Minds in Peril: Raising Healthy Minds in a High-Tech, Fast Food World

In the age of the brain, scientists are becoming increasingly concerned that we may be raising kids that can’t use theirs.  Of the many potential casualties related to today’s high technology, convenient food, fast-paced world, the inability of tomorrow’s children to think may be at the top of the list.

Research has revealed to us that thought and behavior in children and the relative size and weight of their brain is not something they’re simply born with, but something that’s created or developed after birth.  There’s an intriguing term called neuroplasticity which essentially means that our brain’s neurological tissues are like formable plastic being molded, grown, and developed from birth through old age.  This makes an allotment for two different scenarios; you can develop a small, light, inefficient brain or the opposite, a huge, heavy, super smart one.  The power of neuroplasticity even goes for the elderly concerned with or suffering from Alzheimer’s.  There’s always something that can be done to change or improve brain function –for better or worse.

In the war between Nature and Nurture, the Nurture side has been winning more and more battles.  At the very least, we now know, it’s Nature and Nurture.  We’re presently aware of the fact that genetics don’t necessarily determine outcomes.  That the physical, mental, and emotional environment we’re exposed to, how we treat our body, and what we feed it  have as much or more to say about how smart, happy, and healthy we are as our DNA (gene material from our grandparents). 

Change what a child does with their brain and you change the brain physically, as well as changing the child’s future.  Our current culture has been leading more and more in the direction of kid’s technologies.  They have baby videos and talking everything claiming to create baby Einstein’s of our children.  Science is revealing, however, that the results of these things are not very promising and most likely, very damaging. 

Building a larger, more functional brain in kids isn’t just about a larger IQ either.  It’s also about developing fully functioning emotional intelligence kids.  This includes things like self control, motivation, every day problem solving, self-awareness, reflection, spiritual qualities, how information is synthesized, problem solving, and independent thinking.  Businesses look for self starters and not just those who need a checklist.  High IQ scores don’t translate well into the real world.  Planning, organization, follow through, express themselves accurately, and use the facts that they have absorbed –nonintellectual intelligence. 

Keys to Building a Big Brain

A diet low in refined carbohydrates with adequate nutrients, extreme caution in the use of medication, adult companionship, the stimulation of active play, toys, books, and games, as well as limiting toxic foods and drinks.

Parents: Talk, listen, pay attention, and show them how to work through problems. 

Experience and Adventure: Music, dance, walks in nature, caring for pets, and reading stories.

Brain development is also closely tied to motor systems and spinal health.  Sometimes recess, playing kickball, climbing on the jungle gym, or a trip to the chiropractor does more for intellectual development than another page of math or history.  It should be noted that a well-functioning spine, music, dance, and creative play should not to be cut in lieu of yet another physics calculation.

Keys to a Light Brain

Academic insensitivity: Spinal or cranial injuries, medications, toxins, poor models from T.V., movies, and video games.

Technology devices act as non-human surrogates and take time away from the most important needs children have for learning, social interaction, real life experience, and creativity. 

Kids being forced to be attentive a grind out another physics lesson while experiencing little time for activities may kick back with inattentiveness.  This is normal and not a disorder of any kind.  As doctors, we’re concerned with video addiction to toddlers and babies, the effect of stress and violent games on brain chemicals, and the fact that although society stresses the importance of mental function, it continues to feed its children toxic substances and nearly half of all children are so out of shape that they already have at least one risk factor for heart disease.

Eventually, a society gets the children it deserves.  Let’s work together to deserve the best.

15. The Spine-Brain Connection

With the ability to measure brain activity and health improving each year, studies and theories on the brain-body connection are finding ever-increasing popularity. The more we discover about the functions of the brain and the pathways through which it communicates with the cells and senses, the more likely we are to expand our mental, emotional, and functional capacities and overcome disease.

With so much emphasis on the brain-body connection and how the brain keeps the body going, a logical question arises: What keeps the brain going? Paradoxically, the answer to this question is simply the body. While the brain is keeping the body healing and vibrating along, nutrients from eating, drinking, breathing, and the products of cellular function keep the brain healing and vibrating.

Nutrients essential to the brain for survival–such as oxygen, glucose, and others–are transported from the body to the brain through the fluid that flows inside your spinal canal. This fluid is called the cerebrospinal (brain-spine) fluid or CSF. This fluid gets from the spine to brain with the use of a CSF pump, which gets its power from the movement of the sacrum (lowest portion of the spine) and the cervical spine (upper portion of the spine).

In order for the CSF pump to move effectively, you need a healthy spinal column. Irregular or reduced motion of the sacrum and/or cervical spine due to vertebral subluxation in either of those areas will lead to abnormal and reduced flow of oxygen, glucose, and other important nutrients to the brain. That is why the spine-brain connection is so important. A bad back or a bad neck could literally give you a bad brain.

Correcting your spine not only gets you functioning better, it gets you thinking clearer.

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