If you maintain your intake of DHA, B vitamins, vitamins C, D, and E then your brain is far less likely to shrink in size and your mental thinking tests will be better. On the other hand, if you eat a diet high in margarine-containing trans fats, as the American Heart Association recommended for decades before they took a class in Nutrition 101, then you probably can’t remember this was their advice.

Researchers used blood tests to actually monitor nutritional status, as well as brain imaging. This is the first time such a detailed study of nutritional status has been directly related to brain function and brain size.

The nutrients tested in this study are what I call basic brain support nutrition. There are many other nutrients that help brain health that were not tested in this study. However, the study shows that even giving your brain the basic essentials of what it needs can have a profound benefit to brain health during aging.

Considering the other option is cognitive decline and risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s, the choice seems rather simple.



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