The Importance of Grey Matter
According to the National Institutes of Health, grey matter makes up the outer layer of tissue in your brain and central nervous system, or spinal cord. It looks grey because it contains a high number of cells called neuronal bodies, that appear grey in color. Neuronal bodies are so important to your good health that they’re the longest-living cells in the body. And grey matter makes up approximately 40 percent of your brain. Meanwhile, 60 percent is white matter. The job of grey matter is to process information - or to put it another way, grey matter allows people to think and reason. In fact, grey matter helps people control movement, sensation, learning, memory, speech, and emotions. Meanwhile, white matter provides communication between different grey matter areas of the brain. Grey matter is reduced when neuronal bodies atrophy or die. This can happen from lack of blood flow such as in the event of a stroke. Grey matter neurons also die naturally with age.How To Increase Gray Matter
It was long believed that there was no way to restore grey matter once it had atrophied and the neuronal bodies had died. But, over the last decade, research has shown that’s not entirely true. First, research reported by The Cleveland Clinic shows that you can slow the age-related death of neuronal bodies in your gray matter by making some very simple lifestyle changes. Changes that begin with supporting healthy blood flow to the brain. They include:- Maintaining healthy blood pressure
- Balancing your blood sugar and cholesterol levels
- Watching your weight
- Getting healthy sleep
- Limiting alcohol intake
- Not smoking
- Reducing stress levels
- Exercising regularly
Korean Red Ginseng Restores Grey Matter
For a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, researchers gave 51 healthy participants either 1000mg of KRG or a placebo daily for eight weeks. At the beginning and end of the trial, all participants underwent scans to determine the volume of their grey matter to measure the effectiveness of the KRG supplements. Additionally, the subjects did cognitive assessments to determine executive function, attention, and memory scores at baseline and after the trial. And the results were amazing! At the end of the trial, the KRG group saw a significant increase in the grey matter of the left parahippocampal gyrus – a part of your brain responsible for memory encoding and retrieval. Even better? They also saw a higher level of cognitive function! This means the KRG helped restore their grey matter… and their memory. Just imagine what results like these could mean for your future… But this isn’t the only good news about KRG.KRG Helps All of Your Brain!
As we’ve reported before, ginseng helps fight Alzheimer’s in other ways, too. These include breaking down and stopping the growth of beta-amyloid plaques, increasing your neurotransmitter levels, and reducing inflammation.3 Wow! KRG really is the “all healing” herb when it comes to your brain. When you combine these effects with KRG’s ability to help boost your gray matter, it’s hard to imagine that this supplement wouldn’t work for anyone who’s hoping to stay sharp as a tack at any age! And studies show just how effective this herb can be… In one study, 97 patients took KRG supplements or were put in a control group. Researchers saw improvements in cognition only in the ginseng group, but cognitive ability returned to the same level as the controls 12 weeks after researchers ended supplementation.4 In a longer study in patients taking Korean red ginseng for two years, researchers found a maximum improvement after 24 weeks. What’s more? These results continued for the entire two-year length of the study.5 Another study tested a heat-processed form of ginseng that contains more potent ginsenosides than raw ginseng. In this study researchers found significant cognitive improvements in patients with moderately severe Alzheimer’s compared to controls at 12 weeks. These improvements were sustained during the following 24 weeks of the study.6 KRG supplements are available at your local pharmacy or through online retailers. Best Regards, The Awakening From Alzheimer’s Team1 https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24831-grey-matter 2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3659587/ 3 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6190533/ 4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18580589/ 5 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23717092/ 6 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22780999/
