Power up your brain with diet and exercise

Throughout your life, your neural networks are constantly rewiring themselves in response to your diet, exercise, work, and social habits. I will talk of some ways that you can tap into this ability of your brain to change its own structure and function through exercise and diet in order to achieve peak mental fitness.

• Forty minutes of aerobic training 3 times a week can increase the size of the hippocampus (lobe in the brain) by 2 percent, which will lead in improvements in memory.

• Sixty minutes of strength training 3 times a week can help improve short and long term memory performance and attention as you age.

• High-intensity intervals or resistance training spikes your levels of healthy brain hormones by releasing a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Two 30-minute sessions a week is enough.

• Your brain uses up an abundance of fuel, so to keep it working properly you need to eat heart-healthy foods such as lean protein, good fats, whole grains, and antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables.

In order to keep your brain "fit" you must exercise at least 3 days a week intensely. This includes weight training and cardio. Also you must have a balanced and healthy diet, eating every 2-3 hours.