Today’s elderly Americans are genuinely concerned with maintaining healthy memory. In fact, recent statistics indicate that Americans over the age of 55 fear memory loss more than cancer, heart disease, diabetes or stroke. Regardless of the normal age-related memory decline considered a hallmark of advanced years, cognitive decline is by no means an unavoidable consequence of aging. Fewer still realize that there are opportunities throughout life to support healthy cognition and enhance brain function.
Odds are, most of us can name an aunt, uncle, grandparent, who despite living to the ripe old age of 92, still played golf every day, wrote their memoirs, cooked their own meals and lived happily without the need of full time nursing care. So what characteristics are demonstrated by these seasoned individuals that will help the rest of us maintain our sharp, healthy, and youthful mental vigor late into life?
Five Simple Steps to Help you Stay Sharp
1. Exercise Boosts Brain Power
The benefits of physical activity range from healthy weight, greater energy, to improved digestion, but researchers emphasize that exercise also promotes the growth of healthy brain tissue, boosting memory and increasing brain hormones. In fact, new studies indicate that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster following sessions of intense exercise.
Perhaps it’s time to replace your MP3 player on the treadmill with an encyclopedia?
Interestingly enough, while it is considered normal for the brain to lose tissue beginning in our 30’s, a 2005 study conducted by researchers from the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University, in Detroit, Michigan found that aerobic fitness is able to reduce brain tissue loss in aging humans. Their findings indicate the natural protective effect of cardiovascular exercise on the brain.
These findings were confirmed in a February 2010 report from Ohio State University. Their study evaluated multiple sclerosis patients, (multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord,) and MRI scans showed that higher levels of fitness were associated with greater volume of grey matter, the part of the brain link to key processing skills. In addition, these fit individuals showed less damage in parts of the brain where MS related deterioration occurs.
We have more reason than ever to incorporate healthy exercise habits as we age.
2. Food as Brain Medicine
Generally speaking, the foods we eat are directly correlated to how we feel. So when we overeat and overwhelm our digestive system, the achy, bloated, indigestion we feel is just one part of the equation.
Ponder the peaks and valleys of blood sugar balance and how they affect our energy level and mental acuity. If you overeat sugar and caffeine, you may feel euphoric in the short term, but it eventually fizzles out.
“We like to call it a ‘carb coma’,” smiles Jason Barker, N.D., a practicing naturopathic physician and researcher, who regularly trains his patients on how digestion works in the body. “It’s why teachers encourage us to eat a healthy balanced meal before taking a test. Most of us understand that we can fuel our body for physical activity, but the same thing goes for the mind and mental performance.”
The science supports our sensations.
“Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain,” shared Professor Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a UCLA scientist, in a July 2008 issue of University of California’s online magazine. “The right food can improve memory or fight depression, schizophrenia or dementia.”
Gomez’ work is featured in the July 2008 issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience. Gomez explains that “the brain is highly susceptible to oxidative damage. Blueberries have been shown to have a strong antioxidant capacity.”
3. Ante Up Your Antioxidants: Your Brain on Blueberries
Antioxidants have surged in popularity over the last decade. From dietary supplements like Vitamin A, C, E, and Selenium, to food based nutrients like green tea, berries, and essential fatty acids, antioxidants are said to slow the oxidative process that comes with age.
Produced by free radicals, cellular oxidative damage is like the brown discoloration that appears on fruit and vegetables left exposed to air. Just as lemon juice can preserve and prolong the life of your apple slices, antioxidants can help protect your cells from the harmful effects of free radicals.
University of South Florida Neurobiologist and researcher, Dr. Cyndy Sanberg, Ph.D., explains, “Green tea provides powerful substances known as polyphenols, beneficial phytonutrients well known for their antioxidant value.” Green Tea and its extract contain EGCG, also known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate. “New research indicates that EGCG, and the extract of Green Tea may enhance and improve working memory and brain function,” she continues.
Botanicals, whole grains and brightly colored produce are prized for their high ORAC value, a measure of antioxidant potency. Wild blueberries, in particular, are treasured for their ability to promote general health, including maintenance of healthy brain, cardiovascular, vision, joint and urinary tract function.
“Recent research validates that blueberry supplementation will improve memory in older adults,” cites Dr. Sanberg. “A 2010 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showed that blueberry juice taken three times a day for twelve weeks increased participants’ memory performance as much as 42% in verbal tests.”
4. Meditation May Physically Alter Brain
While on one hand, focusing the mind can be a powerful stress reducer, recent research enlightens the public that meditation may be the fountain of youth for our brain. In 2005, researcher Sara Lazar, PhD of Harvard Medical School’s Massachusetts General Hospital reported that “early research suggests that daily ‘Western-Style’ meditation can alter the physical structure of the brain and may even slow brain deterioration related to aging.”
The study, which evaluated individuals who meditated, as compared with people who did not meditate, found that the parts of the brain known as the cerebral cortex were thicker in those who practiced for as little as 40 minutes a day.
Best be pulling out your yoga mat.
5. Enhance Enzymatic Activity
We typically discuss enzymes in the context of digestion, because our digestive system uses enzymes to turn the food we eat into energy for the body. Produced by the mouth, stomach, pancreas and intestines, and available from raw foods and plant-based dietary supplements, these enzymes include amylase for carbohydrates, lipase for fats, and protease for proteins, and cellulase for fiber.
But enzymes are key to thousands of other metabolic processes, including many which support youth and vitality, and experts tell us that our ability to produce enzymes grows weaker as age. Some enzymes, such as glutathione reductase, catalase, and SOD, are powerful antioxidants, crucial to the health and wellbeing of our cells.
Naturopath Jason Barker reminds us that many antioxidant rich foods, as well as the botanical compounds they provide are plant based ingredients made up of strong, fibrous structures. “Taking enzymes can help break down the fiber and starch components of these botanical constituents that are often poorly digested.”
By combining botanical ingredients, nutraceuticals, and enzymes into one formula, you create synergy, allowing for a reduced dosage, but greater benefit.
“A dietary supplement which includes enzymes in addition to traditional botanicals,” continues Barker, “ will impart improved nutrient value to the formula. Enzymes allow for the release of trapped nutrients and bioactive ingredients to be utilized by the body to actively play a role in memory enhancement.”
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2006 MetLife Foundation’s Alzheimer’s Survey, What America Thinks, conducted by Harris Interactive.
University of Muenster, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (2007 Vol. 87, No. 4).
Ohio State University, news release, February 2010. http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100254668 accessed 2/25/2010. The study findings were released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Brain Research.
Rezai-Zadeh K. et al., (2008) Green tea epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) reduces beta-amyloid mediated cognitive impairment and modulates tau pathology in Alzheimer transgenic mice. Brain Res 1214:177-187.
Krikorian R, Shidler MD, Nash TA, Kalt W, Vinqvist-Tymchuk MR, Shukitt-Hale B, Joseph JA (2010) Blueberry Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults (dagger). J Agric Food Chem.
Edward Howell, Enzyme Nutrition, (Avery, 1985), 27.
Results established by means of a harmless water maze test on aged rats over a 30 day period. Study summary is available at www.enzymedica.com/downloads.php.
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