Flipswitch

Hey guys and gals!

Life has been getting pretty hectic lately, considering the school year is starting to wind down and I have finals coming up. With all this extra work to do I have stopped working out, which makes me feel a little guilty, but it frees up much needed time. Not only has exercising gone completely out of the window (hopefully I can get back on it in a week or so), but being a college student my diet isn’t all that healthy either. Like all of you, McDonald’s calls my name pretty frequently and homemade meals consist of Mac’N Cheese, maybe a can of vegetables, and a hot dog. I don’t usually pay too much attention to my diet, but once again my Neuroscience Seminar opened my eyes.

It was this Tuesday when I got to hear another speaker from Loyola’s medical school. Her presentation was on Parkinson’s disease (a neurological disease where individuals loose their ability to move freely, sometimes lose memory function, and they shake a lot…if you want to know more just type it in Google. It is pretty fascinating, and you may know Michael J. Fox has this disease.). What she mainly focused on was treatment of the disease and how right now there really is no known cure; they can only treat the symptoms. Her research has found, though, very convincing evidence that diet can play a huge role in preventing and even possibly treating the disease. She has found that blueberries have a significant impact in keeping the brain healthy.

I don’t know about you, but this made me a little scared. Fruits aren’t something I come across daily, especially blueberries. But don’t fret too much about it, the point I want to make concerns you and me. Bipolar Disorder is also an illness that effects the brain of the individual living with the disorder, and while neurons aren’t necessarily being attacked they still need to be taken care of. There are specific nutrients (the good stuff in food, like vitamins and minerals) that brain cells need to function properly. Thus, it would make sense to eat healthy and take care of your brain.

Now just to throw out a disclaimer, I am not suggesting blueberries, and eating healthy, is going to 100% protect you from brain illness or cure you. All I am suggesting is that both you and I need to take care of our bodies and our brains, and eating healthy is a very important part of helping them stay healthy. By eating healthy, you give the brain all the nutrients it needs to run as close to normal as it can!

Until next time! Ryan