Alzheimer's Articles

Fruits and vegetables cut senior moments. When seniors forget to eat a healthy diet, they will likely forget a lot of things. There is a significant correlation between consumption of fruits and vegetables and brain function.

 This Make Sense

Many nutrients are associated with cognitive functioning. Elderly individuals appear to need more nutritional help because they are utilizing less. It is easier for the senior population to be deficient in valuable nutrients. The diet must have micronutrients to sustain brain power. Glucose levels can enhance cognitive function. A rapid decline of glucose levels impairs cognitive function. That is why diabetics on medication show a higher level of decline than diabetics not on pharmaceuticals. 

The brain needs glucose to function at its peak. Also, Omega 3 is a component that is needed for brain health. The right fatty acids are a must for proper brain support. Why fruits and vegetables make sense is that they supply micronutrients, some good fatty acids, and can regulate sugar surges.

Superior Action

Playing the field is the way to get the most micronutrients. In your senior years this is in fruits and vegetables. There are provocative studies that show that variety is the spice of life in all things including fruits and vegetables. The latest research shows there is strength in numbers. This covers the amount and number of fruits and vegetables that you include in your diet.

This will help with the challenge of getting enough photochemical, vitamins, minerals, and essential fats. These nutrients combat inflammation which is also a cause of cognitive decline. Recent studies strongly indicate that beta-carotene, vitamins A, E, and Folate are associated with cognitive function in the elderly.

Micronutrients maintain and may enhance cognitive function. The superior action of fruits and vegetables on cognitive health is known, and the idea is to start dietary changes way before your senior years.

Association

People that eat three or more servings of vegetables on a daily basis had not only a decreased prevalence of cognitive decline, but also decreased their chances of having cardiac and other health risks. That is one of the reasons that people with good cognitive function are less likely to encounter other serious health issues.

The association could be that poor cognitive function means losing some of the ability to think, remember, plan and organize information.

Researchers at the Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia analyzed diet and cognitive data on 4,879 people (3,101 women and 1,778 men), age 70 and older, who took part in the U.S. Longitudinal Study of Aging. The participants were followed for an average of seven years.

What was Found

Those who ate three or more servings of vegetables daily had a 30 percent lower risk for dying from heart disease and a 15 percent lower risk for dying from any cause during the follow-up period than those who ate fewer than three servings of vegetables a day.

People who scored high on cognitive function tests were less likely to die from heart disease or any other cause during the follow-up than those with low scores.

The study is to be presented  at the American Heart Association annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

 High Priced Studies

The  most effective vitamins come from whole foods. These studies show that a good diet is the most effective way to guard your health. The broad-spectrum of available nutrients are not only naturally occurring but readily available. The best lab is the one in your body, that will inhibit, delay or reverse most conditions. Instead of recommending more high priced studies, inform, educate, and disseminate the needed information.

Surfing the Internet just might be a way to preserve your mental skills as you age. Researches found that seniors who browsed the web had better brain function after a few days. Anti-aging online comes from the fact you are building your brains infrastructure. This is an investment in utilizing your mind and expanding its connections.

“You can teach an old brain new technology tricks,” said Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatry professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of iBrain. With people who had little Internet experience, “we found that after just a week of practice, there was a much greater extent of activity particularly in the areas of the brain that make decisions, the thinking brain — which makes sense because, when you’re searching online, you’re making a lot of decisions,” he said. “It’s interactive.”  Small is co-author of the research, which will be scheduled to be presented in Chicago at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting.

For the research, 24 neurologically normal adults, aged 55 to 78, were asked to surf the Internet while hooked up to an MRI machine. Before the study began, half the participants had used the Internet daily, and the other half had little if any experience with it.

After an initial MRI scan, the participants were instructed to do Internet searches for an hour on each of seven days in the next two weeks. After which they returned to the clinic for more brain scans.

“At baseline, those with prior Internet experience showed a much greater extent of brain activation,” Small said.  At-home use showed those who had just been introduced to the Internet were catching up to the Internet savvy group.

“This is a demonstration that, over a relatively short period of time, patterns of brain activation while engaging in cognitive activities change,” Lipton said. “That is at least a first step toward gaining insight into the mechanisms that might allow cognitive engagement to influence brain function.”

Just one more reason to do your health research online, while searching for ways to avoid dementia, you are practicing a known brain enhancer.  While gathering information, you are sharpening your ability to remember it.  A solution to learning new things while being able to retain the information, and understand it better, proves that there is always a way.  

For a number of years seniors were encouraged to do crossword-puzzles. They are told to engage in activities that use their minds. The Internet has many advantages, there is such a choice of activities that are good for both the brain and empowering. The sheer amount of knowledge that abounds on the screen is a way to reach destinations that were never possible before. Traveling miles with little effort except moving your fingers, puts a whole new dimension to independence. The University you never attended is now online.

What you can’t remember is online for you to reconnect with. It really is never too late to do it for yourself online. From history to what’s happening now you can be here and there in seconds. The experience is also a way to express yourself. From staying in touch with people to traveling around the world on your schedule, makes the web the best road trip. It is a sweet experience to get your voice heard across the globe.

From simple searches to imaginative forays into wondrous discoveries, you can find many reasons to participate in the online world. The more time you stay online the better you will appreciate what it holds for you. It takes minimal experience to do a search online and the benefits are more than you can imagine. It is a simple way to acquire a lifetime of experience from the comfort of your own home.

Feel free to hit the road with the peace of mind that you will remember where you have been. This study is one of the few studies I think was worthwhile. Everyday no matter how you feel it is a way to get out and explore, if not at least it is a good way to shop