Regular exercise can change your brain’s structure and protect your ability to think and remember. Exercise increases blood flow and oxygen to brain cells, and has a positive effect on brain functions almost immediately. It improves mood, concentration and focus, and these benefits last for several hours after an exercise session. This effect is due to an increased level of neurotransmitters, like dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline in the brain.

The increased production of these neurotransmitters strengthens the connections between the neurons in the brain – these are known as synaptic connections and they help you process thoughts.

The minimum amount of exercise is 30 minutes, five or six times a week. But many doctors want people to exercise for one hour a day. Low to moderate aerobic exercise gives the biggest benefit.

A balanced diet of whole foods is the fuel your brain needs to perform its functions. The MIND diet is a variation of the well known Mediterranean diet – in other words, it is a diet packed with brightly coloured fruits and vegetables, and with little processed foods.

The MIND diet means “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay” because it combines two popular healthy diets.

The goal is for us to eat healthy foods which contain nutrients that can reduce dementia and the decline in brain health that often occurs as people get older. It combines aspects of two very popular diets, the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.

Both these eating plans are very healthy, but ageing specialists tweaked the diets to include foods to help improve brain function. For example, both diets emphasise eating lots of fruit – but the MIND diet prefers you eat brightly coloured berry fruits because dark red fruits are high in antioxidants that help brain function.

The good thing about the MIND diet is that it’s simple to follow. Just eat more of the 10 good foods, and try to avoid five bad foods.

Here are 9 MIND foods to eat more often:

• Green, leafy vegetables: Eat six or more servings per week. This includes local dark greens like watercress, kai lan, chai sim, kale, spinach, cooked greens, and salads.
• All other vegetables: Try to eat another vegetable at least once per day. Try to eat non-starchy vegetables because they provide a lot of nutrients for less calories.
• Berry fruits: Eat dark-coloured berry fruits at least twice per week. Berries such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries all contain antioxidants. The berries can be fresh, frozen or dried – however you like.
• Nuts: Eat five or more servings of nuts each week.
• Olive oil: Use olive oil to cook when you can. It does not do well at high temperatures so olive oil does not suit some Asian recipes, but you can use olive oil in any dish cooked on medium or low fire.
• Whole grains: Eat three servings daily. Choose whole grains like wholemeal rice, buckwheat soba, healthy rice, oatmeal, quinoa, whole wheat pasta, and wholewheat bread.
• Fish: Eat fish at least once per week. If you can, eat fatty fish such as sardines, salmon, trout, tuna, and mackerel because they contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Tinned, fresh or frozen fish are all fine.
• Beans: Include soybeans and beans in at least four meals per week. Beans include all beans, lentils, green beans, long beans, winged beans – and soybeans.
• Poultry: Try to eat chicken or turkey at least twice per week. Try to eat it poached or steamed – fried chicken is not encouraged on the MIND diet.

The MIND diet recommends you eat less of these six foods:

• Butter and margarine: Try to eat less than 1 tablespoon (about 14 grams) daily. Instead, try using olive oil to cook and dip bread in olive oil.
• Cheese: The MIND diet recommends eating cheese less than once per week.
• Red meat: Maximum three servings per week. This includes all beef, pork, lamb, and products like sausages or burgers made from meats.
• Fried food: In the MIND diet, fried food is a no-no. If you love it, eat fried food just once a week, as a treat.
• Pastries and sweets: Avoid snack foods and desserts like ice cream, cookies, doughnuts and candy. If you really love them, eat them no more than four times per week. Studies show that fried food, cakes and pastries contain saturated fats and trans fats. These are associated with all sorts of diseases, including a higher risk of heart disease and even Alzheimer’s disease
• Wine: If you drink wine, stick to no more than one glass daily. Both red and white wine may benefit your brain. People assume red wine is healthier because it contains the compound resveratrol, which is found in red wine, but recent research finds it does not really make much difference.

In the past decade, there has been a lot of research into what the gut does for your health. Your gut contains trillions of microorganisms that work together in an ecosystem called a microbiome.

This microbiome acts together with your endocrine system (body chemicals) to create chemical neurotransmitters. These are chemical messengers that transmit information in your brain. So it follows that an unbalanced gut can affect your brain’s functioning, leading to brain fog, anxiety and depression.

Eating a whole-food diet rich in fibre can help your gut’s health. You may also like to take probiotic foods like yoghurt, miso, pickles, achar and kimchi because they encourage a healthy microbiome in your gut.

Managing your stress levels can also improve your gut health – and brain function.

Strong social connections are just as important as eating a healthy diet. Countless studies show that being able to talk to people every day lowers the risk of dementia and leads to a longer, happier life. That finding is consistent with other research linking positive relationships to a reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

So pick up the phone and call your friends, meet for coffee and a chat, and investigate ways to meet people by joining clubs and taking up new hobbies.

Text: Bauer Syndication /ARE Media.

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