Buck up Your Brain

Is your memory getting worse? Do you find it hard to concentrate? Are you often feeling tired?

Perhaps you need to increase your intake of B vitamins, especially folic acid. In his book 'The 10 Secrets of 100% Healthy People' Patrick Holford  explains the importance of the biological process of methylation - an essential process in keeping you happy, alert and motivated.

If the methylation processes in your body are poor then your levels of homocysteine will be high and this will contribute to your struggles to remember, to concentrate, to sleep and to feel energised and motivated throughout the day.

What can you do?

Improve your methyl IQ.

It will take 30 days before you experience a noticeable effect in a change of diet, so you should try this action plan for a month at least.

1. Eat beans, lentils, nuts or seeds everyday
2. Eat 2 servings of green vegetables everyday
3. Don't smoke
4. Drink only one glass of alcohol in a day
5. Avoid coffee, even decaf. (if this impossible then limit yourself to no more than one a day)
6. Avoid stress
7. Take a high strength multi-vitamin everyday (choose one which contains at least 20mg Vitamin B6, 200mcg of folic acid and 10mcg of Vitamin B12.

Foods high in folate will improve your methylation processes and lower your homocysteine levels. The best foods to add to your diet are:

Wheatgerm

Lentils

Millet flakes

Sunflower seeds

Endive

Chickpeas

Spinach

Broccoli

Kidney beans

Peanuts

Orange juice

Brussels sprouts

Asparagus

Hazelnuts

Avocado