Today’s elderly Americans are genuinely concerned with maintaining healthy memory. In fact, recent statistics indicate that Americans over the age of 55 fear memory loss more than cancer, heart disease, diabetes or stroke. Regardless of the normal age-related memory decline considered a hallmark of advanced years, cognitive decline is by no means an unavoidable consequence of aging. Fewer still realize that there are opportunities throughout life to support healthy cognition and enhance brain function.

Odds are, most of us can name an aunt, uncle, grandparent, who despite living to the ripe old age of 92, still played golf every day, wrote their memoirs, cooked their own meals and lived happily without the need of full time nursing care. So what characteristics are demonstrated by these seasoned individuals that will help the rest of us maintain our sharp, healthy, and youthful mental vigor late into life?

Five Simple Steps to Help you Stay Sharp

1. Exercise Boosts Brain Power

The benefits of physical activity range from healthy weight, greater energy, to improved digestion, but researchers emphasize that exercise also promotes the growth of healthy brain tissue, boosting memory and increasing brain hormones. In fact, new studies indicate that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster following sessions of intense exercise.

Perhaps it’s time to replace your MP3 player on the treadmill with an encyclopedia?

Interestingly enough, while it is considered normal for the brain to lose tissue beginning in our 30’s, a 2005 study conducted by researchers from the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University, in Detroit, Michigan found that aerobic fitness is able to reduce brain tissue loss in aging humans. Their findings indicate the natural protective effect of cardiovascular exercise on the brain.

These findings were confirmed in a February 2010 report from Ohio State University. Their study evaluated multiple sclerosis patients, (multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord,) and MRI scans showed that higher levels of fitness were associated with greater volume of grey matter, the part of the brain link to key processing skills. In addition, these fit individuals showed less damage in parts of the brain where MS related deterioration occurs.

We have more reason than ever to incorporate healthy exercise habits as we age.

2. Food as Brain Medicine

Generally speaking, the foods we eat are directly correlated to how we feel. So when we overeat and overwhelm our digestive system, the achy, bloated, indigestion we feel is just one part of the equation.

Ponder the peaks and valleys of blood sugar balance and how they affect our energy level and mental acuity. If you overeat sugar and caffeine, you may feel euphoric in the short term, but it eventually fizzles out.

“We like to call it a ‘carb coma’,” smiles Jason Barker, N.D., a practicing naturopathic physician and researcher, who regularly trains his patients on how digestion works in the body. “It’s why teachers encourage us to eat a healthy balanced meal before taking a test. Most of us understand that we can fuel our body for physical activity, but the same thing goes for the mind and mental performance.”

The science supports our sensations.

“Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain,” shared Professor Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a UCLA scientist, in a July 2008 issue of University of California’s online magazine. “The right food can improve memory or fight depression, schizophrenia or dementia.”

Gomez’ work is featured in the July 2008 issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience. Gomez explains that “the brain is highly susceptible to oxidative damage. Blueberries have been shown to have a strong antioxidant capacity.”

3. Ante Up Your Antioxidants: Your Brain on Blueberries

Antioxidants have surged in popularity over the last decade. From dietary supplements like Vitamin A, C, E, and Selenium, to food based nutrients like green tea, berries, and essential fatty acids, antioxidants are said to slow the oxidative process that comes with age.

Produced by free radicals, cellular oxidative damage is like the brown discoloration that appears on fruit and vegetables left exposed to air. Just as lemon juice can preserve and prolong the life of your apple slices, antioxidants can help protect your cells from the harmful effects of free radicals.

University of South Florida Neurobiologist and researcher, Dr. Cyndy Sanberg, Ph.D., explains, “Green tea provides powerful substances known as polyphenols, beneficial phytonutrients well known for their antioxidant value.” Green Tea and its extract contain EGCG, also known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate. “New research indicates that EGCG, and the extract of Green Tea may enhance and improve working memory and brain function,” she continues.

Botanicals, whole grains and brightly colored produce are prized for their high ORAC value, a measure of antioxidant potency. Wild blueberries, in particular, are treasured for their ability to promote general health, including maintenance of healthy brain, cardiovascular, vision, joint and urinary tract function.

“Recent research validates that blueberry supplementation will improve memory in older adults,” cites Dr. Sanberg. “A 2010 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showed that blueberry juice taken three times a day for twelve weeks increased participants’ memory performance as much as 42% in verbal tests.”

4. Meditation May Physically Alter Brain

While on one hand, focusing the mind can be a powerful stress reducer, recent research enlightens the public that meditation may be the fountain of youth for our brain. In 2005, researcher Sara Lazar, PhD of Harvard Medical School’s Massachusetts General Hospital reported that “early research suggests that daily ‘Western-Style’ meditation can alter the physical structure of the brain and may even slow brain deterioration related to aging.”

The study, which evaluated individuals who meditated, as compared with people who did not meditate, found that the parts of the brain known as the cerebral cortex were thicker in those who practiced for as little as 40 minutes a day.

Best be pulling out your yoga mat.

5. Enhance Enzymatic Activity

We typically discuss enzymes in the context of digestion, because our digestive system uses enzymes to turn the food we eat into energy for the body. Produced by the mouth, stomach, pancreas and intestines, and available from raw foods and plant-based dietary supplements, these enzymes include amylase for carbohydrates, lipase for fats, and protease for proteins, and cellulase for fiber.

But enzymes are key to thousands of other metabolic processes, including many which support youth and vitality, and experts tell us that our ability to produce enzymes grows weaker as age. Some enzymes, such as glutathione reductase, catalase, and SOD, are powerful antioxidants, crucial to the health and wellbeing of our cells.

Naturopath Jason Barker reminds us that many antioxidant rich foods, as well as the botanical compounds they provide are plant based ingredients made up of strong, fibrous structures. “Taking enzymes can help break down the fiber and starch components of these botanical constituents that are often poorly digested.”

By combining botanical ingredients, nutraceuticals, and enzymes into one formula, you create synergy, allowing for a reduced dosage, but greater benefit.

“A dietary supplement which includes enzymes in addition to traditional botanicals,” continues Barker, “ will impart improved nutrient value to the formula. Enzymes allow for the release of trapped nutrients and bioactive ingredients to be utilized by the body to actively play a role in memory enhancement.”

Enzymedica offers MemoryCell™, a unique and revolutionary new approach to maintaining a healthy brain.* Employing a synergistic blend of active botanicals, antioxidants and catalysts in a studied and proven blend to suport healthy memory and brain function, MemoryCell is a scientifically proven formula.* Study participants experienced a dramatic 32% increase in memory retention.*

To learn more about MemoryCell and how to maintain a healthy brain, visit www.enzymedica.com. For the month of May receive $3.00 off with a special coupon!

Enzymedica is featuring one of their Premiere Research Line products in this month’s spotlight. The Premiere Research product line will includes science-based formulas for cognition, antioxidant, and blood sugar health. The innovative line features bottles in box packaging and metallic accents on the label. Premiere Research is a natural extension of Enzymedica’s award winning, best in class product line up.

Free Radicals

Free radicals are produced as the normal byproducts of metabolism, detoxification, digestion and respiration. They are formed following exposure to pollutants, cigarette smoke, stress, ultraviolet rays and X-rays. This cellular damage can have a profound negative effect on our health, immunity, and overall well-being. The body regulates free radical damage with the help of antioxidants.

Antioxidants

As part of a complex process controlled by the liver, antioxidants are able to help neutralize the free radical cascade, therefore preventing cellular damage. Some antioxidants come from food and supplement sources, while others are produced by the body from the nutrients we consume.

Free Radical Defenze

Enzymedica Defenze blends antioxidants, including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, with alpha lipoic adic and reduced glutathione, making it one of the most potent and effective antioxidant products available. In clinical trials evaluating caffeine clearance, liver detoxification and glutathione levels, Defenze vastly outperformed a buffered form of vitamin C containing bioflavanoids.

For the month of April, a special discount coupon is available online.

Home: Enzymedica Blog

Proteases, or proteolytic enzymes are specific for protein digestion. Simply put, protease enzymes break down proteins, be they undigested proteins in the digestive system, cellular debris or toxins in the blood.  Some proteolytic enzymes work specifically in the bloodstream to support metabolic reactions like healthy cellular repair and immunity, sparking the chemical reactions required to sustain life. The body employs protease enzymes to break down foreign invaders such as bacteria, yeasts, and viruses.

Oral Proteases

Research has shown that oral proteases, taken as a dietary supplement on an empty stomach may aid our immune system in ways other supplements can’t. These supplemental enzymes are absorbed and carried into the blood stream where they are bound to plasma proteins. The oral proteases bind to these plasma proteins and then are able to break down protein-based pathogens in the blood. An interesting attribute of protease enzymes is that while they are able to dissolve almost all proteins, this only applies to proteins that are not components of living cells. For protease to digest a protein it must be damaged, attached to a dead organism, or be a protein that does not belong in the body. This instinctively intelligent process explains why proteases will digest proteins found in steak, however leave the protein lining of our stomach unharmed.

Not all proteases, however, can break down all proteins. For instance, one protease in particular has been shown to have a profound effect on mucus. Mucolase is a special enzyme that is classified as proteolytic and mucolytic. Mucolytic enzymes break down excess mucus in the body, including the lungs and sinuses. Other proteolytic enzymes useful for the immune system are nattokinase, catalase and serratiopeptidase (serrapeptase).

When enzymes are used to achieve a therapeutic effect, they are taken on an empty stomach (a half hour before or two hours after a meal). They are not intended to help digest food. Instead they are absorbed into the blood and benefit different systems of the body, such as the immune system, by providing it with essential enzymes to manufacture healthy white blood cells.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration

Home: Enzymedica Blog

Free radicals are produced naturally as the normal by-products of digestion and respiration, but can also be the result of environmental exposure to pollutants, cigarette smoke, ultraviolet light and X-rays. Although a normal part of life, free radical damage has been associated with aging and numerous disease states.

How Defenze Can Help

Defenze contains a combination of potent antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and our exclusive protease Thera-blend™.

· SOD aids in neutralizing free radicals and is part of the ‘oxidative burst’ that immune cells release to destroy bacteria and viruses that have gained access to the cells of the body.

· Catalase is an extremely efficient enzyme that removes toxins from the body. Its primary function is to turn hydrogen peroxide (a free radical compound) into water and oxygen. One molecule of catalase can dismantle millions of hydrogen peroxide molecules each second.

· Protease has a long history of therapeutic use as a detoxifier that supports immune function.

Defenze also contains glutathione and alpha-lipoic acid (ALA). Glutathione is an antioxidant molecule formed in the liver. Its main functions are to assist in DNA repair, neutralize toxins, protect cells from free radicals, and boost immune function. Deficiencies of this nutrient are associated with aging and various disease states. ALA is an antioxidant that works inside and outside cells. It also regenerates other antioxidants like vitamin C and E.

Overall Immune Support

In addition to neutralizing free radicals, Defenze also assists the body in overall immune support. Defenze is the most potent antioxidant formula available on the market.

Link to us at:  Enzymedica – http://www.enzymedica.com/blog

Home: Enzymedica Blog

Free radicals are produced as the normal by-products of digestion and respiration and are also the result of numerous other factors such as exposure to pollutants, cigarette smoke, ultra violet light and X-rays. Free radical damage has been associated with aging and can lead to chronic disease.

What can be done?

Enzymedica’s Defenze is a potent enzyme formula used to assist the body in neutralizing harmful free radicals. Key to the Defenze formula is the enzyme Catalase, which aids the body’s detoxification processes by turning the free radical compound hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. Defenze also uses the enzyme protease, which breaks down proteins to help detoxify the body and support immune system function.

Glutathione and alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) are also included in the Defenze formula. Glutathione is an important antioxidant molecule typically formed in the liver. Its main functions are to assist DNA repair, neutralize toxins, protect cells from free radicals, and boost immune function. Glutathione also regenerates other antioxidants like vitamin C and E.  Deficiencies of this nutrient have been associated with aging and various disease states.

Cutting Edge Protection

Enzymedica’s Defenze aids the body’s immune system in protection against free radical damage. Defenze is currently featured as Enzymedica’s August Product Spotlight. Visit Enzymedica’s website to learn more about Defenze and receive a $2.00 off coupon.

Link to us at:  Enzymedica – http://www.enzymedica.com/blog

Home: Enzymedica Blog