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Bulk up your brain: want to get smarter and stay that way? Try these five ways to build your brain cells - Mental Edge
Men's Fitness, April, 2002 by Ben Kallen
This is what scientists used to think about brain cells: You get a certain number when you're born, then do your best to keep from losing too many as you get older (a process accelerated by drinking a lot of Cuervo shots or watching Temptation Island). But research over the past 30 years or so has found that new brain cells are generated throughout life, and that the brain grows in the areas where it's used the most. For instance, studies have shown that cab drivers are better developed in the part of their brains devoted to visual mapping, and that professional pianists have more bulk in the part that handles music.
And recent research shows that people with highly skilled jobs--engineers, teachers, Jason Giambi's agent--also have more synapses, the connections between brain cells that help store information.
One day doctors may be able to inject stem cells--those thingies that can grow into any kind of cell you need--into the human brain, curing Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease and turning the rest of us into giant-skulled bald guys who communicate with our thoughts. Until then, though, there are simpler ways to keep the ol' noggin in top shape. Do all the following, and you may just find yourself in a new hat size.
1 RUN UP YOUR BRAIN CELLS The idea of the muscle-bound dumbbell may now be set to rest: Research suggests that people who get plenty of physical exercise can wind up with better brains. Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., found that adult mice who ran on an exercise wheel whenever they felt like it gained twice as many new cells in the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in learning and memory, than mice who sat around all day discussing Lord of the Rings in Internet chat rooms. The researchers weren't sure why the more active rodents' brains reacted the way they did, but it's possible that the voluntary nature of the exercise made it less stressful and therefore more beneficial. Which could mean that finding ways to enjoy exercise, rather than just forcing yourself to do it, may make you smarter--and happier, too.
To do it:
* Play a sport, train for an event such as a marathon, triathlon or "fun run," or work out with a buddy to help keep things interesting. Nobody knows exactly how much exercise is best for the brain, but the mice ran the equivalent of four to six miles per day.
2 EXERCISE YOUR MIND
It isn't just physical exercise that gets those brain cells jumping. Just like those head-pumped cabbies and piano jockeys, you can build up various areas of your brain by putting them to work. Duke University neurobiology professor Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D., co-author of Keep Your Brain Alive, says that finding simple ways to use aspects of your brain that may be lagging could help maintain both nerve cells and dendrites, branches on the cells that receive and process information. Just as a new weightlifting exercise builds up underused muscles, Katz says that novel ways of thinking and viewing the world can improve the functioning of inactive sections of the brain.
To do it:
* Experience new tastes and smells; try to do things with your nondominant hand; find new ways to drive to work; travel to new places; create art; read that Dostoyevsky novel; write a buddy comedy for Ted Kennedy and Rush Limbaugh--basically, do anything you can to force yourself out of your mental ruts.
3 BE A FISH HEAD
Omega-3 oils, found in walnuts, flaxseed and especially fish, have long been touted as being healthy for the heart. But recent research suggests they're a brain booster as well, and not just because they help the circulation system that pumps oxygen to your head. They also seem to improve the function of the membranes that surround brain cells, which may be why people who consume a lot of fish are less likely to suffer depression, dementia, even attention-deficit disorder. Scientists have noted that essential fatty acids are necessary for proper brain development in children, and they're now being added to baby formulas. It's possible that your own mental state, and even your intelligence, can be enhanced by consuming enough of these oils.
To do it:
* Eating at least three servings a week of fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel and tuna is a good start. Keep in mind that certain fish may be adulterated with harmful chemicals, so stay away from swordfish, shark, or anything from waters known to be highly polluted. According to Consumerlabs.com, fish-oil supplements tend to be free of mercury or other poisons, so you can take them instead if you can't stand the sight of mackerel on your plate. You can also cook with walnut oil, eat eggs that have been specially produced to provide a greater quantity of omega-3s, or sprinkle ground flaxseeds on salad or cereal. (Keep in mind, though, that while the seeds themselves are considered safe, taking flaxseed oil has been implicated in a greater occurrence of prostate cancer.)
4 CUT THE SAT
Can "bad" fats make you dumb? When researchers at the University of Toronto put rats on a 40-percent-fat diet, the rats lost ground in several areas of mental function, including memory, spatial awareness and rule learning. The problems became worse with a diet high in saturated fats, the kind that's abundant in meat and dairy products. While you may never be called upon to navigate a little maze in search of a cheddar cube, these results could hold true for you as well, for two reasons: Fat can reduce the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your brain, and it may also slow down the metabolism of glucose, the form of sugar the brain utilizes as food.
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