[Kim Jaeho's Life Story]<220> The Most Important Thing for Brain Cells

As life expectancy increases, the number of dementia patients, an age-related disease, is steadily rising. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the number of dementia patients in South Korea increased from 387,000 in 2015 to 567,000 in 2020, growing at an average annual rate of 8%. The Ministry of Health and Welfare estimates that in 2019, there were 750,000 dementia patients in South Korea, accounting for 10.2% of the population aged 65 and older, and studies show that one-third of those aged 85 and above exhibit dementia symptoms.

Dementia is a frightening disease that not only affects the patients themselves but also imposes economic burdens on their families and robs them of happiness and human dignity. It is characterized by a reduction in the number of brain cells because dying brain cells outnumber newly created ones. Medically, the causes of brain cell death are unclear except for cases where blood circulation is impaired due to blocked or ruptured cerebral blood vessels. What is important to prevent dementia?

The human brain weighs about 1.3 kg, accounting for approximately 2% of body weight, and about 73% of the brain is water, creating an environment where complex and delicate brain cells and blood vessels are immersed. Cells and tissues in our body consume nutrients and oxygen in proportion to their activity, and surprisingly, the small brain uses about 20% of the body's nutrients and oxygen, with blood supplied to the brain accounting for 15-20% of total blood volume.

A notable feature of brain cells is their exchange of enormous amounts of signals with other brain cells. Brain cells communicate with up to 15,000 other brain cells through tiny gaps called synapses using about 100 types of neurotransmitters. To ensure smooth signal transmission, brain cells have a very long lifespan but perform fewer other cellular functions. Brain cells do not divide, and once formed, they live for a lifetime unless damaged.

Although brain cells formed during the fetal stage have a long lifespan and do not divide, this does not mean brain cells do not regenerate. Neural stem cells dormant in the hippocampus activate when needed, proliferate, differentiate into necessary forms, migrate to required locations, mature into neurons, and form synaptic connections with other neurons, integrating into existing circuits and fully restoring the functions of dead cells.

Despite the regenerative ability of brain cells, minimizing brain cell death is the most important aspect of brain cell health. The particularly long lifespan of brain cells is closely related to smooth signal transmission with other brain cells. When a brain cell dies and is replaced by a newly created one, it is not easy to restore the existing signal transmission system that involved as many as 15,000 other brain cells.

To ensure brain cells live their full lifespan without dying prematurely, it is important to create an environment conducive to brain cell survival. Because brain cells consume a lot of nutrients and oxygen, maintaining healthy blood vessels that supply these is crucial. Therefore, a balanced diet that includes a variety of plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, and grains, eaten whole and in sufficient amounts, is essential (see Life Story episode 207).

Along with this, minimizing food waste and air waste that cause blood clots (thrombi) blocking blood vessels is also important (see Life Story episodes 55 to 57). Intake of representative food wastes such as sugar, saturated fats, trans fats, salt, and alcohol should be reduced. To minimize air waste, quitting smoking is fundamental, and efforts should be made to avoid excessive exposure to indoor and outdoor fine dust and various air pollutants.

Additionally, various drugs such as narcotics, steroids, cortisol, formaldehyde, anesthetics, and anticancer agents, as well as radiation, heavy metals, and pesticides, kill many brain cells and should be avoided. Supplying sufficient water, which plays an important role for brain cells, is also vital, so consistently drinking more than 2 liters of clean water daily should be practiced.

Efforts to minimize dying brain cells are very important, but since it is realistically impossible to prevent brain cells from dying entirely, it is also important to simultaneously make efforts to produce new brain cells that can replenish those lost.

In short, a lifestyle that promotes the production of many new brain cells is to practice NEWSTART, a pro-life lifestyle that "switches on the life switch" (see Life Story episode 6). Especially aerobic exercises that use large muscles and move the whole body, such as cycling, swimming, hiking, and jogging (see Life Story episode 39), are known as the best ways to promote new brain cell production, and continuous practice is important.

Brain activities that focus on certain thoughts or interests and continuous learning have great effects not only on the survival of existing brain cells but also on the production of new brain cells. Stress hinders the production of new brain cells and damages brain cells, so it must be well managed (see Life Story episodes 51 and 52). Additionally, sufficient sleep, intermittent fasting, and eating small amounts also help produce new brain cells. Care should also be taken to avoid trauma such as concussions or bruises.

Jaeho Kim, Independent Researcher