I have talked previously about the importance of maintaining your brain function. It is one of the keys to anti aging and to enjoying a long and fulfilled life.Without a healthy and clear mind or a good memory, no matter how healthy your body is you will not be able to fully enjoy your existence. After all, who wants to have a memory like a sieve and to not be able to remember names or retain information?
There is a good chance that right at this moment your brain is depleted of one substance that is vital in keeping your brain healthy and your memory intact and strong. And if you don’t make sure you are getting enough of this substance, your memory and brain function will only deteriorate further.
-
There is good news however: in this article you will learn exactly what this substance is and ways you can boost this naturally and safely to improve your brain health.I’m talking about choline, a nutrient you may have heard of but you probably don’t know much about, however it is important for early brain development and also important for healthy brain function as we age.
Choline – Important For Health
Choline is in many ways similar to the B group vitamins, even though it is not one of them. We don’t know exactly how choline works in the body but it does so in combination with other vitamins (like folate) and amino acids such as methionine.Whilst your body can make some choline, it cannot produce it in sufficient quantities, hence most of it must be obtained in your diet.
Choline is important for good cellular health and is used within the cellular membrane to transport nutrients inside the cells for utilization. Choline produces PC (phosphatidylcholine), which is essential for the manufacture of the fatty substance that is used to form cell membranes and phosphatidylcholine may in turn be used by the body as a source of choline. Your liver also uses choline for other purposes: it is important for removing toxicity from your liver and for improved liver functioning.
Choline is classified as a lipotropic substance and also a fat emulsifier, due to that fact that it can help your liver remove excess fats. This is very important for your health as you don’t want excess fats floating around in your blood and being deposited in your arteries. Choline has also been found to be of help in hepatitis or chronic liver inflammation, and is being used by some doctors in Germany for these conditions. For rapidly growing fetuses and infants, choline is a very important nutrient, which is why mother’s milk has high levels of this substance.
Apart from poor memory and brain function, a deficiency of choline may contribute to liver degeneration and hardening of the arteries.
Choline For Brain Health
Choline is a critical brain boosting substance as much research has revealed, and your brain uses it to make acetylcholine, one of your brains most important neuro-transmitters (which are chemicals used to transmit signals between brain cells).
Acetylcholine is believed to be very important for memory and normal brain functioning. If your brain is running low on acetylcholine you will have a hard time putting ideas together, remembering simple things and even staying aroused or awake. It is also important for intelligence, having a good attention span, and also plays a role in how you feel. Research has indicated that people with a wide range of mental conditions tend to be significantly depleted in choline.
Brain scans of those suffering from conditions such as alzheimer’s disease or even mild forms of mental decline, have indicated that these diseases may be directly related to low choline levels. Scientists are now looking into the potential of choline in aiding the treatment and even prevention of diseases that affect the brain and central nervous system such as Parkinson’s and Azheimer’s disease.
Recent studies suggest that you can even slow or reverse the onset of dementia, and improve your attention span and memory by making sure you are getting an adequate supply of choline everyday.
Brain Insurance
I feel that it is important that you make sure you are taking adequate levels of this substance in your diet to make sure your brain is protected. The best form of brain insurance is taking the right nutrients that will prevent your brain from deteriorating in health. Once severe deterioration has taken place, even the very best and most expensive insurance policy will do little to help you.
That is why I strongly feel that you should be proactive with your health. If you have taken out an expensive insurance policy and you feel reassured that if something does go wrong you will have the very best in medical care and you will be just fine, then I suggest you re-assess this line of thinking.
You see most insurance policies are there to help patch you up after something has gone wrong, if that is possible. And that is the thing, IF that is possible. Unfortunately modern medicine can’t really offer you much when it comes to diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. For even more subtle things like memory loss, mood changes and poor attention span, your expensive insurance policy will not help you either as these are not areas that modern medicine has solutions for. So you need to be proactive with your health and in particular with your brain health!
Clean out your body regularly just as you clean your car or your house. A complete whole body detoxification is a must for all of us every year to remove wastes and toxins from our bodies and for optimum health.
How to Obtain Adequate Choline
Just how much choline is necessary every day for good brain health and functioning? The requirements will vary somewhat depending on how old you are (you need more as you age), your sex (men need more than women), your brain stress levels and more.Here is a list of foods with their choline content to help guide your food selection:
Egg yolk (raw) – 680 mg choline per 100gms
Chicken liver (lightly cooked) – 280mg choline per 100gms
Pork (bacon, cooked etc) - 128mg choline per 100gms
Mustard seed (yellow) - 120mg choline per 100mg
Almonds - 50mg choline per 100gms
Green peas – 28mg choline per 100gms
Spinach – 27mg choline per 100gms
Cabbage (red) – 20mg choline per 100mgs
Go through the list and make sure you include the above foods in your diet. Eggs are a powerful anti aging food in my opinion, and as you can see they are packed full of the much needed brain food choline. Don’t be afraid to have them raw, as I do all the time (either just gulped down whole or thrown into a smoothie and lightly blended).
Men should look at getting about 600mg of choline every day and women about 500mg.However, if you are over 60 yrs you will need much more, even as much as 1,500mg per day – this will give you a wonderful brain boost and will help restore your flagging memory.
So if you want a simple yet powerful “brain insurance” nutrient, go for choline everyday!
Feel free to email me with any questions you may have on choline, anti aging, or whole body detoxification. My email is DrTheodoreBali@gmail.com
Dr Theodore is an Australian Medical Doctor now living in Asia – based in Singapore. His Major Specialties are; Anti Aging Medicine, Whole Body Detoxification, Stem Cell Therapy, Natural Health and Healing, Male Enhancement, Whole Body Ozone Therapy, Fat Loss and Body Re-Sculpting, Exercise With Oxygen Therapy, Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy and Nutritional Counseling.
He is the Founder of the Asian Society of Anti Aging Medicine (ASOAAM), and is a Member of the American Academy of Anti Aging Medicine and the World Anti Aging Academy of Medicine.
He is a Lecturer and Trainer in Anti Aging Medicine, Whole Body Ozone Therapy, Whole Body Detoxification, Natural Health and Healing.
