How can Cavendish Homecare help?

At Cavendish Homecare we are experts in providing neurological homecare for clients who want to remain in their own homes. When it comes to your health and well-being, choosing the right homecare package is of utmost importance and navigating this process can be overwhelming. With Cavendish Homecare by your side, you’ll have the support you need to remain safely at home while enjoying elevated health and wellbeing.

If you would like to enquire about our homecare services, contact us on, 02030085210 or email us at info@cavendishhomecare.com..

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