Save Your Brain: The 5 Things You Must Do to Keep Your Mind Young and Sharp_15

194 Save Your Brain for cancer, Alzheimer’s, mental illness, and substance abuse may indeed be found in a piece of bark deep in the Amazon Jungle. The cure may just as reasonably be found in the deep gyri of one brain of the billions of brains on our planet. Remember, it only takes one brain for something to be considered real or pos-sible. I have a fundamental belief that the human brain contains the answers to our greatest difficulties, our most challenging questions. The brain is simply too brilliant to not provide us the roadmaps to different solutions, to make life on Earth a better experience, and to wipe disabling diseases from our exis-tence. The brain contains the mathematical wizardry necessary to create the twenty-second-century world and to appreciate deeply complex things such as time and aging itself. The brain seeks pleasure, and its most elegant processing occurs when it is stimulated using multiple sensory pathways simultaneously. The brain also contains answers so that all people of different backgrounds with different sets of beliefs can appreciate more fully we are one species with more similarity than difference. Our future holds significant promise for an entirely new understanding of the human brain. As we develop more sophis-ticated means of exploring the human brain, we will begin to close the gap between what we now believe about the human brain and what is real. We continue to underestimate the power of the brain because we do not understand it well enough. There is a basic human tendency to be cautious and dubious, but I believe we should be aggressive and bold with regard to the potential of the human brain. The future will provide us with more insight and a deeper appreciation for how brilliant the brain is. We will also learn how to use our brains in new and Pioneering a Bold Future for Brain Health 195 highly efficient ways and to adapt to life circumstances in ways that increase our health and longevity. Perhaps we will also discover within our brain the deep sense of spirituality that has existed in humans since the beginning of time. We may even find that the complexities, questions, and answers on the origin of our universe are the same for the brain. Can something so brilliant be random? Until such exploration yields some of these insights, we need to begin the process of learning about our own brain. From a basic understanding of your brain, you can understand why a proactive lifestyle is critical. Personalizing the message of this book will enable you to engage in a brain health lifestyle across your entire life span, which is desirable because the goal of main-taining access to your life story is so meaningful. It is important to try and reflect on the many brilliant things you do every day, the experiences of life, and the social interactions your brain permits you to experience. We are truly blessed to have such a complicated and miraculous system within our skull. We are also so fortunate to have the ability to shape our brains, which means we have some control over the integrity and indeed the health of our brain. This is truly a wonderful opportunity for each of us to engage in the proactive path toward brain health. You have been encoding experiences most of your life, and your brain has placed them systematically into a long-term storage for your use. I refer to this as your autobiography, your life story, the most precious gift you have. It is critical that you maintain access to your life story so you can share it with your next great generation, the little ones in your life. Get started on your jour-ney toward brain health today. You have much to share! 196 Save Your Brain A Final Word Brain health is a critically important and interesting frontier that has captured the focus of the nation and the world. It is now up to those of us on the front lines of schools, libraries, homes, and corporations to introduce and implement brain health. Everyone who works to learn about their brain and to make lifestyle changes to promote their own brain health will benefit. While change is typically not easy, such lifestyle altera-tions can be fun and personally relevant. It is time for all of us to begin a proactive approach to protecting our life stories so that we can share them with our next great generation of little ones! Good luck with your own journey to better brain health! Resources 7 Paul D. Nussbaum, Ph.D. paulnussbaum.com drnuss@zoominternet.net 412-471-1195 Dr. Nussbaum’s website offers a tremendous amount of friendly information on the human brain and brain health promotion. He also provides a series of links to different companies that he works with and programs and products on brain health. You can also order Dr. Nussbaum’s books on his brain health lifestyle and DVDs. Kathy Rusk, Registered Dietitian Nutrition Dynamics Northwest nutritiondynamicsnw.com kathy@nutritiondynamicsnw.com 425-269-6979 197 198 Resources Websites Moxxor Nutritional Supplements mymoxxor.com/drpaul The Moxxor website offers great information on nutritional supplements that can help boost brain health. Fit Brains fitbrains.com Fit Brains provides fun and friendly brain-fitness games that give you a daily brain workout. Fit Brains also provides use-ful tools to help you get started on a brain health lifestyle. Dr. Nussbaum serves as the chief scientific officer to Fitbrains, Inc. Emeritus Senior Living emeritus.com Emeritus is one of the largest assisted-living companies in the United States, and it has incorporated Dr. Nussbaum’s brain health lifestyle into its culture. Dr. Nussbaum works closely with Emeritus to provide superior programs for resi-dents in independent-living, assisted-living, and memory-care situations. ... - tailieumienphi.vn