In the theme of "Loving your Body" for the month of February, I wanted to talk about my top ways to love your brain. Without proper maintainence, the brain begins to deteriorate as we age. Alzheimers and dimentia are right now two of the most talked about diseases, probably because they are on a rise in older adults. The brain is the motherboard of the entire nervous system, directing not only the spinal cord and motor functions that we control, but the autonomic system controlling movements such as heartbeat and other regulatory actions. We need to be reminded of the importance of this organ. The brain needs to be fed and exercised too!!

Here are four of my easy to follow tips:

1. Eat brightly colored fruits and vegetables.

Aim for 8-10 servings (1/2 cup equals one serving) of vibrant colors from your fruits and veggies per day. Orange sweet potatoes, purple berries, even those red kidney beans are high in antioxidants which support healthy brain function.

2. Fight inflammation.

Inflammation of the brain is very common, and is a side effect of your body fighting sickness, infection or disease. High levels of mercury and lead, emotional stress, lack of exercise, excess sugar and animal fats are all prime triggers of brain inflammation. We all know these factors have either negative (mercury and lead, white sugars and animal fat ingestion from water and food sources) or positive (healthy benefits of exercise and stress reduction) effects on the body, and their impact to the brain is another motivation to control them.

3. Use your head.

Stimulate your brain by using it!! Solve crosswords and other puzzles, try to write using more complex sentence structure, and surround yourself with people and activites that are intellectually stimulating,

4. Clean house.

Environmental toxins are very difficult to avoid, however you have the control in your own home more than anywhere. Toxins such as mercury, lead, herbicides, and pesticides are found in our food, water, cleaning chemicals and toiletries. Try buying green products, organic foods and filter your water. Try keeping your fiber intake high, your colon is prime realty for toxins to fester in your body. I highly recommend the master cleanse for detoxifying, if any of you decide to get ambitious I would love to provide support.

Yesterday was Valentines day, which is the holiday invented by Walmart in 1906 to sell as many stuffed, chocolate covered, red tinted plastic products as possible in the name of love. My boyfriend cooked me a tuna steak at home, while dressed as cupid in a rubber diaper and wings, and I wondered to myself, "Why didn't Walmart push for this to be a quarterly holiday?" In the theme of love, let me present my after-valentines day ways to love your heart. My top 5 heart-healthy tips:

1. Don't smoke. This is the obvious tip, we all hear it all time, and I'm sure we are aware of the effects of smoking on the body. However, it is by far the easist way to keep your heart healthy, and also the quickest way to hurt it. When you quit smoking, within one year, your risk of heart disease is cut in half.

2. Engage in 30 min of exercise on most days. At the minimum, aim for 30 min of exercise at least 4 days a week. I would like to see everyone pushing for 60 minutes, 6 days a week. It seems harder than it is. If you can't get in 30 consecutive minutes, do 10 minute activities, 3x in a day. So... household chores, running after the kids, walking the dog, taking the stairs, etc. can easily add up to 30 minutes in a day.

3. Keep a heart healthy diet, low in fat, cholesterol and salt. An easy way to control the quality of your diet, is to stick to whole grains and fresh foods. Avoid processed foods and even more specifically PACKAGED foods. These are going to contain high levels of sodium and those scary trans fats. Here's a good plan of attack when your foods do come with wrappers: obsess over labels!!! BUT ignore the calorie content. Go farther down and check for trans fats, saturated fats and sodium. All these numbers should be low or non-existent.

4. Maintain a healthy weight. The more your body is shaped like an apple (lots of fat around the middle), the more stress you put to your heart and other vital organs. Some of us are "lucky" and our junk goes straight to the trunk, however others of us (specifically men) are quick to lose their waistlines. Good rule of thumb, (although not every body fits the norm) for women, a waist with a circumference greater than 35 inches and 40 inches for men, is crossing into the danger zone.

5. Regular health screenings A lot of what is happening internally to the body does not always manifest itself externally. Be sure to have your blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes screenings done regularly. Even if you are thin as a rail!!

Love you body, love your self and start by loving your heart!!!!