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5 Ways to Help Students Combat Negative Thoughts
“I’m so stupid.” “I’m always messing things up.” “No one wants to be with me.” Sadly, these types of negative beliefs are common for many kids. They become ingrained in their brain from the cruel things others say and from the bullying many of them are forced to endure. Getting picked on not only impacts emotional and social functioning, it also can have biological consequences that extend into adulthood. Kids and young adults are faced with a host of challenges at school. Besides the pressure to perform academically, they are inundated with unhealthy stereotypes and bombarded with negative messages on social media. Many give in to peer pressure and develop harmful habits and behaviors that can adversely impact their lives. Of course, not all negativity comes from external sources. Many kids are plagued with self-doubt, are insecure socially and have poor self-esteem and body image. Also, they may struggle with anxious or depressive thoughts. The Power of Thoughts What we think has a powerful effect on our lives. While it’s common to trust everything we think, the truth is our thoughts constantly lie to us. For instance, we may incorrectly assume things about other people or may inaccurately interpret how others view us. Our thoughts become our beliefs if we think them often enough. The unfortunate reality is that many kids beat themselves up with self-defeating thoughts. Whether it’s from mistakes or critical things others have said, negative thoughts can spontaneously pop into their head, sometimes days or even weeks after the hurtful event. When pessimistic thoughts occur at random times, your child might be experiencing automatic negative thoughts. What Are Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)? When negative thoughts enter the mind without warning or invitation, they’re called Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs). Here are the 9 types of ANTs and a brief description of their harmful effects: “All or Nothing” Thinking- Thoughts that are all good or all bad. “Always” Thinking- Thinking in words like always, never, no one, everyone, every time, everything. Focusing on The Negative- Only seeing the bad in a situation. Fortune Telling- Predicting the worst possible outcome to a situation with little or no evidence for it. Mind Reading- Believing that you know what another person is thinking even though they haven’t told you. Thinking with Your Feelings- Believing negative feelings without ever questioning them. Guilt Beatings- Thinking in words like should, must, ought, or have to. Labeling- Attaching a negative label to yourself or someone else. Blame- Blaming someone else for your problems. Whenever a negative thought pops into your head, combat it with these 4 questions: Is it true? Can I absolutely know that it’s true? How do I react when I think that thought? Who would I be without that thought? Or, how would I feel if I didn’t have that thought? Killing Your ANTs: Whenever ANTs creep into the mind, they must be killed. You kill them by talking back to them; if you don’t, ANTs can feast on your emotions and create anxious or depressive thoughts. Whenever an automatic negative thought enters your mind, train yourself to recognize its type and write it down. Talk back to the ANT – this takes away its power so you can gain control over your moods and start feeling better. Killing ANTs can reduce stress and improve your child’s outlook on life. In addition to taking brain-directed supplements, eating healthy foods, getting plenty of rest, water, and exercise – correcting negative thinking to reduce internal stress is key! Here are 5 ways to decrease negativity and increase positivity in your child’s life: 1. Snap to It- To prevent recurring negative thoughts, have your child wear a rubber band on their wrist. Whenever a negative thought enters their mind, train them to snap the rubber band (not too hard to where it leaves a red mark). Over time, this action will help trigger a response in their brain to switch gears from the negative thought to a positive one. 2. Shift Their Focus- If you recognize that your child is in a rut of negative thinking, help them shift their attention to something else by: spending time with a friend, reading a book, solving a crossword puzzle, or listening to soothing tunes. One of the most effective ways to prevent your child from thinking about something negative is to shift their focus to something positive. 3. Get Them Moving- If your kids are stuck in a funk, get them outside. Take your kids to a park where you can toss around a frisbee or just let them run around and let off some steam. Physical activity stimulates mental activity and improves blood flow to the brain, so get your kids up and moving. 4. Open Lines of Communication- If you notice that your child is stressed out from excessive schoolwork or demanding extracurricular activities, make sure you’re keeping the lines of communication open by asking how their day went. It may be that there’s a deeper problem, i.e. bullying, that you need to address with the school’s staff. Failing to engage your child in conversation may make their problems worse. Always make sure good communication exists in your home. 5. Focus on Strengths- It’s natural for kids who deal with negative patterns of thought to only focus on the bad things in their life and to overlook the positive. Be intentional in encouraging your child to stay active in sports, clubs and hobbies that they do well. You will improve your child’s outlook when you focus on their strengths rather than dwelling on their weaknesses. You can help your child learn how to reduce stress by killing their ANTs and embracing more positive, accurate thoughts. Better choices can lead to a better life! At BrainMD, we’re dedicated to providing the highest quality supplements to improve your physical health and overall well-being. For more information about our full list of brain healthy supplements, please visit us at BrainMD. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This content is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to substitute for medical or healthcare advice from a physician, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before beginning a new health regimen.
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Folic Acid vs. Folate: Everything You Need to Know
Did you know that there are 13 vitamins that are vital — essential — to your survival? Among them is the lineup of B vitamins with names like thiamin (for vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), and niacin (vitamin B3). Then there's folate, incredibly important for our health no matter our stage of life. The folate vitamin group is most active when converted into methylfolate (MF). What is Folate? Folate is a group of chemically complicated substances that supply the body with chemically simple methyl groups. The body needs folates but can’t make them from scratch and therefore must get from foods or dietary supplements. Folate is vital at every life stage, from early development in the womb through birth and all the way through adulthood. But for many people lifestyle factors, popularly used medications or common gene mutations deplete their folate stores. For these individuals AND for the rest of us, methylfolate is the best dietary form of folate. Methylfolate (technically methyltetrahydrofolate) is the body's most active form of folate. ALL our cells need MF to drive specialized enzymes that make the DNA, genes, and chromosomes. All our cells also need MF to repair damage to their DNA (which is occurring all the time, even in healthy cells). Methyl coming mainly from folate is also very important for epigenetics — turning genes on and off using methyl — as well as to enable cells to grow, maintain their structure and make new cells. Our 200 billion brain cells need MF for all these reasons. But also, they need MF to enable them to make nerve cells' electrical insulation, important neurotransmitters, even a major hormone. Yet MF is not commonly found in foods and very rarely provided by dietary supplements. BrainMD has made methylfolate a priority ingredient in our brain-directed dietary supplements. Lifestyle, Medications Deplete the Body's Folate Supply The body's stores of MF and other methyl resources are in danger of depletion by alcohol abuse, smoking, and by high usage of drugs such as antacids, antibiotics, painkillers, certain diuretics, estrogen replacement therapy, oral contraceptives, anticonvulsants, and SSRI psychotherapeutics. Poor diet, poor digestive and absorptive function, and suboptimal kidney function all can deplete the body's folate stores. During pregnancy, the demand for folate becomes greatly increased due to the needs of the developing baby. Supplementing with Methylfolate from BrainMD Health helps provide your brain and body with optimized folate, to improve your chances of maintaining health and well-being. What’s the Difference Between Folate, Folic Acid, and Methylfolate? Many foods are being "fortified" with folic acid (FA) to help consumers maintain good nutritional folate status. Also, dietary supplements that include folate typically provide it as FA. Yet this substance is a manufactured folate that is known to be poorly utilized by the body's folate enzyme system. The body has to use an enzyme to make FA usable, and this enzyme's conversion capacity is limited. Consequently, many people have unconverted FA in their bloodstream, which studies have linked to negative health effects. Methylfolate is the folate form most naturally preferred by the body, so much so that the intestinal lining has "transport proteins" that bind to it and selectively absorb it into the blood. Similar proteins also move MF from the circulation into the brain tissue. But MF utilization can be blocked by the FA coming from fortified foods or poorly formulated dietary supplements. Folic acid is not just poorly effective — it actually interferes with the enzymes that are tasked with using MF and the other folates coming from our foods. Folic acid consumption is a serious health issue. Bottom line: always choose supplements with methylfolate instead of folic acid. Methylfolate Bypasses Common Folate Mutations Unlike folic acid (FA), methylfolate, when consumed, does not have to be converted into active folate—being already the body's most active folate form, it can be immediately used by our folate enzyme systems. One of the most common human gene mutations is the C677T mutation in the enzyme MTHFR (Methylene Tetrahydrofolate Reductase), whose function is to produce MF. More than 40 percent of individuals in some ethnic groups have this mutation, which is associated with impaired folate utilization. Taking MF by mouth bypasses this mutation: as premade authentic MF it doesn't need to be produced by MTHFR. For people with C677T or various other, less common MTHFR mutations MF is a health breakthrough! What Are the Benefits of Methylfolate Here are a few of the numerous health benefits of MF: Fundamental to the growth, renewal, and total functioning of our cells, tissues and organs. Clinically proven for healthy mood, memory and other cognitive functions, and behavior. Enhances the clinically proven mood benefits of SAMe (S-adenosylmethionine). Essential for the brain to make the key neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Promotes the brain's healthy production of melatonin, our major sleep hormone. Enhances the body's regulation of homocysteine, a potentially toxic human metabolic product. Promotes healthy pregnancy and birth outcomes. Best Prenatal Vitamin With Methylfolate Whether you’re pregnant or planning to have a baby, it’s vital that you get proper nutrition, and you especially have to ensure you're getting sufficient usable folate. Getting MF from a state-of-the-art prenatal supplement like Smart Prenatal helps ensure you can meet your growing baby's nutritional needs — and yours, as well.* The baby's heart and brain are already forming just 6 weeks after conception, a woman who is low on folate and becomes pregnant may be at a health disadvantage for her pregnancy before she even knows she's pregnant. Since MF is essential for fetal development, it’s recommended for all women of reproductive age to take Smart Prenatal before, during and after pregnancy.* This supplement and others from BrainMD also provide methyl-vitamin B12, a necessary complement to MF: these two vitamins work as a team. Crucial from the Beginning Folate is the most researched nutrient for pregnancy, yet most prenatal vitamins and other multivitamins continue to provide synthetic folic acid. The methyl groups coming from the MF in Smart Prenatal is absolutely critical for the proper development of the baby’s heart AND nervous system AND all the other organs.* Methyl from MF is needed from the moment of fertilization of the human egg, through the development of the brain, heart and other organs, to birth, and throughout a person’s lifetime. Methylfolate Crucial After Pregnancy After birth, MF continues to be extremely crucial for an infant’s development. As the mother’s body works at its utmost to maintain sufficient levels of breast milk, her methyl and folate reserves are in danger of becoming depleted, which makes both infant and mother vulnerable to all the problems that come with folate deficiency. By continuing to supplement with MF, which happens to be the predominant folate in breast milk, a mother can be confident she's supporting her infant’s ongoing growth while protecting her own mood and well-being. Smart Prenatal with MF avoids the uncertainties and limitations associated with the use of folic acid in prenatal supplements.* Better nourished mothers have healthier babies with well-developed brains.* Children of mothers who are well-nourished and breastfeed have substantially better chances for optimal health as they mature into adults.* FAQs About Methylfolate 1. Do I really need Methylfolate? Yes, you need it, and way more than you need folic acid! And your brain really needs it! Clinical research has confirmed that taking MF as a supplement can effectively improve the brain and total body's folate status, and especially promotes positive mood. MF also promotes healthy memory, behavior, the entire range of healthy brain functions, and a huge array of functions in the bone marrow, liver, and other organs. MF is the best commercially available dietary supplement for correcting confirmed folate deficiency and for any other situation where folate supplementation is recommended. 2. How safe is Methylfolate? What is the recommended dosage range? MF’s safety is well documented, and it has been used safely as a dietary supplement for many years, with remarkable success. In multiples such as BrainMD's NeuroVite Plus Multivitamin, an effective dose of MF is 400 micrograms (mcg) and up. Higher doses are needed during pregnancy, so our Smart Prenatal supplies 1000 mcg per day.* People with mood challenges or with any of the known folate gene mutations can benefit from even higher amounts, and Methylfolate is very safe to take.* BrainMD's high-potency Methylfolate supplies 5000 mcg (5 milligrams) of MF. This level of daily dosing and higher has been proven safe from clinical research at Harvard and other research institutions.* When under a physician’s supervision, up to 3 caps of Methylfolate (15 mg) can be taken daily without concern. 3. Will Methylfolate cause problems for those taking methotrexate? We advise anyone taking methotrexate to consult a nutritionally-informed physician before taking Methylfolate. 4. Can vegans and vegetarians take Methylfolate? Yes, it’s fully suitable for anyone not wanting exposure to animal-based foods or supplements. 5. Is Methylfolate compatible with other dietary supplements? Yes, MF is very safe, very well tolerated and fully compatible with multiple vitamin/mineral supplements, fish oils, herbals, and other responsibly-formulated dietary supplements.* Further, MF’s multiple methyl actions tend to reinforce the benefits of other dietary supplements.* For example, taking MF along with BrainMD's SAMe Mood & Movement 400 and Betaine TMG can make a big difference for maintaining a healthy mood.* Taking folate as Methyfolate is well-proven nutritional health insurance for mood, memory, the other cognitive functions, behavior, and overall brain and body health.* For more information about Methylfolate, and our full line of brain-healthy supplements, visit us at BrainMD. At BrainMD, we’re dedicated to providing the highest quality supplements to improve your physical health and overall well-being. For more information about Smart Prenatal and our full list of brain healthy supplements, please visit us at BrainMD. *These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This content is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to substitute for medical or healthcare advice from a physician, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before beginning a new health regimen.
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When Memories Fade: My Grandmother's Story
The Beginnings At first, it seemed harmless. Years ago, my grandmother started repeating conversations and asking questions multiple times. My grandma had always been a little absentminded. So my family and I thought these were just normal senior moments of forgetfulness. We shrugged it off as just a part of getting older. We all assumed that would be the extent of it, but as time wore on things definitely got worse. Realization I finally allowed myself to accept that my grandmother was having a bigger problem when she asked me over to her house for dinner, and when I showed up, she looked completely surprised. She had no idea why I was there. Moments like this would happen, but she was still functioning fine on her own. Then one day we received a call, she had been at the store and had a fall. The doctor’s determined she had fainted from dehydration. She had forgotten to drink water all day. As a result of her fall she had broken her back and hit her head pretty hard, so regardless of her mental state, she couldn’t live on her own anymore. The Really Hard Part When she moved into an assisted living, I visited her frequently, and things weren’t too different. But soon the visits became emotionally draining. It was difficult to see her depressed and frustrated from her own confusion. It was hard for me. Then I started getting random phone calls from her. She would ask me why I hadn’t picked her up, saying things like she was at the movies by herself and I never came to get her. Eventually, that confusion turned to anger. Anger because she couldn’t remember or understand what was going on. She would lash out at me, and say hurtful things. She would threaten me with self-harm. She even became physically aggressive during some of these moments of confusion. One day we got another call, she had taken a plant from someone’s room and was, “going to a wedding.” When trying to walk out the front door of the facility, the staff tried to stop her, and she began hitting them. The idea of her made-up event and accidental theft would have been comical if it weren’t so tragic… She was moved to a psychiatric facility for a while after that. Eventually, my grandma progressed further into her memories, so far gone that the anger subsided. Over the course of several months, she began not recognizing me during my visits. Sometimes she would remember, but the other times she thought I was my sister, or my mother, or her own sister. She would tell us stories from decades ago as if they had just happened. She would inform us that my grandfather or her parents were coming to visit, or taking her on a trip, though they had long since passed. It wasn’t long after that point that we lost her. What I Wish I Knew To watch a once vibrant and nurturing woman lose her shine and need professional care, was one of the most painful parts of losing her. Had I known more in the early days of her repetitive questioning and forgetful moments, I would have done so much more for her. I would have given her important nutrients to nourish and support her brain, and I would have made sure she took them every day. Instead of just visiting or running errands, I also would have worked harder to keep her mentally and physically active. I would have played brain strengthening games with her, encouraged her to read and join a book club, and found ways to get her to socialize. If I had it to do over again, I would have tried anything and everything. The Point So, my purpose in telling this story: To encourage anyone who can relate to this, to please educate yourself. Read books like Dr. Amen’s “Memory Rescue,” participate in communities that educate and support you on brain health, and start doing whatever you can to keep the ones you love from fading.
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Learn How to Stress Less During the Holidays
Do you ever feel sad or irritable for no reason? What about feeling anxious or worried? Unfocused? All these can be linked to brain neurotransmitters being out of whack. Your mental state is affected greatly by your brain chemistry. When your brain transmitters are balanced, you can think more clearly, feel happier, and experience greater well-being. Some people have a sunny outlook on life, but others struggle to remain positive and even-tempered from day to day. Proper neurotransmitter balance is essential for living a brain healthy life. The better our transmitters operate in balance with each other, the closer we are to having optimal mental function. Having a balanced brain is especially important during the holidays when plans often go awry, and stress levels are pushed to the boiling point. 3 Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress 1. Soothing Tunes Remaining in a blissful state of mind is easier to accomplish when you have a happy tune running through your head. Listen to brain-enhancing music specifically composed to enhance mood, gratitude, energy, focus, motivation, and inspiration. 2. Walk It Off If you need a break from a movie marathon or if you just want to work off that extra slice of turkey or ham, taking a walk can be beneficial for you both physically and mentally. Walking can help you clear your mind, decrease anxiety, improve your mood and burn some calories all at the same time. 3. Mood Enhancing Nutrition Due to the Standard American Diet (SAD), many people aren’t receiving proper nutrition from the foods they eat. The traditional holiday meal, though offering some healthy selections, is frequently accompanied by many nutritional pitfalls (i.e., stuffing, pumpkin pie and eggnog). To fill in the nutritional gap during the holidays, it’s essential to take brain and mood-boosting supplements, such as: 5-HTP In the brain, 5-HTP is readily converted to serotonin to help maintain mental and emotional well-being, reduce feelings of anxiety, and promote calm and relaxation. B6 As one of the B complex vitamins, B6 is a metabolic aid that maintains healthy nerve function. Taking B6 during the winter season can be a boon to your health since it helps support the body’s antioxidant defense enzyme network. GABA This amino acid regulates the excitability of nerve circuits in the brain and is considered the brain’s main “calming” neurotransmitter. Taking GABA during the holidays can be a huge help, especially when trying to find a parking spot at the mall or standing in line to purchase gifts or food for the holiday meal. Taurine Taurine, an amino acid that helps stabilize our nerve cell electrical activity, is known as a mood booster. Taking taurine can help to keep the seasons bright. Tyrosine Tyrosine is required for the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Having sufficient tyrosine in the brain promotes mental clarity in dealing with stress, which always comes in handy when attending family get-togethers. The great news is that you can save a lot of money by getting all these nutrients in one supplement. BrainMD’s NeuroLink supports a diverse array of such key transmitters as adrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, GABA, and glutamate. NeuroLink provides an exclusive blend of nutrients that can help you maintain a positive mood, keep your focus, and deal with stressful challenges by helping your neurotransmitters stay in balance. NeuroLink has a 100% money-back guarantee. You have nothing to lose except for stress and worry. At BrainMD, we’re dedicated to providing the highest quality supplements to improve your physical health and overall well-being. For more information about our full list of brain healthy supplements, please visit us at BrainMD. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This content is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to substitute for medical or healthcare advice from a physician, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before beginning a new health regimen.
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5 of the Best Ways to Keep Kids Healthy During the Holidays
Of the many responsibilities parents have during the holiday season, making sure their kids are safe and healthy is among the most important. But with the demands of holiday shopping, wrapping gifts, making travel plans, preparing the big holiday meals, and putting up decorations, it’s easy to overlook some of the basics, like making sure your kids are getting proper nutrition. Unfortunately, the holidays are a time of the year where maintaining a healthy diet can be extremely challenging. Holiday feasts often come with a variety of unhealthy menu selections, especially desserts, which are loaded with fat and sugar. Since sugar weakens the immune system (which increases the chances of getting sick) be sure to closely monitor your children’s sugar intake. Getting proper physical exercise is usually a challenge when it starts getting colder outside. Winter months also have reduced hours of sunlight, so maintaining optimal vitamin D levels is crucial in staving off sickness. With longer lines and shorter days, another area of life that can suffer from the busyness of the seasons is sleep. With so many things to consider during this hectic time of the year, here are some practical ways to keep your kids healthy during the winter months. 5 Ways to Keep Your Kids Healthy for the Holidays Eat from the Rainbow This does NOT mean Skittles or jelly beans. It means teaching your children to eat healthy fruits and vegetables in assorted colors, such as blueberries, spinach, pomegranates, yellow squash, and red bell peppers, at every meal. Challenge your kids to eat meals that consist of every color of the rainbow… And don’t forget to set the example! Disguise Healthy Snacks Even the pickiest kids are more likely to try new foods when they’re disguised as boats, cars, butterflies, or cows. Learn how you can make a healthy penguin snack. Get Nutritional Support Studies have shown that an alarmingly high percentage of children eat less than the minimum daily allowance of many essential nutrients and that modern foods don’t meet children’s needs for those nutrients. Adding an expertly designed multivitamin/mineral supplement to your kids’ diet can help provide the nutritional support they need. BrainMD’s Kids’ NeuroVite Chewables were designed to bridge any nutritional gaps and take the guesswork out of which multivitamin to use for your kids. Our science-based formulation provides generous amounts of nutrients to support the brain’s maturation over the long term. Children LOVE the taste of the orange-flavored penguin chewables which are free from sugar, dairy, gluten, wheat, eggs, and artificial colorings or flavorings. Bundle Up It’s common for kids to forget to put on a jacket or hat when rushing outside for a fun activity. Ensure that your kids stay warm by dressing them in layers. Also, monitor their time to make sure they don’t stay outside too long or after dark when temperatures can rapidly plummet. Indoor Activities Instead of sitting around the TV all day, get up and do a fun activity inside your house. There are many ways to get the blood flowing without facing the elements or contracting pneumonia. Examples of indoor activities are musical chairs, scavenger hunts or hula hoop contests. Managing everyday stress and balancing your life will allow you to fully enjoy the seasons and focus on what matters most…your friends and family. Implementing these strategies can help keep you and your kids happy and healthy during the holidays. For a complete list of Dr. Amen’s brain healthy supplements, visit the online store at BrainMD.
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6 Tips For School Success
Ready or not, summer break is winding down and the new school year is almost here! Did you know that children, teens, and young adults spend more than a third of lives in school or working on schoolwork? Many parents do not realize that success, or failure, at school starts at home. Studies have linked poor academic performance to factors such as obesity, poor sleep patterns and nutrition, and a lack of parental support. The good news is that those same studies also show improved performance for students who live in homes where predictable routines, healthy habits, and good communication exist. Believe it or not, NOW is the time to plan for a successful school year. While this can benefit all children, it is particularly important if your child struggled in school last year. So how can you ensure your child heads off to school this fall with the best possible foundation? 6 Top Tips to Help Your Child Thrive 1. Focus on what has WORKED in the past. Spend some time thinking about last year. What was good about it? What came easily for your child? Every success your child has ever had can be translated into an academic skill. If your child planned a successful sleepover with friends this summer, he or she can learn to plan out their homework. If he or she found a way to remember to take care of the animals, then chances are he or she can find a way to remember to turn in their homework. 2. Learn to be the ultimate planner. Talk through organizational systems with your child – what worked and what didn’t? Consider color-coding binders and folders, buy each child their own planner, and have them organize it all. Shop for school supplies together. Getting kids involved in the planning stages can smooth the transition to school. 3. Create the right study space. It’s time to determine where your kids can study – and where they can’t. Work with your child to create a space where he or she can keep school materials organized. Any quiet area with good lighting and a writing surface can make a study space so long as it’s out of TV earshot. 4. Figure out how to streamline mornings. Think about what would make before-school hours simpler for everyone. Practice picking out clothes and making lunches the night before. Organize and gather everything together that your kids will need to walk out the door in the morning before going to bed. 5. Adopt a school schedule early. For many kids, summer is a time for staying up later and sleeping in as well as grazing throughout the day. Have your children begin to start adjusting their eating and sleeping schedules to school-year hours. 6. Support focus and thoughtfulness. Having a short attention span affects nearly every aspect of school, including a student's ability to follow teachers in lectures, participate in small groups, attend while reading, and perform consistently on class assignments and tests. Additionally, blurting out answers in class, speaking tactlessly or disrespectfully to teachers, and responding impulsively on quizzes or tests is also a recipe for academic challenges. BrainMD’s Attention Support can help your child relax, stay calm, focus, and make better decisions – all at the same time. All its ingredients were picked for their clinically proven benefits to attention, concentration, calm, and overall self-control. Listen to what other students are reporting: “College students like myself need all the help we can get to maintain a sweet GPA. These six ingredients working together keep the "green lights lit" on all the roads throughout my mind. Last October came the invitation from Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Attention Support definitely is a factor in my continued academic success. Cheers!” by Harry “Prior to this supplement, my daughter was unable to sustain her attention long enough to actually learn something. Her grades are much better now & she's even on the honor roll.” by Michael “It's been a full year since I've been giving this to my daughter. She is now more focused and more attentive to the task at hand. She stopped forgetting to write her name on test papers. She has not forgotten any assignments anymore. Her math grade is 85 without us helping her. She's happier and her self-confidence is back. Her grades have now steadied to A- and B’s.” by Ingrid “I homeschool my granddaughter who, in the past has had difficulty sitting through even an hour of school time quietly without fidgeting. In just the short time since she has been taking Attention Support I have seen a dramatic improvement. Even she has noticed that it's easier for her to complete her work.” by Terri “My son's attention span is very short, his teacher noticed a difference in his attention and grades within a week of taking this product. If he notices his supplement is getting low he reminds me to order this product. He also notices a difference in his own body. Great product.” by Grace “Our son has several neurological concerns. We brought him to the Amen Clinic in VA and he was started on Attention Support and one other supplement. Within 2 weeks I was getting emails from his school teachers sharing how well our son was dealing with transitions, challenges and multi-tasking. Thank you for this wonderful product!” by Pamela
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7 Tips To Help Your Kids Avoid Summer Brain Drain
Summer is here! However, along with warm weather, vacations, trips to the pool, and the Fourth of July comes a not-as-fun reality… the summer slide. Yes, there is actually a condition affecting school-aged children called the “summer slide,” which has nothing to do with a piece of playground equipment. Summer can take a real toll on a student’s knowledge and skills – from mathematics to reading development. In fact, research demonstrates that by the end of summer, students perform, on average, one month behind where they left off in the spring. Furthermore, other studies show that summer learning loss accounts for about 2/3 of the ninth-grade achievement gap in reading. What Can You Do To Help Your Children Avoid Summer Brain Drain? The focus is to avoid the “couch potato syndrome.” As parents, you want your kids to thrive and succeed, but the constant nagging “put down the cell phone, turn off the TV” can get really old. Instead of nagging, here are simple and FUN ways to help your kids develop the healthy habits that support them to be better equipped to succeed academically. Head To The Library – Your local public library likely offers a summer reading program that encourages kids, teens, and often adults to read over the summer. Educational, fun enrichment activities throughout the summer are often an important feature of the programs. Additionally, these programs typically involve incentives like prizes or tickets to sporting events. Plant A Garden – It is the perfect time to teach kids about planning, planting, and tending a garden. Your child will learn discipline and feel pride as they watch their plants grow and thrive. Caring for a garden also teaches them about responsibility and physically working a garden is a great form of exercise! If you are short on space, try a community garden or plant some tomatoes or spinach in a container. Keep Them Active – When your children are playing outside, riding their bikes or scooters, or are involved in an organized sport like Little League or gymnastics, they are engaging the bodies and minds. Kids who are sitting on the couch watching TV or YouTube are not. Physical activity stimulates mental activity and improves blood flow to the brain, so get your kids up and moving. Supplement Their Success – Alarming studies show that a high percentage of children eat less than the minimum daily allowance of many essential nutrients. Additional studies indicate that modern foods don't meet children's needs for these nutrients. Adding an expertly designed multivitamin/mineral supplement to their diet helps to fill any nutritional gaps. BrainMD’s Kids’ NeuroVite – science-based formulation provides generous amounts of nutrients for making energy (magnesium, the B vitamins), to support the brain's maturation (methylfolate, methylB12, choline), for vision (lutein, zeaxanthin), and many others to generally power healthy growth of mind and body. Cook With Them – This is one of the best ways to integrate math, reading and following directions with modeling healthy dietary choices. Let your child create the menu! Challenge your kids to your children to choose healthy foods in a variety of different colors, such as blueberries, spinach, pomegranates, yellow squash, and red bell peppers, at every meal. Help your child put together their favorite recipes in a cookbook. Explore Together – Let your kids research local museums, zoos, botanical gardens and any other cool stuff that your community offers. They can snap photos and even make a scrapbook about their adventure. Let the kids research a special animal in the zoo. Have each child pick a different topic to share with each other. You will be helping them subtly sharpen lots of skills, such as research, reading, and organization. Learn A New Skill – Find an age-appropriate interest for your child that he or she hasn’t tried before. It could be building a model rocket ship, learning to paint portraits, taking a pottery class, or discovering how to knit and crochet. When the brain is learning new skills, it is also staying sharp.
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The Multivitamin Your Kids Will Be Asking For
Taking daily vitamins can be a tough habit to start as a grown up, so why not do your kids the favor of starting them young? Children are incredibly active (especially during this time of year) both physically and mentally. Their growing minds and bodies require lots of essential nutrients, which can be obtained by the perfect diet. There’s just one question to ask yourself: “Is my kid a picky eater?” Even if you answered “no” to that question, consider some of the foods children need to be eating in large amounts to be consuming their essential nutrients: Cauliflower Asparagus Carrots Spinach Brussel Sprouts Peas Bell Peppers Milk Eggs Fatty Fish Meat Poultry If you’ve never said “Kids, I’ve made your favorite things: sardines, mackerel, and herring with milk, peas, asparagus, and eggs. Eat up!” then there is a good chance of a nutritional gap in their diet. How The Alphabet Can Help You may not be able to hide all the foods on that list in your child’s dinner without them noticing. And let’s be honest: you’re busy, you’re probably battling homework and chores, you probably don’t have the time and energy to get them a perfectly balanced meal that they’re willing to eat every day of the week. Adding a multivitamin to their sometimes picky or rushed diet is important for their brains and bodies before they head to school or for fun with their friends. Make sure their multivitamin contains the alphabet of vitamins: Vitamin A: For vision, bone growth, skin, and to help protect digestive systems from infection. Vitamin B6: For at least 112 different enzymes in the body, which are used to perform and speed up chemical reactions for many functions including neurotransmitter production for brain cell communication and the metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids, and fatty acids. Vitamin B12: Helps support adrenal function and maintain a healthy nervous system by affecting the development of nerve cells and helping in the production of DNA, RNA, and neurotransmitters. Vitamin C: A powerful antioxidant that combats free radicals and helps the body to form, repair and maintain connective tissue such as bones, blood vessels, and skin. Vitamin D: Helps by maintaining proper bone structure, booting immune system, and supporting the heart and blood vessels. Vitamin E: An antioxidant protector for cell membranes, where most of the cell activities occur. Vitamin K: Helps to thicken blood and to cement calcium into bone. They’re Tasty Too! All these vitamins and so much more can be found in BrainMD's Kids' NeuroVite. Not only do these vitamins help set your children up for a healthy vitamin regimen but it supports your healthy dietary restrictions for them, since it is free from sugar, dairy, gluten, wheat, eggs, and artificial colorings and flavorings. Even better, these chewable vitamins are delicious, so it doesn’t have to be a battle every day…you might just steal a couple for yourself! Our Graphic Designer Elle’s daughter even tried to convince her that she never got her morning penguin so she could get an extra at night. And Jen said, “Great product! I noticed a difference in my son right away. He has more self-control (not perfect) but you can see a difference. He is not so up and down in his mood and he loves them!”
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Do You Have the Winter Blues?
Are you still in hibernation mode? That's OK. Everyone knows it feels better to cuddle up now, watch a movie, and drink a warm, frothy beverage when it’s cold outside or during your chilly rainy season. Many of us are feeling lethargic, fatigued, moody and maybe just a little bit lazy. Also, those thick woolly sweaters can hide your errant holiday resolutions. Why is Your Bad Mood Not Going Away? Signs of low winter mood can include: Negative or guilty thoughts Mental fogginess Purposefully avoiding social interaction Overeating and emotionally eating Periods of starving and bingeing Difficulty with concentration and memory Because most people write off these signs and behaviors as “just being down,” they don’t take proper care of themselves; they don’t believe they need to do anything about it. What Causes The Need to Hibernate? A variety of things can alter or change your cold-weather mood, but there are a few distinct reasons why a change in climate can be responsible for – or the catalyst for – your shift into bad moods. Decrease in Serotonin Activity As the weather changes, and your ordinary schedule is thrown for a loop, your brain's serotonin activity can decrease. As the brain neurotransmitter that plays a majority role in mood, serotonin falloff often is correlated to an upsurge in negative mood. Fluctuations in Melatonin Activity This hormone provides your body with normal sleep cycles, and ebbs (and flows) can affect your mood. When sudden drops in this hormone occur, mood and sleep can get out of sync and contribute to mood swings. If your melatonin activity is out of balance, a melatonin supplement may help you feel more balanced and clear. Vitamin D Deficiency When you’re spending less time in the sun, which is true for most people during the winter weather, we make less vitamin D in the skin. Low vitamin D is linked to low mood and higher perceptions of stress and anxiousness. How Can You Get Rid of Your Winter Blues? There are plenty of ways you can naturally boost your mood or help to alleviate the negative signs and feelings that come with the winter blues. Many of the negative feelings of winter blues are believed to be tied to lack of sunshine and UV rays, which results in the skin producing less vitamin D. One popular, proactive remedy to offset the moody blues is a "bright-light therapy" lamp or light box, which for some people helps combat moodiness, jet lag, and mood swings. They simulate noontime sunshine without the UV rays that can cause skin cancers; and the therapy lamps have several different settings to help you avoid eyestrain. A more cost-effective alternative is to make sure you’re by a window with as much natural light as possible, for at least 30 minutes each day. Sweat to the Beat Try to maintain a healthy diet that fuels your more active lifestyle. Ramp up your will-power and adopt a moderate daily exercise routine. Also, be sure to stick to these healthy habits in order to maintain more even moods and a sense of mind-body balance. If you’re looking for a mood enhancing supplement, BrainMD’s Serotonin Mood Support and SAMe Mood & Movement 400 are both scientifically designed to support the brain mechanisms that promote positive mood and emotional balance during your hibernation months. At BrainMD, we’re dedicated to providing the highest quality supplements to improve your physical health and overall well-being. For more information about our full list of brain healthy supplements, please visit us at BrainMD. *These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This content is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to substitute for medical or healthcare advice from a physician, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before beginning a new health regimen.
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4 Simple Ways to Stop Dieting & Get Healthier Habits
Going vegan, the Cabbage Soup Diet, a Paleo Diet, the Mediterranean Diet… We have all been there. You spend hours or even days trying to decide if or when you should start that detoxing juice cleanse, the low-carb diet, the list goes on and on. You commit all week long and then your weekend get-together rolls around, and you decide that you are tired of being starving. Or feeling deprived or depressed. Or lonely. Down goes the diet. Don’t let this toxic yoyo cycling ruin your chances of shedding excess body weight and living a more vibrant lifestyle. The brain is your command-and-control center. It’s how you make good or bad decisions about behavior and food, and it also tells you: What, when and how much to eat What to buy at the grocery store or order in a restaurant When and how often to exercise Here are simple and thoughtful strategies from Amen Clinics to thread into your food practices and into your life. Rather than forming a stand-alone diet, these tips help you navigate mealtime and choose healthier eating practices. Remember, you may need brain health and emotional support to overcome some of these trendy diets. 4 Simple Ways to Stop Dieting & Get Healthier Habits 1. Drink 8-10 ounces of glass of water before meals The idea of eating something very healthy to boost satiation before a main meal has been around a long time – and it still works. Also, the premise of many soup diets and cleanses, the idea is you drink to fill up, creating fewer hunger signals to the brain and false cravings, which can help you ingest less during meals. Some dieters may find that broth or even an apple can satisfy food cravings pre-meals and help you eat less during the main event. 2. Eat smaller portions and chew slowly Get rid of large clunky entrée plates and try eating your snacks and meals on smaller appetizer-size plates (or salad bowls) for more control. Try using chopsticks and appetizer-sized cutlery to take in smaller portions. There are portion-sized plates and Tupperware in every supermarket to help you. When you are eating, tune into your food and turn off any digital interference until the last bite. 3. No gobbling, guzzling, or skipping meals On your new practical diet, eat moderately, take smaller bites, and allow your stomach to expand and send the signals back to your brain when it needs to turn off the hunger switch. You already know that drinking excessive alcohol may help you lose control of your appetites, so avoid that too. Also, eat organic, all-natural whole foods as often as you can to keep all the “bad” cholesterol and extra calories at bay. (By the way, skipping meals slows your metabolism – the rate you burn calories – which may cause overeating and intensify your hunger at the next meal.) 4. Plan ahead to practice smart meal preparation Pick one day of the week to shop healthfully, filling your cart with vegetables, and nutrient-rich foods to help you fuel up all week, and keep your brain active and healthy. Try chopping up veggies every morning to feast on throughout your day. Bring your own healthy bag lunch (think colorful salads) to work every day, too. Not only will this help your wallet, but it will help your waistline as well. Set aside an evening and throw together quick dishes that are balanced and healthy. Here is the thing: There is no perfect diet for every single human. We are all different when it comes to our brain and genetics, and your diet should be customized for that. The reality is, with diligence and nutritional knowledge you can not only lose weight, and keep it off, but you can learn to live a brain-healthy lifestyle too, one that also benefits your heart, mind, and body. Amen Clinic food philosophies stand apart from the crowd because by discovering your brain type, we get very significant information to help create the best custom nutrition and lifestyle plan to help you lose weight, optimize brain function, become healthier, and increase your energy. Hear more about this food and nutrition topic on one of our Live Chats on Facebook.
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How to Stop Emotionally Overeating
There’s an old adage that goes, “It’s better to face your stuff than to stuff your face.” In addition to being an obnoxious statement, that is far easier said than done! To maintain a healthy relationship with food, or to gain clarity and more acceptance around food, it may require you to re-connect to your body and your natural appetites. And if you’re like a lot of people, food has become the “friend” you turn to when you are feeling blue, dealing with anger, or feeling unloved. When these emotions start to bubble up, it makes you feel uncomfortable, and you may use food to stuff them back inside you (literally), so you won’t have to deal. We all know that doesn’t serve you well in the long run. Do You Turn to Food to Soothe Anger or Loneliness? You may not even realize just how much your relationship with food is impacting who you are and how you live your life. Thankfully, you can learn how to “face your stuff” with expert tips from Amen Clinics. 1. Manage Your Stress When you get frazzled, do you calm your nerves with ice cream or cheeseburgers? Rest assured there are better ways to deal with stress. Meditation, yoga, tai chi and deep breathing exercises, for starters, are simple techniques that help improve your equanimity and help reduce your cravings to overeat. Considering that stress is one of the most common triggers for emotional overeating, reducing your anxiety can be vital to changing your eating patterns. 2. Exercise Every Day Physical exercise is a super-fantastic, all-natural way to help increase self-control and feelings of confidence and well-being. Exercise also boosts your mood in a number of ways: Working out increases serotonin in your brain to help you get unstuck when you can’t stop thinking about pepperoni pizza, potato chips, beer, etc. It increases blood flow and dopamine in your brain, which improves impulse control It clearly reduces stress, balances your mood, and stabilizes your blood sugar levels so you won’t overeat. 3. Nosh Mindfully Being present means paying attention to what you are doing, thinking, feeling, smelling, touching, and tasting in the moment. This is especially important for folks who camp out on the couch all evening and devour bags of cookies without even realizing it. Unfortunately, it’s usually quantity over quality when it comes to emotional eating! By contrast, when you eat mindfully, you pause gratefully on each bite of food and become aware of the smells, tastes, colors, and textures. You learn to savor each bite without checking your phone or watching Survivor reruns. Mindful eating can help you become more aware of feeling full and teaches you to sidestep carb cravings. 4. Balance Your Serotonin The fastest way to balance your blood sugar and decrease cravings (which will help you avoid emotional overeating) is to decrease the amount of high-glycemic, low-fiber carbohydrates you eat (simple sugars, sodas, processed foods). Instead, focus on clean, lean proteins and smart carbohydrates, which we define as low-glycemic, high-fiber. Serotonin, the “don’t worry, be happy” brain neurotransmitter, is at least partially responsible for mood stability, sleep regulation, appetite control, and social engagement. Often the reason that people emotionally overeat is that they are unconsciously trying to increase depleted serotonin levels. They intuitively crave carbohydrate-rich foods such as pasta and bread because simple carbohydrates can raise serotonin levels, and temporarily increase your feelings of well-being. If you’re in need of serotonin-boosting carbs, reach for whole grains and carbs derived from plant foods like sweet potatoes, blueberries, pears, and apples. 5. Don’t Deprive Yourself (Completely!) Avoiding every treat or food you like is a set up for failure: Allow yourself to enjoy those treats that you look forward to, but keep in mind there's no need for an all-out binge-fest. In fact, research indicates that the first few bites of food are the most satisfying. So, follow the three-bite rule – be fully present and conscious while you have those first three bites so you can really concentrate on enjoying the food. 6. Use H-A-L-T to Curb Emotional Eating To keep emotional overeating in check, learn to H-A-L-T, which stands for: Don’t get too Hungry. Going too long without food lowers your blood sugar levels, which can lead to irritability, which can directly trigger overeating. Don’t get too Angry. Uncontrolled antagonism can send you running to the cookie jar to calm your raging emotions. Don’t get too Lonely. Social skills and a nurturing social network are critical to your emotional well-being. Enlist a team of supporters and healthy role models. Don’t get too Tired. Sleep deprivation leads to a brain that cannot cope as well with stressful situations, leading to worsening moods, greater irritability, increased anger, and more frustration. When emotions are running wild, you are more apt to run to the refrigerator for solace. Make sleep a priority to boost brain function and improve judgment and self-control. Be patient and learn how to balance your emotions and overeating eating triggers. More sleep, a support network and dietary supplements can all potentially support healthy serotonin balance in the brain, which can minimize emotional overeating.
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4 Tips to Become the Best Version of You This Year
Jingle bells, jingle bells – wait a minute. Hold your reindeer, there. If you are not feeling quite in the holiday swing of things yet, just do it. Let out one giant “Humbug!” and get it out of the way… Ah, now, that feels better! It is the time of year to look back, take stock and rewrite your negative stories. Set goals for the new year that center around gratitude, strength, and mindfulness. Try these four expert techniques to get in touch with your healthier, calmer self, the best version of you this year. We can help you slow down your busy brain, create healthier relationships, and ultimately bring your life back under control, all of which increase the likelihood for glad tidings of comfort and joy. 4 Ways to Make the Season Merry and Bright 1. Boost Your Immunity Naturally No one feels happy and bright when they are sniffling over the Christmas cookies! While no single food will magically fend off the flu, some nutrients can help protect your body from billions of germs and bacteria. Here are specific nutrients and foods that researchers may suggest to enhance your immune system: Omega-3 fatty acids found in flaxseed oil, nuts, salmon, tuna, mackerel Zinc-rich foods found in chickpeas and some legumes, oysters, crab, lean meats and poultry Selenium-rich foods found in barley, broccoli, sardines, tuna, Brazil nuts Vitamin E-rich foods found in seeds, almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts 2. Slate Time to Tune Up Getting 30 minutes of daily physical activity can strengthen many defenses of the immune system, kick-start your stamina and keep anxious thoughts at bay. Since consistent exercise is a natural anti-depressant, it can help deflect some of those daily and seasonal anxieties. “Exercise gets antibodies and white blood cells moving through the body faster, so they may detect illnesses sooner,” says Daniel Amen, M.D. “Additionally, an increase in blood circulation [from exercise] may also trigger the release of hormones that ‘warn immune cells of intruding pathogens,’” which may help sidestep sickness while enhancing your mood. 3. Take Your Vitamin D, for Goodness Sake Vitamin D plays a number of pivotal roles in promoting weight loss, good moods and immunity. Unfortunately, nearly one-third of the U.S. population is vitamin D deficient, says Dr. Amen. Very few foods contain much vitamin D, so your best bet is to take a supplement containing Vitamin D. NeuroVite Plus combines more than 50 nutrients, including vitamin D and plant extracts in their most active forms, to provide whole body-mind nutrition. 4. Train Your Brain to Bring Joy to the World Every time you have an unkind thought or a stress-out thought, your brain releases negative chemicals that make your body feel bad, says Dr. Amen. Every time you have a happy thought, or a kind thought, your brain releases chemicals that make your body feel good. Whenever you're happy, imagine that your brain is releasing bubbles with smiling faces, he suggests. And pass them on to the next person who may be mumbling “Humbug” right about now. Being vital and feeling hearty around the holidays improves your mood and boosts your stamina. (Go chop that firewood already.) To celebrate additional glad tidings, try more of these “good mood” nutrients.
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