Health Stress and Anxiety

Posts Tagged ‘ADD’

Either it is your body or brain, both need enough quantity of several vitamins and minerals for sustainable growth. A mere lack of some minerals might turn problematic for your body so much so that it may cease functioning properly.

The human brain relies on certain vitamins and minerals in order to do its job of being the nerve centre of the body. These cannot be manufactured by our bodies and should therefore be derived from our diets. It is however quite difficult to design a diet that consistently provides adequate levels of all the basic vitamins and minerals. This is the reason why many people opt for a vitamin supplement in addition to eating a healthy diet. In designing a diet and/or choosing a supplement it is very important to include sufficient quantities of the most important vitamins and minerals and not just the latest ‘fad vitamin’! This is especially important when you consider the link between impaired brain function and the symptoms of ADD/ADHD. We should therefore all do our best to design our vitamin and mineral intake with the eye firmly on optimum brain performance.

Most important vitamins and minerals which are effective for brain functioning is mentioned below for your reference:

Vitamin E: Various studies have investigated this fact that Vitamin E proves crucial and best preventive measure in delaying or blocking dementia and Alzheimer’s diseases. As Vitamin E is pivotal in reducing oxidative stress in your brain it becomes one of the best means for that purpose. This vitamin plays excellent role in keeping the diseases away. Its anti-oxidative effect combats the natural brain cell ‘damage’ which may occur after certain age. Many food items including almonds, leafy vegetables, vegetable oils and whole-grain flours are rich in Vitamin E. In case you are going to have some Vitamin E supplement go for one which contains ‘mixed topocherols’. This choice will be the best option as such supplements would offer you two most important components of Vitamin E named Alpha topocherol and gamma topecherol.

B Vitamins: Also denoted as ‘brain vitamins’ B Vitamins are crucial set of vitamins for healthy a brain. They play important role in helping brains form its messengers like dopamine, epinephrine and serotonin. Some prominent B Vitamins include: * Vitamin B12: This vitamin plays important role by helping your brain to develop myelin. The causes of memory loss, mood swings and impaired reasoning happen due to damaged or insufficient myelin. Vitamin B12 is crucial vitamin and responsible for formation of sheath which protects nerve cells. Meat is a best source of B12 vitamin. Vegetarians can take some sort of B12 supplements to compensate it. * Folic Acid (Folate): Famous Vitamin B complex named Folic Acid is pivotal in developing human brain since infancy. This vitamin helps brain on the later stages by assisting it to remain focused and keep one’s memory power and alertness strong. It is also helpful in reducing the harmful amino acids from brain. Called homocysteine these acids can damage brains completely hence Folic Acid is effective in safeguard brain. Beans, fruits, leafy vegetables and lentils are its good sources. * Vitamin B6: The most important brain chemical serotonin is created by B6 vitamins. This vitamin is also crucial for the creation of dopamine. You cannot underestimate the role of every type of Vitamin B for healthy brain. You should not leave scope in having them which keeps your brain refresh and functional. B6 vitamins can be have from peppers, cranberries, cauliflowers, garlic, tuna and et al.

Vitamin C The main role that Vitamin C plays in ensuring proper brain function can be found in its antioxidant properties. It is used by the body to effectively intercept some of the ‘free radicals’ that can cause damaging oxidation. The success of this vitamin in battling some of the most common free radicals has been proven by many studies that identified it as a major factor in delaying, or blocking, the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Vitamin C can be found in a wide variety of sources. Some of them are: citrus fruits, broccoli, beans, potatoes and strawberries.

Magnesium: Keeping our brains protected from toxic substances are primary role of magnesium. It is major ‘brain benefit’ mineral which safeguards nerve cells from neurotoxins. Nuts, seeds, bananas and whole grains are some of the major sources of it.

There are several other kinds of vitamins and minerals that can have a positive impact on brain function but any diet and/or supplement strategy should at the very least include ample quantities of those mentioned above. Making sure of this can be a very important step in the fight against the symptoms of ADD-ADHD.

Fighting ADD/ADHD disorder is not a tough job if you have a will to do. Precautionary steps in keeping yourself aloof from foods attracting your attention are best solution. This would keep your body and brain well balanced.

This week’s article exclusively focuses on extractive description of those issues which we had tackled over the period while we learnt about brain and its functioning besides other interesting points. This article will have detailed and elaborative description of this crucial aspect. I will remain confined to the descriptive part of this issue rather than going into the technical one. I have used this technique to present information in the form of “Top 8 Nutrition Tips for Optimum Brain Function” without making any complexity.

1. Maintain Balance: The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. To think therefore that it can operate successfully on just one kind of ‘miracle substance’ is a fallacy! Your brain needs a huge variety of nutrients and vitamins and minerals to function properly. Do your best not to deprive it of that by concentrating too heavily on just one type of food or supplement.

.|2. Don’t let protein remain away: Our changing food habits have started showing severe effects on our bodies and minds. This negligence is found abundantly when you avoid taking protein intake or lessen its quantity. Your body can’t perform its basic duties properly if your protein intake is not in appropriate quantity. Do you like vegetarian food? If the case is so, you need to be more cautious. At this situation you should have enough intakes of protein rich foods. You should take combination food which has balanced quantity of protein alongside other nourishing items.

3. Look for regular energy supply mechanism: Brain is the control room of our body as its most energy consuming section. It uses approximately 20% of consumed energy of a particular body. Our focus should confine in supply of new energy in brain. Choose better options and develop mechanisms through which regular and constant supply of energy is made possible. Such practice gives enduring results. Including Low-GI diets in your food is important for releasing energy for longer periods. They are good brain powering solution.

4. Take proper fatty intake in your food: Protection and membrane formation of our brains are possible through an appropriate intake of fats in our regular food items. Fats are pivotal in nourishing the brain. Omega 3, Omega 6 and ‘pure’ DHA are highly effective ‘brain fatty acids which help it get nourished properly. Do you really want to improve your brain power? Apply best sources of fats in your diet so that they keep your brain charged.

5. Give priority to vitamins and minerals: As a key player of human activities, brain keeps itself engaged in many ways. It should be kept charged through all kinds of vitamins and minerals. Doing this help it performs duties effectively. Vitamin E, B Vitamins, Vitamin C and Magnesium are important vitamin categories.

6. Avoid toxins and other harmful substances: It goes without saying that foods that are laced with pesticides should be avoided at all costs. There are however other kinds of chemicals that are less obviously harmful but that can nonetheless wreak havoc if their intake is not controlled. They include the chemicals used in creating certain artificial colors and flavors as well as the trans-fatty acids that are byproducts of heating fats to very high temperatures (e.g. when deep frying food).

7. Supplement where necessary: It is quite difficult to achieve the right ‘mix’ in terms of getting all the right nutrients, vitamins and mineral required for optimum brain function from your diet. It may therefore sometimes be necessary to increase the levels of some of them through supplements. This is often necessary in the case of certain vitamins and also with trans-fatty acids.

8. Do regular exercise: Although exercise is not a ‘nutrition tip’ but it is highly beneficial in keeping you healthy and fit. Whenever you do some sort of exercise your blood circulation starts increasing and this ultimately benefits your body as well as brain which gets an opportunity to consume power while controlling the entire body. Another benefit of exercise is it reduces fat levels from your body. The researchers have proved that storing of fat, particularly in the mid portion of the body affects bodies and ultimately brains.

Whatever discussed above is part of our common sense. It is ironical that people understand intricacies but don’t initiate any measure. You can make up your mind why still some people are ‘fuzzy’ and ambitionless. When we fight with the symptoms of ADD/ADHD we must take special care to keep our brains ‘do the right thing’ in terms of nutrition.

With the pressures of work and home, finances, health, and family it is no wonder that more and more people are being diagnosed with anxiety. Anxiety is one of the most often diagnosed mental disorders, and as we learn to understand this affliction we are also learning to treat it. If you are looking to treat your anxiety disorder, you will certainly find no shortage of natural remedies, and although not all of them will work there’s usually no harm in trying.

While anxiety is a ‘mental disorder’, everyone suffers from some amount of it, just as with depression. Some people, due to an imbalance of neurotransmitters, may suffer from undue amounts of anxiety, and thus have an anxiety disorder. For everyone else, its just one of those things you have to deal with now and then. If you do not have an anxiety disorder, taking anxiety medications is an extreme response. There are a number of natural cures for anxiety you should try first, all of which have worked great for me.

Begin your natural treatment by starting a regular exercise program. Increasing your heart rate will help your circulation and will also adjust the level of chemicals in your body that help you relax and cope with stress and anxiety. Walking, jogging, riding a bike or rollerblading area all great ways to get yourself fit, free up your mind and help your brain to balance itself. Some scientists believe that over the last few decades as humans have become less active there is a direct connection to the increase in mental disorder.

Any type of relaxation technique will help you deal with anxiety naturally. Meditation is a great natural way to relax your body and mind and will help you manage your anxiety. Make sure that you are taking care of your body by eating healthy food, getting enough sleep and reducing caffeine intake. Any type of stimulant is not good for anxiety sufferers as it will put extra stress on the body and will lead to more anxiety episodes.

If you are still not getting fast or adequate results with natural techniques, then you need to talk to your doctor. He or she may still be able to recommend some natural remedies like acupuncture or hypnotherapy, but if all else fails then there are some very effect anti-anxiety medications out there that can help you get more in control of your brain, and your life.