A Look at Luxury Resorts That Now Offer Brain Health Programs

Like any self-disrespecting woman, I’ve spent a lifetime of mirror scrutiny (and cash) on my thighs, hips, heart, back, post-baby belly, even my eyebrows. For all this investment, I’ve paid scant attention to the one irreplaceable body part that keeps everything else running: my brain.

Why not learn how to show it some love, then, in the nicest possible way —  by taking it on a brain vacation?

Gray matter is the latest twist in the red-hot wellness tourism category, which is growing by 7.5% a year, according to the Global Wellness Institute. Exhibit A: The new LifeWorks Health and Neuroscience near Bozeman, Mont., the country’s first luxury retreat to focus exclusively on brain health.

Neither medical clinic nor classic resort, this innovative hybrid teaches how to lower your brain’s risk factors while amping up protective factors. Last summer, I was among its first guests because I’m one of the many people who worries about the fact that 1 in 10 Americans age 65 and older has Alzheimer’s disease. And from age 65, the risk doubles every five years.

Those with a family history including Alzheimer’s, like me, have extra reason to worry. Far more of us will experience lapses in memory, focus, creative thinking and other cognitive functions.

The inspiring news: Many such brain changes increasingly look avoidable — not the inevitable sidekicks of aging. “It’s possible to alter 70% of your genetic destiny by changing nongenetic factors, with the decisions you make. That’s the new field called epigenetics,” says Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th U.S. Surgeon General.

Time to Focus on Your Brain

The first program for brain-curious travelers was launched in 2014 at pioneering wellness retreat Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Ariz., where Carmona is chief of health innovation. During its weeklong Boost Your Brain Power program, guests hear science-backed presentations by physicians and researchers on dementia, exercise physiology, mindfulness and more. They also participate in life coaching, social programming, meditation, exercise classes and optional health assessments like cognitive testing and nutritional evaluations.

“It’s now one of the most thriving programs we have,” Carmona says. Participants (who range from age 30 to 90, with most in their 50s) are given his book, 30 Days to a Better Brain, which inspires the week. The new Canyon Ranch Wellness Retreat – Woodside, in California, will offer a similar program when it opens this summer.

Other health resorts are dipping loosely into the brain spa category. One example is the Lodge at Woodloch in Pennsylvania’s Poconos, where spa concierges will build a Mind Matters Wellness Experience from existing classes.

Miraval Arizona Resort & Spa in Tucson presents 90-minute talks called “Optimize Your Brain.” And Brazil’s Kurotel (which focuses on longevity and prevention) targets memory concerns in an intensive week.

Many of these resorts also tout the brain benefits of mindfulness practice and sleep therapy.

My Brain Spa Experience

I decided to try the program at LifeWorks in Montana. “We’re unapologetically all about the brain,” says neuropsychologist Robert Velin, its chief scientific officer. “Not just telling you what to do, but showing you how.”

After a week there, I have to say that brain fitness feels less like boot camp than summer camp at this unlikely frontier of the exploding brain-wellness and dementia-prevention movements.

One day included: a walking meeting with a life adviser to talk stress; a one-on-one meeting with a trainer; some basic cognitive testing and a session of neurofeedback, which is biofeedback for the brain using real-time displays of brain activity to teach it to promote neuron growth.

During evening group “fireside chats” — yup, at a massive stone hearth — Velin explained concepts like “neuroplasticity” and the field of epigenetics.

To boost focus, I learned mindfulness practices like yoga nidra, whose delightful nickname “sleep yoga” suggests how sweaty it isn’t.

Another “wakeful meditation” practice I brought home: the five-senses exercise. Sit still and notice five things you can see, then four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one you can taste. Simple but effective, even after I’m not sitting on a deck with a view of prairie dogs and the Crazies (as in mountains).

“We want to pull all the parts of our existence — physical, spiritual, social, psychological — to support the organ that ultimately manages and allows us to perceive everything we are,” Velin says.

At communal meals, I joined stressed executives and an ex-NFL linebacker learning how to eat happily sans gluten, beef, dairy, eggs and sugar. (Amen to the five-ounce red wine pour at dinner, the limit deemed brain-safe.)

While LifeWorks stresses that not everyone needs to go so far with their diet, the goal is to show how LifeWorks’ version of optimal, the enhanced MIND Diet, can also be delicious. LifeWorks employs deft Executive Chef Peg Schaefer, an integrative nutritionist who used to cook for Ted Turner. Who knew vegan waffles and zoodles (made from zucchini) alfredo could be so yum? At least her recipes go home with the guests.

LifeWorks is located in the panoramic Shields Valley, so outdoor sports are among its “7 pillars of brain health” that guests learn — thank “neurobiophilia,” the term for how nature stimulates neural networks.

Practices Rooted in Science

It seems like so much wishful thinking that relatively pleasant lifestyle shifts could dramatically lower my risk of developing a condition that caused my dad and four other relatives to evaporate before my very eyes. But everything at LifeWorks, down to the decorative plants (chosen to remove environmental toxins), has roots in the fast-moving research world.

“We translate complex science and deliver it to the guest in ways that help the lightbulb go off, to help affect sustained behavior change,” says Canyon Ranch’s Carmona. “If you’re a CPA who’s well-educated but doesn’t know a gene from an anthill, you’ll see that the decisions you make every day, those epigenetic inputs, can be reprogrammed.”

But what happens after the Arizona desert or Montana mountains are mere memories? How do you turn these practices into habits?

These resorts have plans for that as well. Canyon Ranch guests get a last-day workshop on integrating changes into real life, plus free follow-up calls with a life coach. (Key words: baby steps!) LifeWorks provides a take-home guide and a cookbook.

Brain Health in Paradise Ain’t Cheap

Although anyone can learn brain-health basics at home, doing so with professional support while on vacation costs, well, big vacation bucks. 10-room Lifeworks runs $5,000 for four nights of all-inclusive meals and activities. Canyon Ranch’s “Boost Your Brain” program costs $500, and that’s above its standard tab of $1,099 per person per night — also all-inclusive.

Maybe it’s best to think of this as a brain investment as well as a holiday. What’s the price of a brain that works better, longer?

It’s certainly one heck of a souvenir.

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2:Brain Armor(R) Announces Canadian Distribution with Whole Foods Market

Brookfield, WI, Apr 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE via COMTEX) -- Brookfield, WI, April 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Trident Brands Inc. (otcqb:TDNT) today announced that their Brain Armor(R) brand of neuro-nutrition supplements (soft gels and concentrate) is now available at Whole Foods Market (Canada). Brain health is a rapidly growing segment supported by strengthening consumer awareness and values. Brain Armor(R) offers a range of clinically-proven supplements formulated to support the brain at every stage of life through targeted neuro-nutrition. This listing with Whole Foods Market (Canada) was achieved through our Canadian distributor Peak Performance Products Inc.

"We are very pleased with our partnership between Brain Armor and Whole Foods. It is our mission to grow the brand as a leader in Brain Health and our partnership with Whole Foods allows us the opportunity to not only promote Brain Armor as a leader in Brain Health, but the Brain Health category as a whole. Through consumer marketing, promotions and education, we believe this partnership solidifies our place in the market with the first of many innovative and science backed Brain Health products," said Jiries Rabba, Managing Director of Peak Performance Products Inc.

About Brain Armor(R) Brain Armor is on a mission to improve cognitive health, well-being and performance at every stage of life and on every field of play. Our products are clinically-proven dietary supplements formulated with omega-3, healthy fats and vital nutrients, designed to support structural brain health and performance. Brain Armor products are vegetarian, made in the USA and are a regular part of many professional and elite amateur athlete and team conditioning programs. Brain Armor Inc. is a subsidiary of Trident Brands Incorporated (otcqb:TDNT -- tridentbrands.com).

For more information on Brain Armor(R), please visit www.brain-armor.com

About Peak Performance Products Inc.

Peak Performance Products Inc. is a leading national Health and Wellness distributor in Canada. We offer a broad range of products designed for natural health, performance enhancement, overall wellness and lifestyle products. We supply the Canadian retail market with the highest quality Natural Health Products at the most affordable price while providing unparalleled customer service and support. Our team includes over 8 territory account managers, product educators, inside sales and support staff. We are currently the exclusive Canadian distributor of many international brands including but not limited to; Himalaya Herbal Healthcare, Incrediwear, Dymatize Nutrition, Redcon1, Buff Bake and Sprout Living.

For more information on Peak Performance Products, please visit www.pppinc.ca

About Trident Brands, Inc. Trident Brands Incorporated is a publicly-traded nutraceutical company (otcqb:TDNT), structured to rapidly develop private label, control label, brand label and proprietary ingredient platforms in the dynamic active nutrition, dietary supplement and functional ingredient categories.

For more information, please visit www.tridentbrands.com .

Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are not historical facts. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "project," "plan," "seek," "intend," or "anticipate" or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, and include discussions of strategy, and statements about industry trends and the Company's future performance, operations, and products. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, market acceptance of the Company's forthcoming line of nutritional products; the Company's compliance with applicable Food and Drug Administration regulations; the Company's reliance on third-party contractors to mix and produce its products; the Company's ability to develop an effective marketing strategy; the Company's ability to control advertising and marketing costs; the Company's ability to develop and increase awareness of its forthcoming brands; the success of the Company's marketing focus to retail buyers; the Company's exposure to product liability claims and intellectual property claims from third parties; and the Company's reliance on the expected growth in demand for its products. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties see "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the Company's public filings with the SEC. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The Company has no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

3:Boosting Brain Health With Food

Both the body and brain need fuel which is best obtained from healthy, nutritious, and organic foods.

Chocolates made from cacao are good for the brain due to its powerful flavonols which act as antioxidants to help preserve brain stem cells. As antioxidants these flavonols help to support the hippocampus which is involved in memory and mood, and fight chronic inflammation that can cause disease related to memory and thinking. One or two squares a day is enough, it is best to eat chocolates in moderation.

Tea and coffee can also be good for the brain, their caffeine content may help to prevent age related cognitive decline. Around 500 milligrams of caffeine a day has been shown to help protect against memory problems in human studies.

Eat the rainbow, the more coloured produce in the diet the more brain health may be improved. Colourful fruits and veggies such as beets, berries, carrots, peppers, and leafy greens contain high concentrations of antioxidants like anthocyanins and carotenoids. Antioxidants are good for the brain as they can help protect brain cell linings from free radical damage that causes inflammation that can be caused by factors like smoking or a poor diet. Beans and greens also contain folate which is beneficial in production of neurotransmitters essential to thinking and mood.

Salmon, trout, tuna, and other fatty fish once a week can help to slow cognitive decline and lower the risks of Alzheimer’s disease. Fatty fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids like DHA that play key roles in keeping the brain healthy. Healthy fatty acids are used by the brain’s membranes to enhance cellular structure and brain signaling which results in improved cognitive functioning. DHA helps to fight chronic inflammation that is damaging to brain cells and leads to cognitive decline. Omega-3 fatty acids can also be obtained in chia seeds, flaxseed, hempseed, and walnuts.

The brain likes glucose which can be obtained most easily from carbs as fuel, without glucose you may experience brain fog and have a hard time focusing. Carbs are not necessarily a bad thing to be avoided, rather than refined carbs opts for whole grains such as quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice, whole rye, and whole wheat. Whole grains contain fiber and help to control blood sugar levels; sharp fluctuations in blood sugar can damage the ability of the cells to uptake glucose because of insulin resistance.

While food is a great way to boost brain health, getting enough sleep, keeping stress under control, interacting with other people, as well as both physical and mental exercises will help to improve brain health and power.