Cell state—ensure your brain cells are well nourished
Good cell state ensures an adequate supply of materials that brain cells,
primarily neurons, need to work. Like other human cells, Neurons need water,
energy and oxygen. Neurons and other cells around them also need certain
nutrients to work effectively. The lack of any of these basic materials
significantly decreases your ability to learn, even to live. Ensuring your
brain has a good supply of all these materials provides a solid base on
which the other learning state layers can perform well.
The four materials in cell state are glucose,
oxygen, basic nutrients
and water.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes cell state in detail,
including:
Your brain needs much energy. Nerve transmission, or signals passing from
one neuron to another, consumes over half of the energy used by your brain.
This can be over ten percent of your body’s total energy use. The brain’s
neurons consume more energy during learning and other mental activities.
Each neuron takes mainly one form of sugar, glucose, and burns it with
oxygen to supply its energy needs. Neurons use this energy to fire when
triggered, for growing new connections, and for general cell maintenance.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- The brain’s need for energy, the impact of a lack of glucose in the
brain, and how you get energy into the brain.
- The best foods for brain energy, and why. What’s the difference
between complex carbohydrates and sugary foods?
- What foods to avoid, and the impact of insulin on energy levels in the
blood
- Tips – including exams and the impact of large meals on energy levels
(especially the Sunday lunch)
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Each neuron in your brain burns
glucose with oxygen to obtain energy. How goes oxygen get from the air
outside our body to the cells within our brain? Oxygen enters the
bloodstream through our lungs. The oxygen attaches itself to special
proteins in the blood. The blood then transports oxygen to the brain via
blood vessels, and these vessels break down into smaller and smaller
pathways until they become capillaries. Capillaries weave throughout the
brain and flow close to each neuron. When needed, oxygen detaches itself
from the blood and flows into the neuron.
While your brain is only around three percent of your body mass, it can
consume more than twenty percent of your body’s oxygen intake. Its
consumption increases during mental activities such as learning.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- The brain’s need for oxygen, and how it gets into the brain. What
happens to oxygen usage during learning? What you can do to improve your
oxygen use?
- How to increase blood efficiency, including good foods, the role of
Iron, the impact of Iron deficiency, and how Vitamin C helps.
- How to improve lung efficiency – including foods, the role of fitness,
and new lung exercisers such as Powerlung and Powerbreath.
- How to increase pulse rate and strength, both during learning and
longer term. Longer term ideas include cardiovascular fitness, and
interval training
- When to focus on breathing: Before learning, during learning, after
learning, and during day-to-day activities. Is deep breathing always good
for you (what about asthma)? Find more on abdominal breathing on the web.
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There are three basic nutrients, besides glucose, that are essential for
good learning state. Fatty acids build your brain, amino acids help it
communicate, and micronutrients protect it.
Fatty acids - build your brain
Each neuron has an outer membrane or skin which defines the cell border.
This membrane controls the flow of other materials into and out of the cell.
It’s a thin double layer of special fats called lipids. These lipids come
from fats in your diet.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- What is the role of fatty acids in maintaining the brain cell membrane
or “skin” – including the function of lipids? What are the right fats to
include in your diet – including Alpha-linolenic acid or ALA (part of the
“omega-3” family of fatty acids) and Linoleic acid or LA (part of the
“omega-6” family of fatty acids.)
- Which of these fats can come from flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts,
green leafy vegetables, expeller cold-pressed sunflower, safflower, corn,
sesame oils, and sea vegetables? Can you also get these from fish?
- What is the best ratio of these two types of fats? Why do western
diets contain poor ratios, and what can you do about it? Is
vegetable-based oils part of the answer? Should you include more
cold-water fish in your diet, such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, and
trout?
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Amino acids – connect your brain
The brain stores longer-term memories in the many connections between
neurons. While the electrical signal flows through the neuron, it does not
jump directly into the receiving neurons. Rather, the electrical signal
stimulates the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters, and these pass
(or inhibit) the signal to the receiving neurons. These neurotransmitters
are essential to the memory and learning process. Yet again, the food you
eat every day influences these important chemicals. This time the important
nutrients are proteins.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- The role of neurotransmitters in the brain, and how your diet
influences these.
- The proteins that provide basic materials for neurotransmitters.
- Which foods contain complete versus incomplete proteins, including
Fish, meat, eggs, cheese and yoghurt, grains, legumes, seeds and nuts
- Whether being vegetarian can affect your protein intake, and how
traditional diets and combinations can help.
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Micronutrients – protect your brain
The use of oxygen in cells also creates unstable bits of oxygen (and
other materials) called “free radicals.” Free radicals want to link with
other materials to become stable again. Unfortunately, by doing so, they
often cause chemical reactions that damage cells. Some theories suggest that
ageing is no more than the continuous build-up of damage caused by free
radicals.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- What are free radicals – and how can they damage the brain?
- How does the body protect itself from free radicals – the role of
antioxidants
- What are some of the key antioxidants? Can Vitamin E, Vitamin C,
glutathione, coenzyme Q10, and lipoic acid help?
- The role of diet on antioxidant levels, including vegetables and
fruit.
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Water is the most plentiful compound in our body. Over sixty percent of
our body mass is water. Our blood is mainly water, and our blood transports
oxygen, energy and nutrients around the body. Our brain also has a large
volume of water inside and around it. It uses water both for transport of
various compounds as well as for protection. Water also plays a key role in
cell metabolism. Water moves materials into and out of the cell.
Dehydration, or lack of water in the body, has a harmful impact on
learning. Typical symptoms of mild dehydration include headaches, sleepiness
and dizziness.
The Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual describes:
- The role of water in the body, including transport, protection and
metabolism.
- The impact on dehydration on learning. Typical symptoms, including
headaches, sleepiness and dizziness.
- Is the eight glasses a day guideline correct? How to tell if you are
consuming enough water. What color should your urine be?
- Is thirst a reliable indicator of fluid levels?
- When to adjust your water intake, including exercise, temperature, and
consumption of coffee of alcohol.
- The impact of stress and adrenaline on your bladder.
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