Our brain is a factory of happiness, and whether it remains so depends mainly on what you feed it so that it can regenerate. If the body begins to fail, it is clear that harmony in our body has been disturbed. If we do not work systematically and deliberately on building our internal balance, it is only a matter of time before the body begins sending warning signals. If you ignore them for too long, it may already be too late to make a change, as tirelessly points out lifestyle health promoter prof. RNDr. Katarína Horáková, DrSc. in her latest book How to Have a Healthy Brain at Every Age.
A long-time professor of general biology at the Faculty of Chemistry and Food Technology of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, author of several bestsellers such as A Separate Diet for Health, The Art of Healthy Living, Detoxification of the Body – The Key to Health, will soon celebrate her 80th life milestone (12. 10. 2014). Her inner energy, optimism, and harmony of body and mind are enviable for no small number of people in their thirties. She does not keep her knowledge, personal experience, and wisdom to herself. Through her books, she tries to show the public that with proper nutrition and movement—simply a total lifestyle change—you can influence the quality of your life and, above all, your health. Her latest book reveals the secrets of our brain and provides guidance on how to maintain its optimal functioning throughout life.
Our brain is asked to do far more than in the past; we struggle with stress, we want to remain constantly efficient, creative, able to work concentrated under any conditions, often for 12 or more hours a day. At the same time we invest less effort and time into giving the brain what it deserves. Quality, sufficiently long, uninterrupted sleep, movement, food, and hydration are the minimum you can do for your brain, professor RNDr. Katarína Horáková, DrSc. reminds us.
Choose carefully what you eat, and your brain will reward you twofold. The brain itself decides which substances it will allow in. It is intelligent enough to recognize what can harm it and what, on the contrary, can help. Do not leave it in that state. Listen to what it is trying to tell you, what it is trying to suggest. It is directly connected to the large intestine and the entire digestive tract. That is why the large intestine is often called the second brain. The brain and the bowel developed from the same tissue during embryonic development.
Long-term stress damages our cells and therefore the whole body. Build your brain’s resilience to stress. Learn which substances it is made of, and feed it those substances. Prof. RNDr. Katarína Horáková, DrSc., found her own formula and has followed it for at least 25 years. She experienced long-term stress in her own life and learned what damage it can cause to both body and soul. It was back when she worked at the university as a lecturer. At the end of summer, in August, I was told I would be teaching a new course from October. I had only two months to prepare lectures, which meant sleepless nights spent studying, writing texts, gathering professional visual and film materials. Then came the classes themselves, and the days and hours spent over books in the classroom at the lectern; as a woman and mother, caring for the home and family naturally remained my responsibility too. I could not sleep, suffered from constant nervousness, an internal fear of the responsible task entrusted to me. Naturally, I wanted to handle the new subject as well as possible. I longed for my lectures to be interesting and useful to students. The level of stress and sleep deprivation began to show up in my health. At first, I thought I had stomach ulcers, so I ended up at the doctor. He, however, said I was fine. His next question, though, was, “Did you experience any stress?” Only in retrospect did I realize that I had been going through a very demanding period full of prolonged stress. A year later, when the stress finally eased, my health problems also subsided. I very clearly realize that if this stressful period had lasted longer, I would certainly have developed stomach ulcers as well, professor Horáková adds. Nervous tension invariably shows itself through the stomach’s reaction. Short-term stress can be positive, but with long-term burden on the organism, health complications will inevitably appear. That is why it is extremely important how you process and withstand stress. At the same time, alternate tense situations with something positive—relaxation in the form of music, movement, and nutritious food rich in valuable vitamins. Many people underestimate even the importance of a vacation, which can positively stimulate the brain and therefore our body toward both physical and psychological performance, creativity, and longer concentration. If we want ideas from the brain, we must give it rest. Professor Horáková recommends taking short breaks during work, trying the emotional freedom technique, and trying to keep a regular daily routine. If you are utterly exhausted, it is best to switch off completely and allow yourself moments of solitude.
A brain-building and protective formula: The Three Musketeers – glutathione, carnosine, DHA.
All three substances are naturally present in our bodies, though not always in the same amounts. You can regulate their levels by eating foods that contain them. DHA, docosahexaenoic acid, is a fundamental building block of the protective sheath of nerve cells. High DHA content is found in marine algae, pink fish such as salmon, as well as herring, sardines, tuna, and mackerel, and especially krill—oil obtained from 6-millimetre Antarctic crustaceans, also consumed by NASA astronauts.
Carnosine is considered a miracle of the 21st century and may soon be called a longevity substance. In Russia, it has been used for over 100 years, even in cosmonautics, and scientists around the world are studying its effects. They found that it is capable of regenerating cells and thereby prolonging life and our performance. It also takes care that, in simple terms, cells communicate with one another, thereby ensuring the automatic functioning of our organism, professor Horáková explains in simplified terms. Carnosine helps fight not only aging, but stress as well. If you are exposed to stress over long periods, you should provide your brain with carnosine. It protects and prolongs the life cycle of the organism’s building units—proteins, DNA, and lipids. Carnosine could therefore help in the fight against degenerative diseases directly linked to aging, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, depression, schizophrenia, autism, and stroke. Carnosine is also an excellent antioxidant. Some people are genetically predisposed to have enough of it. Those who do not can supplement it with a nutritional extract, which has already reached our market.
Glutathione likewise protects the brain from toxins and influences longevity. It is produced in the liver and also found in the lungs and intestines. It protects against cancer and is one of the best-known antioxidants. Its deficiency directly affects proper nervous system function. The older we are, the less we have in our bodies, so it is good to maintain and gradually increase its level. It directly affects the speed of aging and effectiveness in fighting disease. But glutathione must be formed by our body itself; it cannot be supplemented in tablet form. The body would break down glutathione just as it breaks down other proteins during digestion, so we would gain no benefits by doing that. The only thing you can do is to supplement the key components from which it is produced. The production and recycling of glutathione in the body require many different nutrients, which is why it is wise to prefer targeted supplementation. If these are not sufficiently represented in the diet, we should consistently take daily nutritional supplements that support glutathione synthesis and contain: N-acetyl cysteine, folic acid, vitamins B6, B12, C and E, selenium, and silymarin. Where to find them? Eat sulfur-rich foods, such as garlic, onion, broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, radish, asparagus, and melon. Drink whey protein. It is an excellent source of cysteine and two other amino acids needed for glutathione synthesis. It is important that the whey protein be biologically active and made from non-denatured proteins (“denaturation” means disruption of the normal protein structure—the note of the author). Choose whey protein that is made from organic milk, i.e., unpasteurized and industrially untreated, containing no pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics.
Each person is a creator of not only their own happiness but also their own health, professor Horáková reminds, and she knows exactly what she is talking about. She has helped not only herself but also many managers and elite athletes—people who, in their leadership positions, had literally knocked themselves into depression, burnout, digestive disorders, and other health and mental complications. They had gotten themselves into a vicious circle from which they could no longer escape on their own. In most cases, it was enough to change incorrect habits. Here, nutrition is usually associated mainly with weight loss, but that should be only a pleasant side effect. Our main goal should be to provide the head, and therefore the body, with nutritionally valuable substances.
You can learn more about how to keep the brain in shape from professor Horáková at the unique Work in Balance conference focused on promoting a healthy lifestyle, which will be held on 6. – 7. 11. in Bratislava, www.workinbalance.sk. Author: Alena Orolínová Source: prof. RNDr. Katarína Horáková, DrSc., latest book: How to Have a Healthy Brain at Every Age.