THE BASICS
YOUR BRAIN IS FAT
In fact, your brain is the fattiest organ in your body, consisting of a minimum of 60 percent fat. That’s why a good balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is vital for the brain and overall body health. “Fat stabilizes the cell walls in the brain and carries, absorbs and stores fat-soluble vitamins in your bloodstream,” explains Brandon Brock, DCM, a chiropractic neurologist and the medical director of Innovative Health and Wellness in Dallas, USA. “It also reduces inflammation and helps the immune system function properly.”
WE CAN GET SMARTER AS WE GET OLDER
Rawan Tarawneh, MD, an assistant professor of neurology in the division of cognitive neurology at Ohio State University, points out that although some mental processes decline as we age, not all do. “Some of our brain functions—such as short-term memory, processing speed, and visuospatial functions—show some decline with healthy aging,” she says. “On the other hand, language functions tend to remain well preserved as we get older.” In fact, research from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that arithmetic skills don’t peak until age 50, and vocabulary and cumulative intelligence (all the facts and knowledge we’ve acquired) peak even later, into our early 70s.
BIGGER ISN’T NECESSARILY BETTER
Comparing the brains of great thinkers, writers and mathematicians posthumously haven’t yielded conclusive evidence that the size of the brain has a correlation to intelligence.
IQ CAN GO UP—OR DOWN
This story is from the November 2019 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 2019 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Have Child, Will Travel
Bringing my kid on my around-the-world adventures helped me see her in new and unexpected ways
As Gods Among Us
A photographer explores the gamut of India’s ritual performers who embody deities as a form of worship
My stutter, Myself
If others don't notice my stutter, can I really call myself a stutterer?
I Tried It...Exercises to Relieve Tech Neck
I STARE AT MY phone for five hours a day.
The Upside of Getting Lost
I was in the woods with my family and we'd lost our way. My phone was dead. It was getting dark. How could this possibly be a good thing?
A MOTHER'S CONVICTION
AFTER ALL FOUR OF KATHLEEN FOLBIGG'S CHILDREN DIED IN INFANCY, A COURT FOUND HER GUILTY OF MURDER. TWENTY YEARS LATER, SCIENCE FINALLY UNCOVERED THE TRUTH
KITT THE COURAGEOUS K-9
Officer Bill Cushing needed a partner. His dog needed a purpose. Together, they rescued each other
Lite, Unplugged
Could you get through seven days without looking at a device? I tried—here’s what happened
HE OPENED UP THE ARC TIC
\"You don't just sit and wait for adventure to come,\" famed polar explorer Knud Rasmussen liked to explain.\"You go out and make it happen!\"
Discovering Babasaheb
This Dalit history month—which also marks the 134\" birth anniversary of Dr B. R. Ambedkar, we recount four momentous incidents from his life