Love your brain

Love your brain

For those of you who saw my valentines instagram post, I focused on the benefits of exercise for your brain. It turns out that all types of exercise, whether that be strength, intense cardio or basic cardio, such as a brisk walk, all help keep your brain young and healthy.

My husband Terry is training for the London Marathon so he has the cardio covered, I tried a park run once and actually had to cut it short as the dog was tired. Poor Lexie, she only has little legs but secretly I was quite relieved. So, having concluded that running isn’t for me, I am sticking to increasing what I currently do rather than stressing about keeping up with my rather active husband.

Thankfully there are many other things we can do to keep our brains young that don’t involve exercise. From a nutritional perspective there is plenty we can do to support our brains as we age.

One of my top tips is to include at least five different colours of fruit and vegetables everyday to ensure a high intake of antioxidants and protective phytonutrients

• Red – tomatoes, red peppers, raspberries, cherries, pomegranate, rhubarb.

• Orange – squashes, sweet potatoes, papaya, mango, carrots

• Green – spinach, watercress, sprouts, avocado, broccoli, spring greens

• Purple – blueberries, blackcurrants, aubergine, red cabbage, beetroot

• Yellow – grapefruit, lemon, yellow pepper, pineapple, summer squash, sweetcorn

• White – cauliflower, celeriac, onions, cabbage, white asparagus

I always advise clients to start small and build up, so this week just choose one that you don’t often have and add it to your repertoire.

If you’re not ready or able to get your recommended 30 varieties, all colours of the rainbow diet, I take fruit and veg capsules packed full of the beneficial vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that fruit and vegetables provide.

Of course food is best, but this is a great practical second best and a much easier way to support the brain than running the London Marathon! Of course, a marathon puts a massive stress on the body so Terry is taking his fruit and veg capsules to help protect against all that oxidative stress.

If this sounds interesting just please message me and I can provide more details, I can also send you details of a special guest webinar on Monday at 8.15 with a World Record Holder Desert runner who has been taking the capsules for years and swears by them.

Susie

P.S. If you’re interested to hear more about Terry’s marathon or would like to sponsor him, here are the details.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/terry-willows-1726057735516