The Missing Piece to Brain Health?

The key to better cognitive function as you age

Alzheimer’s is increasing at alarming rates. 

If you don’t take action to prevent it, there’s a good chance you could be swept up in the inevitable tsunami.  

Many measures focus on preventing the toxic beta amyloid plaques that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. 

These plaques rob you of your brain function by destroying the synapses—the vital lines of communication—between your neurons. 

But there’s another way to protect your brain, and it involves protecting your synapses even in the presence of beta amyloid plaque. 

You already know that exercise is good for your body… but did you know it could protect your aging brain as well? 

Plenty of mouse studies have shown the brain benefits of exercise, but human studies have been harder to carry out. 

But in this unique study, researchers tracked the activity of older individuals who agreed to donate their brains after they died. 

This gave the researchers valuable insight they wouldn’t have been able to gain otherwise. 

The results showed that older adults who were active had more proteins in their brains that enhance the connection between neurons. 

The synapses—or connections—in your brain are where cognition happens. When you protect that crucial communication point, you protect your cognitive function. 

This finding is in line with previous studies showing that people with higher levels of these proteins had better brain function later in life. 

Here’s the really interesting part…  

This protective effect was also seen in brains that were loaded with toxic beta amyloid plaques, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. 

This protective effect occurred both in the hippocampus (where your memories are formed) and in other areas of the brain. 

So, while exercise might not prevent the amyloid beta plaques from forming in your brain, it could possibly protect your brain from their memory-robbing effects. 

And isn’t that really what matters? 

P.S. I recently wrote about a supplement that could hold the key to protecting your brain health and boosting your cognitive function. Read about it, here.