Seven Ways To Age Proof Your Brain

ALZHEIMER’S AND OTHER NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS ARE ON THE RISE – BUT THEY’RE NOT THE INEVITABLE TERMINUS THEY ONCE WERE. RESEARCH SHOWS THERE ARE PRACTICAL WAYS TO BOOST YOUR BRAIN POWER TODAY AND SAFEGUARD YOUR LONG -TERM MENTAL FACULTIES. STAY SMART, PEOPLE.

- Debbie Hampton & Tom Ward

First things first, here’s something to think about: over four years ago, it was announced that 2.2 million people in South Africa suffer from Alzheimer's. In the UK, the number of people living with the condition is greater than the population of Liverpool, costing the country close to R500 billion a year. Those statistics needn’t weigh heavily on your mind, however. Because while some amount of cognitive decline is an inescapable truth of the ageing process, it is in no way the vertiginous slope it once was. The latest research proves that, with the right application, a few innovative and seemingly inconsequential lifestyle hacks can have a vital, beneficial effect on your cerebral functions. And you won’t have to meditate or practise a single moment of mindfulness. So, in collaboration with Debbie Hampton, author and founder of thebestbrainpossible.com, we present the most instantly actionable tools that will have a lasting impact on your brain health, protecting your neurological powers and boosting intellect, durability and memory. Have we got your attention? Then let’s begin.

01 Have Some Food For Thought

The brain represents just 2% of your body weight but burns through 20% of its energy. If the stomach's your second brain, your first is just as hungry. Using a fifth of your total kilojoule intake per day, it's 60% fat, and to function properly you need to maintain that magic ratio. So it follows that what you put in your mouth makes a difference to what happens in your head.

This isn’t quite a free pass to load up on huge Styrofoam boxes of saturated fats, however. New research published in the journal