How exactly does one keep their brain and memory strong and healthy?

<div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px;"><span data-type="sourceText" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://edition-m.cnn.com/specials/health/live-longer" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: color 0.4s ease; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"></a><a href="https://edition-m.cnn.com/specials/health/live-longer" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: color 0.4s ease; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><img alt="" class="c9d6ec30" src="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180705162433-live-longer-tv-logo-large-169.png" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; max-height: 40px; width: auto;"></a><a href="https://edition-m.cnn.com/specials/health/live-longer"></a><a href="https://edition-m.cnn.com/specials/health/live-longer" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: color 0.4s ease; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><font face="Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 19.36px;"><br></span></font><font face="Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif"><br></font></a><font face="Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: color 0.4s ease; display: flex; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center;"><font face="Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; box-sizing: border-box; transition: color 0.4s ease; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; display: inline !important;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD50SkazFwgEvrA0jCNX8v2bqhh9Q79O_S5YtzX6cB326vHWQTnb9EFyDFCvYe7jcB-ixPvqQJZPTwIZsaTP0ACk8k7RiGlS7AkT2jD7h0oVLIlkqdOjSPY-nN4iSxejnknABwPOo3VKc/s1600/%255BUNSET%255" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" data-original-height="" data-original-width="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD50SkazFwgEvrA0jCNX8v2bqhh9Q79O_S5YtzX6cB326vHWQTnb9EFyDFCvYe7jcB-ixPvqQJZPTwIZsaTP0ACk8k7RiGlS7AkT2jD7h0oVLIlkqdOjSPY-nN4iSxejnknABwPOo3VKc/" /></a><br></font></font></span></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span data-type="sourceText" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(89, 89, 89); transition: color 0.2s; text-decoration: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal;"><a aria-label="Related Article: Hack your brain to remember almost anything" aria-disabled="false" class="_0308207a _1e227843 " href="https://edition-m.cnn.com/2017/03/08/health/memory-athletes-brain-training-study/index.html" icon="" target="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(89, 89, 89); transition: color 0.2s; text-decoration: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Related Article:</span> Hack your brain to remember almost anything</a></span></span></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span data-type="sourceText" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(89, 89, 89); transition: color 0.2s; text-decoration: none; font-size: 14px;"><b>Keeping</b></span></span><b> your brain fit, by a USA Memory Champion</b></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><b>By Nelson Dellis</b></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><div class="_53039000 storyHighlightsGlobal styles_storyHighlights__1IpdF _2df25e03" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 16px; border-width: 2px 1px 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(204, 0, 0) rgb(230, 230, 230) rgb(230, 230, 230); border-image: initial; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin-bottom: 20px; font-size: 16px;"><h3 class="cnnds_kicker" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.625; margin: 0px 0px 16px; font-size: 12px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 1px;">STORY HIGHLIGHTS</h3><ul class="styles_list__1_Bwk" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><li class="styles_highlight__1bpMD cnnds_txt_small" data-area="normal-highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 4px 8px; padding: 0px 0px 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(230, 230, 230); font-size: 14px;">Avoiding or limiting processed foods, sugars and carbs can aid mental clarity</li><li class="styles_highlight__1bpMD cnnds_txt_small" data-area="normal-highlight" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 4px; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; font-size: 14px;">Exercise increases the size of the hippocampus, one of the primary brain regions for memory</li></ul></div><div class="styles_EditorialNote__3tLcX _30d700ad cnnds_txt_grey_small _9db439e9 _665f6206 editorsNoteGlobal" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px 1px 1px; border-top-style: initial; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: initial; border-right-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-bottom-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-left-color: rgb(230, 230, 230); border-image: initial; padding: 16px; color: rgb(115, 115, 115); font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: -16px;"><span class="styles_EditorialNoteTitle__2mFZD" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700; padding-right: 5px; display: inline-block;">Editor's Note:</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Nelson Dellis is author of "<a href="https://www.nelsondellis.com/remember-it" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); transition: color 0.4s ease;">Remember It!: The Names of People You Meet, All of Your Passwords, Where You Left Your Keys, and Everything Else You Tend to Forget</a>."</span></div></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span data-type="sourceText" style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; box-sizing: border-box;">(CNN) — </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; box-sizing: border-box;">How exactly does one keep their brain and memory strong and healthy? This was one of the driving questions I had when I began the question to improve my memory and become a four-time USA Memory Champion.</span></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;">I didn't want to end up with Alzheimer's disease when I got older, as my grandmother did, so I wondered, "If I keep my brain healthy and fit, could I prolong its lifespan?"</div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: center; font-size: 16px;">The</span><span style="text-align: center; font-size: 16px;"> answer is yes. Over the years of my memory studies and training, I've come up with four key pillars of brain health that I try to live by on a daily basis, and I've seen firsthand just how much of a difference even a small amount of these changes can make.</span></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;"><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px; font-size: 22px;">Diet: I think, therefore I am ... what I eat</h3></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: center; font-size: 16px;">As</span> a rule of thumb, whatever is good for your body is good for your brain. There are, however, a few things to eat that may boost your memory and a few things that may hamper it.</div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;">The most convincing evidence is from <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101108151346.htm" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); transition: color 0.4s ease;">the Midas Study</a>, in which subjects 55 and older with mild memory complaints were given a daily dose of supplemental docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid that's an important structural component of the brain and is often extracted from fish oil as a nutritional supplement. When taken over six months, DHA was correlated with statistically significant improvements in cognitive function, including memory and learning.</div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;">Other studies have shown that berries or other foods that are high in antioxidants (goji berries, blueberries, pecans, artichokes and kidney beans, just to name a few) have strong antioxidant capacities, which can help fight the brain's high susceptibility to oxidative damage.</div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;">Although there are some proven mental health benefits to eating certain foods, when all is said and done, eating well and avoiding or limiting the bad stuff (processed foods, sugars, carbs) will do wonders for your mental clarity. There is no denying the benefits of following a healthy diet, such as improvement in focus, heightened mental acuity and, of course, a better memory.</div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9 speakable" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px;"><h3 style="color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px; font-size: 22px;">Physical training: No pain, no gain -- to your brain.</h3><p><font color="#262626" face="Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif">Studies on exercise and memory are far more conclusive than those on diet, and at this point, it's practically a fact that exercise benefit </font><span style="color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;">your brain.</span><br></p><div class="b5d1cb4d _9db439e9" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><a aria-label="Related Article: Forgetful? It might actually make you smarter, study says" aria-disabled="false" class="_0308207a " href="https://edition-m.cnn.com/2017/06/30/health/poor-memory-smarter-study-partner/index.html" name="Related Article: Forgetful? It might actually make you smarter, study says" icon="" target="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 101, 152); transition: color 0.2s; text-decoration: none;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="_2a5c0c94" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 0;"><img alt="" class="a8a853a8" sizes="(max-width: 327px) 50vw, 100vw" src="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160316172257-memory-blocks-stock-medium-plus-169.jpg" srcset="//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160316172257-memory-blocks-stock-medium-plus-169.jpg 307w,//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/160316172257-memory-blocks-stock-large-169.jpg 460w" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; height: 162.281px; border: 0px; width: 288px;"></div></div></a><div class="_49fb7f0e cnnds_txt_grey_small" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(115, 115, 115); font-size: 14px; margin: 12px 0px 20px; line-height: 20px;"><a aria-label="Related Article: Forgetful? It might actually make you smarter, study says" aria-disabled="false" class="_0308207a _1e227843 " href="https://edition-m.cnn.com/2017/06/30/health/poor-memory-smarter-study-partner/index.html" name="Related Article: Forgetful? It might actually make you smarter, study says" icon="" target="" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(89, 89, 89); transition: color 0.2s; text-decoration: none;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Related Article:</span> Forgetful? It might actually make you smarter, study says</a></div></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;">Aerobic exercise has been shown to<a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/3017.full%20%20It%20also%20improves%20spatial%20memory%20http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22155655" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); transition: color 0.4s ease;"> increase the size of the hippocampus</a>, one of the primary brain regions for memory and <a href="http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=199487" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); transition: color 0.4s ease;">cognitive function</a>.</div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;">It's also a given that when you exercise, you generally feel better about yourself. You feel healthy, you look better, blood flow to the brain is improved (since your brain is a highly vascular organ), and your body runs better altogether. You will feel sharper and more on your game just because you were active.</div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px; font-size: 22px;">Social interaction: Hanging out with the Joneses</h3></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;">Social interaction certainly boosts quality of life, and it can boost other things, too. For example, elderly women with larger social networks have been found to be <a href="http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2007.115923" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); transition: color 0.4s ease;">less susceptible to dementia</a> than their less-connected peers.</div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;">On a more basic level, socializing involves learning things about different people and retaining that information in order to interact comfortably with them. Whether that means knowing the details of their life stories, their interests or simply how to hold a conversation without angering them, it's a way to broaden your mental frame of reference so you have more associations to help you remember.</div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px; font-size: 22px;">Brain training: All aboard the brain train</h3></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;">The biggest memory booster of all is keeping your brain active or challenging it on a regular basis. It can be as simple as learning a new language, reading something new and difficult, learning a skill, doing puzzles or (my personal favorite, of course) memorizing.</div><div class="_5090cbaa _53039000" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20px; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;"><p class="_95a3e7b8" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">B<span style="font-size: 14px;">ut the hardest part about keeping your brain active on a daily basis is staying motivated to do so. We all have the potential to practice something a lot, but what we don't all have is the drive and dedication to necessarily do that practice every day. And that's fine. My point is this: Keep your brain active by doing something you are passionate about enough to do it every day.</span></p></div><div class="styles_BodyText__195s6 _9db439e9" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif;">The great thing about memory is that there are tons of daily use-cases where you can naturally practice without having to set aside time to do it. So make memory your daily brain exercise, or make it something else. It's up to you. Just make sure you challenge your brain in some way every day.</div><p><font color="#262626" face="Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif"><br></font></p><div class="f9756c75" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative; width: 320px; padding: 8px 16px; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(38, 38, 38); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><div class="_47e8f56c" style="box-sizing: border-box; z-index: -22;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="dff1128d" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: absolute; z-index: -22; left: 0px; top: 0px;"><img alt="" class="_7a9cccd9" sizes="(max-width: 327px) 50vw, 100vw" src="https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180705162617-live-longer-tv-background-large-169.jpg" srcset="//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180705162617-live-longer-tv-background-large-169.jpg 460w,//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180705162617-live-longer-tv-background-super-169.jpg 1100w,//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180705162617-live-longer-tv-background-super-169.jpg 1100w" style="box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%; border: 0px; width: 100vw;"></div></div></div></div></div>

How exactly does one keep their brain and memory strong and healthy? 

Related Article: Hack your brain to remember almost anythingKeeping your brain fit, by a USA Memory ChampionBy Nelson DellisSTORY HIGHLIGHTSAvoiding or limiting processed foods, sugars and carbs can aid mental clarityExercise increases the size of th…

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