How to Keep Your Mind Young and Sharp

Keeping our brain young and sharp is as important as keeping our body healthy.  Our brain requires proper nutrition and constant stimulation to keep it young and sharp.  Here are the different ways to do it.

Our body needs proper nutrition and so does our brain.  Eat plenty of foods rich in essential fatty acids.  EFAs are useful in learning better and it makes you think more clearly.  Good sources of EFAs are sardines, herring, salmon, trout, anchovies, tuna, flax seed, flax oil, fish oil and walnuts. 

Vitamins and minerals are essential in your brain’s health.  B vitamins are especially important as they help normalize nerve function.  Liver, beer, tuna, oats, whole wheat, turkey, Brazil nuts, legumes, bananas, avocados, potatoes are good sources of B vitamins.  

Selenium is also important in keeping your mind young and sharp.  It is believed to have some ability to control cell damage.  Good sources of selenium are eggs, fish and shellfish, red meat, chicken, garlic and grains. 

Load up on fruits and vegetables because they are rich in antioxidants, minerals, and phytochemicals.  These include food rich in vitamin A, C, E, carotenoids and flavonoids such as in dark, leafy and bright-colored fruits and vegetables to enable your mind to function like it is young.  Spinach, kale, collard greens, green peppers, squash, carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, peaches and apricot are just some of these foods. 

Just like our body, our brain needs exercise to keep it sharp.  Stimulate your brain through reading.  Through reading your brain takes new information, stores, recalls and links it to other information.  This way your memory is improved.  Read every day to get optimum results.

Another way to stimulate your brain is to do mind games like puzzles.  Once your brain is presented with a problem, it tries to find a solution. 

Some may not agree but playing video games stimulates your brain. There are video games intended to stimulate your brain.  Try these games once in a while.

Don’t stop learning new things; a hobby or a new skill for instance.  Don’t let your mind get stuck and become rusted.  There are easy and fun ways to keep your mind young and sharp.

Advantages of Cooking At Home

With our busy schedule, most of us don’t have time to cook at home.  And the convenience of precooked, processed, or prepackaged foods made it even impossible.  As we get used to this, preparing and cooking food has become burdensome to some of us.  But isn’t eating your own homemade cooking better than eating precooked or prepackaged foods or even eating out?

We all know that it is unhealthy to eat precooked and prepackaged foods.  They contain lots of preservatives, additives, fats and other unhealthy stuff.  Therefore, there is nothing healthier than eating the food you cooked yourself.

Why is cooking at home better?  First of all you can choose and control the ingredients. You know exactly what and how much you need.  Unlike eating in restaurants or prepackaged foods, you can control the calories, fat sodium, etc. in your food.  You can likewise choose the freshest and higher quality ingredients and you can make sure that there are no additives or preservatives in the food you and your family eat.

Preparing your own food also ensures that it is hygienic. We don’t know what goes with our food in restaurants or prepackaged foods.  Although restaurants and factories have their own standards, sometimes they are overlooked. Have you asked yourself who handled your food? Was it prepared properly? Maybe it was dropped on the dirty floor or counter top. These things happen especially when everybody in the kitchen is very busy. 

Cooking at home allows you to save money.  If you eat in a restaurant, most likely you’ll get an over-sized serving. At home you can control how much you are going to cook and eat.  You can start with a little and if you’re still hungry you can help yourself with some more.  And of course, you can store the leftovers in your fridge. 

Additionally cooking at home allows you to have quality time with your family. Get your children involved in food preparation, table setting, or cleaning up.  It is fun and rewarding.  Your children will appreciate eating healthier food if they are involved in the process.  It enhances their physical growth and mental development.  They feel loved and cared for if parents prepare food for them. 

It is a fact that we live in a fast-paced world but there are no shortcuts to giving proper nutrition to your family.  Cooking at home for your family ensures that your family’s health requirements are taken care of.  

How to Get Kids Eat Healthy Foods

Kids need proper nourishment to give them energy to learn and grow.  Eating well helps your kids stay healthy and establish good long-lasting eating habits.  However, getting kids to eat healthy foods is a big challenge for most moms. And sometimes with our busy schedule we turn to fast food.

Although it’s quite impossible and difficult to get a child to eat all the healthy foods, there are strategies to get your child eat at least some of them.  A great way to get your child eat healthy is to get him involved in making food decisions and in preparing them.  He may be too young to help you out with the menu, but he would probably like to go shopping at the grocery store.  Let him make food choices. For instance, ask him whether to get apples or pears, spinach or cabbage.  This is a good way to expose your child to different nutritious foods.

Children are also very fascinated with what you do in the kitchen.  Let them help you prepare foods, just make sure to keep safety first in mind.  My five year old son likes to peel or cut vegetables when I’m preparing them.  He also likes to stir in the food but I don’t always let him do it for safety reasons.  It’s really amazing to see that he felt accomplished after the food is cooked.  And most often than not, he enjoys eating the food we both cooked. Allowing him to watch and talk about the food while you cook is a good way to make him involved. This is an opportunity for you to teach him a thing or two about foods.

Make sure to have family meals.  Studies show that family meals improve the child’s social and emotional well-being.  Kids are more likely to eat healthy food such as fruits, vegetables and grains.  They are less likely to build bad habits such as smoking, taking drugs, or drinking alcohol.  Aside from that, you get the chance to catch up with your kids.  This is also a perfect time to act as role models to your kids.  You can’t expect your kids to eat healthy foods if they see you eat junk food or skip meals.

Although it’s nice if your child understood the significance of fruits and vegetables, you can’t always make him understand that.  If your child is unwilling to eat healthy food, try to include fruits and vegetables in foods without him knowing it. Include fruits in muffins or cookies for instance.  Kids can be too picky, but try to incorporate fruits and vegetables in their diet.  Don’t give up if your child won’t eat; just continue serving fruits and vegetables.  My five year old doesn’t like vegetables, but I always tell him vegetables are good for his skin, eyes, etc.  And it works!

Try to be creative in introducing fruits and vegetables in your kid’s diet.  Try different ways and stick to the ones that are effective.  One day you’ll be surprised he will even ask you to serve him fruits and vegetables.