I’ve super excited to be giving away a free box of truBrain Think Drinks ($125.00, truBrain.com)!
I’m turning 30 this month. And while that may still be young in the scheme of things, it is enough of a milestone birthday to make me realize just how important it is to preserve the life of your brain.
Think about it: We eat healthy and exercise to support heart health. We reduce alcohol intake to prolong the life of our liver.
But what do we do for our poor brains?
A product designed by UCLA neuroscientists Dr. Andrew Hill and Dr. Aida Aittar, truBrain is a product designed to give the edge of focused cognitive performance without caffeine, energy drinks, or drugs. Containing all-natural ingredients, truBrain builds upon your normal diet and supplies all-natural nutrients and modulators that actually are scientifically-proven to help and perhaps to preserve the life of your brain.
Magnesium
Magnesium has been shown to protect your brain after injury (Brain Research, 1989).
Dr. Peter Osborne, a Board Certified doctor of clinical nutrition, said, “Healthy cognitive function begins with a solid nutritional foundation. We know magnesium is essential to maintaining healthy brain functions. We know 50 million Americans are magnesium deficit because people do not eat enough foods that contain magnesium. We know that as we age our bodies naturally lose magnesium. For example, drinking coffee or caffeinated products increases the loss. This deficit must be replaced by taking a nutritional supplement.” (Science Daily, 2013).
CDP Choline
Some of these ingredients in truBrain work in multiple ways. CDP-choline is one such ingredient, as it has been suggested in peer-reviewed research CDP-choline:
- improve communication between neurons;
- maintain neurotransmitter levels;
- counteract inflammation ((Neurochemical Research, 2005).
CDP-choline improves communication by boosting natural phosphatidylcholine (PC) levels in the brain.
A major component of cell membranes, phosphatidylcholine (PC) is transported between neurons during communication, a process also known as cell signaling (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2007). By increasing PC levels in the brain, CDP-choline can theoretically help to improve cellular signaling, and hence your thinking. (Woohoo!)
CDP-choline clinical trial data for use after stroke is encouraging: CDP-choline is non-xenobiotic, safe, well tolerated, and is often used in conjunction with other ingredients, like piracetam, to improve neurological function (Neurochemical Research, 2005).
Piracetam
The importance of piracetam ties directly to acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that is responsible for stimulating learning, attention, and memory.
A loss of acetylcholine occurs naturally in Alzheimer’s dementia and other memory loss-associated disorders. In fact, Alzheimer’s drugs like tacrine (brand name Cognex) and donepezil (trade name Aricept) improve memory solely by increasing acetylcholine availability or production in the brain.
Piracetam essentially enhances the brain’s metabolism and boosts information processing, neurotransmission, mitochondrial function, blood flow, oxygen consumption, cell membrane fluidity, and may have neuroprotective benefits (whew!) (truBrain.com).
Piracetam’s effects are well-substantiated: According to a large subset of data, including research from the American Heart Association, piracetam improves blood flow so much it is excellent for use after stroke. Piracetam has been shown to significantly decrease the time associated with successful recovery after a stroke, due solely to this improved blood flow to the brain (Stroke, 1997).
Piracetam has been shown to have even more pronounced effects in individuals who are also taking another ingredient in truBrain, choline, at the same time (Neurobiology of Aging, 1981).
Oxiracetam: May Prolong Learning, Attention, and Memory
Oxiracetam is a compound that functions like piracetam, but which is more powerful than piracetam, requiring a smaller dose. The importance of oxiracetam ties directly back to acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter that is responsible for stimulating learning, attention, and memory. A loss of acetylcholine occurs naturally in Alzheimer’s dementia and other memory loss-associated disorders, so much that Alzheimer’s drugs like tacrine (brand name Cognex) and donepezil (trade name Aricept) improve memory by increasing the effectiveness of acetylcholine in the brain.
Oxiracetam has been shown to improve the release of acetylcholine in the brain of rats (Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior, 1987).
For those who want a “more natural” approach to brain enhancement, take note: The Alzheimer’s drug selegiline has been shown in at least one study to be “substantially more powerful” at enhancing memory than oxiracetam (Clinical Therapeutics, 1990). That said, it still does something: oxiracetam has been shown to signfiicantly “increase the quality of life” in patients with dementia (Acta Neurologica Scandinavia, 1992; Journal of Neutral Transmission: Supplementum, 1987).
Bottom Line
The older I get, the more conscious I become of preserving my health. While I do lots of things to help regulate blood sugar, blood pressure, and weight, I haven’t been that cognizant of my brain’s health. Sure, I do the occasional New York Times crossword puzzle (not Sundays), but I haven’t been watching my brain’s health with nutrients or ingredients. And that needs to change.
That said, truBrain is a way to help preserve the life of your brain without the use of harmful, potentially habit-forming drugs. The UCLA-based neuroscientists on truBrain’s team affirm that truBrain is safe, even for regular use, similar to a daily vitamin supplement. Many of the ingredients in truBrain come from eating omega-3 rich salmon, antioxidant-stocked blueberries, and tons of magnesium-rich vegetables anyway, so it’s like taking a baby aspirin for your heart, or running daly to regulate blood pressure: Just reassurance.
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Thanks to truBrain for sponsoring this giveaway. For more information on truBrain, please visit their website at truBrain.com.