For most, January 1st beckons a fresh start, but sometimes achieving those “big” resolutions can be a little bit challenging. Whether it’s setting a healthy eating goal for yourself or finding ways to get the whole family invested in putting nourishing foods on the table, consider adding Wild Blueberries into your morning routine as an easy way to treat the body and your brain better. Here are three reasons why Wild Blueberries are a great addition to your daily diet, along with some recipe suggestions to help make this change a reality.
Nourish the Noggin with Wild Each Morning
There is a growing body of evidence that suggests people can reduce cognitive decline by adopting key lifestyle changes. One of those is eating a balanced diet that is low in fat and high in vegetable and fruit consumption. There is ample research that suggests Wild Blueberries may improve cognitive function for both young and old. So, prioritize your brain health in 2020 and feed it the tastiest brain food – Wild Blueberries. All you have to do is add a healthy scoop of frozen Wild Blueberries to whatever’s for breakfast to give the whole family a better start to the day. It’s never too early to eat for brain health and it’s recommended you do so for your entire lifespan. Nourish their noggins with this easy-to-make Wild Blueberry Oat Muffin recipe that can be made ahead so you have on hand a nutritious, delicious and convenient breakfast.
Make it a Fiber Filled Day
It’s reported that in 2018, only 5% of Americans got enough fiber in their diets. Well if you’re looking for a way to up your fiber intake, Wild Blueberries are a tasty way to do just that. The Wild Blueberry skin is an excellent source of fiber – because the berries are smaller you’re getting more skin (which equals more fiber) in every serving. Plus, according to the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans MyPlate, it’s important that half your plate consists of fruits and vegetables. Fill up on fiber and start your day off right with this Wild Blueberry Blast with Banana & Chia Seeds Smoothie.
Frozen for Your Convenience
Let’s face it, we’re all busy. And busy schedules mean that we’re constantly looking for options that make our lives easier. Enter: frozen Wild Blueberries. The great thing about frozen Wild Blueberries is that they are frozen with 24-hours of harvest, ensuring that taste and nutritional benefits locked in. The berry is picked locally in the U.S., frozen, and on its way to your table in less time that it takes ordinary berries to make the same journey from Chile, South America, and a variety of other places. When you pick wild it’s like eating a Wild Blueberry right out of the fields. Plus, frozen fruit is super convenient and accessible all year long, eliminating food waste. This weekend, treat yourself with these drool-worthy Wild Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes.
With 2020 right around the corner, help your family – and yourself – achieve realistic health goals. You can get a great start by adding Wild to your diet every day. Happy (almost) New Year!
Resolve to Step Up Your Anti-aging Efforts in 2013
If 2013 is your year to look better, feel younger, and be healthier, overhauling your diet might be in order. A healthy diet is the closest thing we have to a ticket to longevity – not to mention a better life right now. We simply are what we eat, and today’s scientific research supports that our diet holds sway over our ability to prevent age-related issues, including illness, disease, and overall wellness.
Is health and longevity on your plate this year? It should be. Now is the perfect time to reset the clock on your health. Resolve to make your diet work for you, not against you, in the coming year.
Is Your Diet Aging You?
It could be. The health of your brain, the vitality of your skin, and your chances of experiencing chronic illness are directly influenced by what you put on your plate. When your intake of sugars, fats, and processed foods begins to overtake your intake fruits and vegetables, it means your diet has deteriorated. As a result, you may be putting yourself at risk for what you most want to avoid as you age.
Your Diet Affects Your Brain
Without a healthy brain, let’s face it, the rest just doesn’t matter. But having a diet of prevention now can help keep your brain healthy and nimble later. Eating for brain health is part of a fundamental strategy to help reverse the aging process. Here’s why: a diet rich in anthocyanin-rich foods has been shown to reverse memory loss and slow cognitive decline. In fact, new research into cognitive health such as the Nurse’s Study shows that eating anthocyanin-rich foods can affect intellectual performance, memory, and brain performance related to aging. And, dietary antioxidants have been shown to protect against inflammation, and inflammation is thought to be a leading factor in brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
Your Diet Affects Your Skin
What we show the world on the outside reflects our inside – that couldn’t be truer when it comes to our skin. Our cells are engaged in a battle against free radicals everyday. Oxidative stress is associated with cancer, heart disease and other diseases of aging. It’s also evident on our outermost layers of cells – free radical damage is the reason the sun and our environment leads to wrinkles and a dull complexion. High antioxidant foods help us in the fight against free radicals and act as anti-aging agents. Dietary antioxidants such as anthocyanins, flavonoids found in the skin pigments of some foods like the deeply-colored wild blueberry, have the ability to neutralize free radicals and help prevent cell damage, and that includes our aging epidermis, an external hallmark of our maturity.
Your Diet Affects Your Risk of Chronic Illness
Can we avoid the chronic illness that plagues us as we age? Some nutrition experts believe we can, and scientists continue to make efforts to isolate the compounds that act on our bodies to prevent aging and disease. What we already know, however, is that natural compounds found in fruits and vegetables can help us prevent chronic illness and promote healthy aging. Aging is often characterized by diseases that are the result of low grade chronic inflammation that occurs inside the body and causes heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and even arthritis. Eating antioxidant-rich foods daily has been shown to minimize oxidative strain inside the body, which is connected to chronic illnesses and aging.
Resolve to Age Better in 2013
Here are three simple steps you can take to make 2013 your best year yet in health and anti-aging efforts.
1. Get Your 5 Cups
Reaching (or even closing in on) your recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables will get you closer to your goal of healthy aging. This year, resolve to start eating a diet that combats age-related health risks by eating at a variety of colorful fruits and veggies and filling half your plate with them at every meal. According to the USDA dietary guidelines, that’s 2 cups of fruit and 3 cups of vegetables, on average, for a total of 5 cups every day. By getting your recommended cups per day, you’ll also get the added benefit of edging out less-than-healthy foods that are aging you too quickly. (That’s two resolutions for the price on one!)
2. Load Up on Berries
Look to berries if you are aiming to make the most of your anti-aging efforts. Why berries? Berries are notorious for their powerful antioxidant benefits thanks to phytonutrients, which aid the process of neutralizing free radicals and are found in high concentrations in berries’ colorful skin. Berries have also been shown to have “synergy” with other foods and to help ameliorate the adverse effects of a meal that occurs with absorption. Wild blueberries in particular top the list of high-phyto berries. (They are also high in fiber and contribute to glycemic control.) If slowing the aging process is your resolution, “bathe your meal in berries” says superfood guru Steven Pratt – whether it’s breakfast, salads, entrees or desserts – you’ll be arming yourself against inflammation and the diseases of aging.
3. Be Antioxidant Savvy
In the quest to age well, make sure you know what foods provide the most powerful source of antioxidants. Deep pigments and colorful skin is often nature’s tip-off that a food has beneficial compounds. By knowing the amount of antioxidants in certain foods, you can get the biggest antioxidant bang from your dietary buck.
You can determine the antioxidant capacity of different fruits and vegetables by knowing their ORAC score. Find a list on the United States Department of Agriculture or by checking OracValues.com, and use your knowledge to start buying foods that promote disease prevention. Shop the produce section or the freezer section for fruits and vegetables – that’s where you’ll find the healthiest foods. And those are the ones you’ll want on your plate every day. Then, even while the calendar keeps moving forward, you’ll know you’re making efforts to turn back the clock.
Healthy Aging Research Scientists around the world are studying the ways in which natural compounds found in the foods we eat can help combat disease and promote health aging. For an in-depth look at hundreds of health-related blueberry studies, visit the Wild Blueberry Association Research Library™.
Strong scientific evidence continues to reinforce the connection between berries and health. It’s led some to call these high-nutrition berries “brainberries”, the latest moniker for potent berries like blueberries and strawberries that, when integrated into a daily diet, may help preserve and protect the brain as we age. The latest brain-berry research is taking us further in our understanding of a devastating problem affecting an aging population.
Barbara Shukitt-Hale, Ph.D., of the USDA, Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, recently shared her contribution to this research on a podcast at the American Chemical Society. Shukitt-Hale’s research focuses on the science behind the value of eating berry fruits, and her findings, which appear in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, suggest that eating berries has beneficial effects on the brain and may help prevent age-related memory loss and other changes such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Shukitt-Hale is a valued member of the Bar Harbor Group, a group of top scientists from the U.S. and Canada that meet in Bar Harbor, Maine each year to present research into the connection between a blueberry-rich diet and disease prevention. Members have been a force behind research into Azhiemer’s disease, diabetes, heart disease, vision health and metabolic syndrome. This past fall, Shukitt-Hale presented work at the Bar Harbor Summit concerning memory and motor function and their connection with blueberries.
On the podcast, Shukitt-Hale explains that the high antioxidant benefit is what acts on the part of the brain responsible for cognitive function. Berries contain high levels of antioxidants (with their dark phyto-rich skin, wild blueberries are leaders in antioxidants). She also points out that “…berry fruits change the way neurons in the brain communicate.” These changes in signaling, she says, can prevent inflammation in the brain, the key to preventing neuron damage that specifically affects cognitive function. While ongoing research is required to fully understand this mechanism, we are closer than ever to a major health message that could help millions.
Brain Benefits Now & Later
Reducing Alzheimer’s disease can translate into reduced health care challenges for families, lowered costs of care, and improved quality of life for millions. Today, 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease and it is the sixth leading cause of death. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the direct costs of caring for those with Alzheimer’s or other dementias to American society will total an estimated $200 billion in 2012.
Should we change our behavior based on the research of Shukkit-Hale and the recent findings from the Nurses Health Study?
We should. If you are not eating berries in your daily diet, begin. Even if we have more to understand about the mechanism behind the berry benefits, increasing our fruit and veggie intake with a focus on berries is, according to the best experts in the field, the right move. Everyone can reap benefit from berries, and bumping up your intake is easy – there’s simply no downside, and the upside can be huge.
Short-term benefits: Berries, namely the antioxidant leader wild blueberries, are considered brain food because their cognitive benefits can keep our brains working whether we are having fun or we are hard at work. Berries’ immediate brain benefits are a result of being well-rounded: they are a low GI food as well as a low calorie, high-fiber food that keeps weight and blood sugar levels in check. They also provide essential brain nutrients that support mental clarity and enhance performance in the here and now.
Long-term benefits: The most compelling evidence that connects berries and diet suggests that we could prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s by eating more. Just a serving per day provides the benefit. Even for those who are not destined to have Alzheimer’s, the most recent research indicates that a diet that includes berries may still preserve brain function as we age by preventing memory loss and loss of motor function, and it could help decrease depression.
A Serving a Day: For Your Brain Health
In the case “brainberries” more is actually better. But according to researchers, just one serving a day of wild blueberries can translate into advantages to the brain – they are that powerful. Do you know what constitutes a serving?
Q: One serving of wild blueberries is equal to:
a: 12-oz bag of berries
b. 1 cup of berries
c. ½ cup of berries
Answer: c. While the definition of a serving depends on your age and gender, just ½ cup is considered a serving size for most people. Want to do something good for your brain? Just eat ½ cup of delicious, sweet, tangy wild blueberries today.
Blueberries have been honored with the “brain food” label for some time — even before we understood exactly what was meant by the term. For nutritionists, researchers, doctors, and even the layperson, it was clear that blueberries, especially the small, nutrient-dense wild blueberry, had an effect on brain clarity, brain performance, memory, and motor skills.
Through the years, researchers were able to understand more about why that moniker was so appropriate. They isolated components like antioxidants, and they began to gather data on which antioxidants affected brain function and brain aging. They discovered advantages for the heart, for cancer prevention, for inflammation, and for digestive and vision issues as well.
Research into brain health and blueberries is becoming well documented and better understood. Now, exciting new research reported last week provides additional evidence that a simple addition to the diet may help cognitive function and prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
New Research on Cognitive Health
The long-term study, conducted on humans by Harvard Researchers, is part of the Nurse’s Health Study. This study gathered data from 121,700 female, registered nurses between the ages of 30 and 55. They provided data beginning in 1976, and since 1980, reported on their food consumption and were tested for their cognitive function. The result of the study showed that those who ate more servings of blueberries and strawberries preserved their brain function to a greater degree than those who ate less.
The amounts consumed by nurses who were part of the study were completely manageable, topping out at around a serving or more per day, and the study showed the more intake the better. Those who consumed the most berries were able to delay cognitive aging by up to two and a half years. It will be no surprise to those who follow nutrition that some familiar compounds in these berries were at work: anthocyanidins (an anthocyanin counterpart) and flavonoids, which have powerful antioxidant properties, were found to be particularly effective in areas of intellectual performance, memory, and brain performance related to aging.
Brain Power & Blue
According to the study, smaller amounts of blueberries compared with strawberries were shown to make the difference in inhibiting cognitive decline. The study suggests, as reported in Huff Post Healthy Living, that eating one or more servings of blueberries or two or more servings of strawberries each week made the difference. These strikingly manageable amounts may be because of the concentrated nutrition, dark antioxidant-rich skin, and high skin-to-pulp ratio that is present in blueberries, especially wild blueberries.
Researchers allow that the study is not definitive – studies into the brain-berry connection is just beginning. For example, we have yet to understand exactly how these influential antioxidants work, and have not yet isolated the component that acts on the brain. We don’t yet know if these components act in conjunction with other components, or even with other foods. So what makes this study so important, and what does it mean to us as consumers right now?
Why This Study is Important to You
1) It will help change our behavior. According to press, the berry-brain study is the first large, epidemiologic study of the berry, something heartening to researchers and nutritionists alike. Studies devoted to nutritional health are simply less exciting and less funded than those that promise new, non-food breakthroughs. Too bad: the knowledge we obtain as a result can have major implications. This study provides crucial new information that substantiates a less-than-sexy but ultimately powerfully nutritious food. While there has been previous research into the benefits of eating blueberries, and in particular the benefits to the brain, this new research helps to add to the evidence and may actually begin to shift our behavior.
2) The amounts are easy to achieve. This latest study was on humans living a normal life. Unlike well-known studies of mice consuming highly concentrated unmanageable amounts of nutritional components, this study indicates that just a few servings per week is all it might take to create a major health difference. According to the lead study author, Dr. Elizabeth Devore, a “simple dietary modification” was used to tests cognitive health, and it’s one accessible to all of us.
3) Improvement is significant and measurable. Results of the study indicate that those who consumed the most antioxidant-rich berries showed the most significant reduction in cognitive decline, with the largest delay being two and a half years. This sort of outcome is not just helpful for the individual; it could also add up to major gains for society at large.
4) It has implications for Alzheimer’s disease. Berry consumption could be one way to combat one of the more dire health issues facing an aging population. Alzheimer’s Association experts say that cognitive decline develops over many years and early signs of decline could indicate future dementia or Alzheimer’s onset. By consuming berries, you may be doing much more than just improving brain fog or senior moments – you may be protecting yourself against a destructive age-related disease.
5) You can begin today. To begin brain health preservation, there is no doctor’s appointment and no prescription necessary. Simply getting a serving of wild blueberries today can mark the beginning of your efforts to maintain brain health as you age. Visit your grocery store, make a stop at the freezer case, and buy them frozen, so getting a serving every day is easy. It could be one of the best things you’ll do for your health and your head.
The Brain-Nutrition Connection & the Real Payoff of Being Healthy
We log time on the treadmill. We scrutinize our plates for nutrition. We watch our portions and increase our fruit and vegetable servings.
Why do we do it?
We want to be healthy. But what is good health? And why can “healthy” sometimes seem like it has a PR problem?
Here’s the “problem” with healthy:
You can’t show it off like a purse or a haircut.
Unlike a weight loss effort or 5K race, it’s constant, dynamic, and never-ending.
You can’t plan a party to celebrate the results – health benefits often occur 10, 20, even 50 years down the line.
So what’s to like about health? Where’s the flash? Where’s the sizzle?
Why Healthy Sizzles
First, health does have some immediate benefits to relish. While it may take decades to see some of the effects of disease prevention, health has advantages in the present as well. It may not be as noticeable as a Gucci purse, but good nutrition is something you can wear – you can see it on your face, in the brightness of your skin and the glow in your eyes, and in the clothes that fit you better. If you are healthy, you can achieve more because you feel better and stronger inside and out, and that’s pretty flashy.
But here’s the real sizzle: health contributes to living a better life. Superfood orginator Dr. Steve Pratt explains health and longevity this way:
“Brain heart, eyes—they all go together. Rarely do you see a brain that’s top notch and poor eyesight. It’s good for the eyes, it’s good for the brain and if it’s good for the brain it’s good for the heart.”
Being healthy means being healthy all over. We don’t want to age without it—getting older is not what it’s cracked up to be if we can’t see, we can’t move, and we can’t remember.
Your Brain IS Your Health
For today’s growing population of baby boomers, cognitive health and health is one and the same. Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline is a grave concern as our longevity potential grows. Without affordable genetic testing, most of us simply don’t know to what degree we are predisposed to diseases of the brain.
All we know is that having our health tomorrow means making efforts to prevent brain disease, among other diseases of aging, today. And if you think about it, the idea that prevention could be possible is as exciting as a purse, a 5K, or the biggest celebration. When you believe that, you’ve got your own definition of good health, and that’s the most important step toward achieving it.
Healthy Today & Tomorrow
According to Susan Davis, MS, RD, nutrition advisor to the Wild Blueberry Association of North America, “New research is really bearing out the idea that a diet rich in wild blueberries may help prevent cognitive decline.” AARP The Magazine named wild blueberries to its list of the most powerful disease-fighting foods. The research into wild blueberries and their positive effect on the brain in mounting. Areas of recent study include their potential for improving memory loss, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of cognitive impairment.
Notably, recent research shows wild blueberry supplemented diets could improve memory function and mood in older adults with early memory decline. The effect of a short-term blueberry-enriched diet on aged lab animals suggests that they may prevent and reverse a considerable degree of age-related object memory decline. And, in another study, researchers have found that the deeply colored berries enable “housekeeper” cells in the brain to remove biochemical debris, which is believed to contribute to the decline of mental functioning with age. It’s the natural pigments called anthocyanins that give the berries their deep-blue color as well as their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power. They score twice as high in antioxidant capacity per serving as cultivated blueberries, making them the go-to berry for brain protection.
The bottom line is that something in a large blue bag in your freezer can be your definition of health. The intense benefit of wild blueberries is the best way we can think of to illustrate the potential of nutritional prevention. A small act of eating daily servings have the attention of nutritionists, scientists and consumers alike, especially those of retirement age and beyond. So put a little sizzle in your life (you’ll know it’s there). But do it today. And every day of your long, healthy life.
Can something delicious and readily available help protect you from cognitive decline? Babble attempts to answer with their post Blueberry Brain Boosters and enters their recipe for Fresh Blueberry Morning Bread, which is anything but medicinal, as evidence.
There’s interesting news out of Temple University that shows restricting methionine consumption can increase lifespans in some animals.
According to researcher Domenico Pratico, “We believe this finding shows that, even if you suffer from the early effects of moderate cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s, switching to a healthier diet that is lower in methionine could be helpful in that memory capacity could be improved.”
Research into Alzheimer’s most often concerns prevention and delay, but interest in research that addresses reversing symptoms has given hope to millions.
This study, conducted on mice, showed that a when a methionine-rich diet was changed to a healthy, nutrient-rich diet, cognitive impairment that had developed during the first part of the study had been completely reversed.
There’s Something About Methionine
Methionine is an essential amino acid found most commonly in protein-rich foods such as red meats, eggs and beans. Most fruits, vegetables, and legumes contain very little methionine. In previous studies, methionine consumption has been linked to the accumulation of amyloid plaques, which often predispose disease and other brain disorders.
In research on mice, restricting the amino acid methionine in the diet provides many of the health and longevity benefits of calorie restriction. In fact, parts of the longevity community have embraced this strategy for life extension.
But isolating any chemical or compound is problematic, and some research reports potential benefits of methionine, at least in combination with other nutrients. Methionine helps in the biochemical breakdown of fats in the body; this action prevents the accumulation of fat in the liver and in the arteries. In addition, research reveals a dramatically lower risk for lung cancer was found among participants with the highest blood levels of B6 and methionine. However, as the Temple study indicates, it may be that a diet rich in methionine can mean a diet dominated by proteins to the exclusion of beneficial fruits and vegetables.
Momentum in Alzheimer’s Research
We’ve talked here about how blueberries, for example, have been reported to reverse memory loss because they are rich in flavonoids. Foods found to lower risk of Alzhiemer’s including diets rich in omerga-3s and fruits and vegetables, and lesser quantities of red meat, organ meat, butter, and high-fat dairy products.
There are many resources for those seeking information on Alzheimer‘s and Alzheimer’s research. Until more is known, a diet rich in nutrients and high in fruits and vegetables is a one of the best defensive actions you can take.
If you read the recent news concerning Alzheimer’s prevention, you know it led with less than hopeful headlines. Reports revealed that studies investigating measures of prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, such as antihypertensive drugs, omega-3 fatty acids, physical activity, and cognitive engagement, are so far proving to be ineffective.
Those who either have Alzheimer’s in their family or have simply been focused on prevention, may have thought they were helping themselves with supplements, exercise, and cognitive “work outs”. These latest findings show their efforts may have been for naught. However, buried in the data was some hopeful news: while loading up on salmon and doing crossword puzzles may not help preserve brain function, the data does indicate that dietary patterns are – in some way – connected to warding of the disease and cognitive decline.
A Baffling Brain Disease
In a previous post, we discussed the struggle to understand this disease which continues to affect millions. While the latest news does not get us any closer to pinpointing measures of prevention, it does mean that researchers are continuing to gather information to help us understand it. What’s more, those involved in the independent panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) who reviewed the data did find a relationship between heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and physical exercise. In reaction to these findings, Maria W. Carrillo, PhD, senior director of medical and scientific relations of the Alzheimer’s Association, said aptly, “What is good for your heart is good for your brain.”
Hints of Hope Hinge on Fruits & Veggies
More specific was the panel’s inclination to focus on the relationship between nutrition and cognitive preservation. “The two components that keep popping up are a reduction in saturated fat and an increase in fruits and vegetables,” said one member of the panel. Despite the lack of evidence for some touted prevention measures, those who concentrate their efforts on eating well may possess the secret weapon.
The connection between the brain and fruits and veggies is inescapable – time will tell just how vital their role is in keeping our brains healthy along with our bodies.
In the quest to uncover the secrets of youth and longevity, the foremost concern is the brain. If we can extend our lives by remaining mobile and disease free, that must include diseases that wreak havoc on our ability to understand and process information from the world around us. Preserving brain function generally means preserving memory.
While it seems all we hear is bad news about poor health and growing obesity rates, the modern lifestyle, taken as a whole, has provided human beings with improved diets, more health conscious lifestyles, and improved social involvement, all crucial elements to life extension. As a result, our life expectancy has increased; many of us expect to live into our 80s and beyond. Consequently, as the population ages, issues of senility and Alzheimer’s have become epidemic. More than 5 millions people have Alzheimer’s disease today and are dealing with its devastating effects.
An Alzheimer’s Epidemic
At the same time, there have been exciting strides in understanding the aging brain. Today, because of this understanding, we no longer feel that senility is just an inevitable part of getting older. We also know that Alzheimer’s disease targets certain segments of the population and is connected to the genes and is therefore inheritable. Also, researchers have found that regular memory loss that accompanies aging and memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease happen in two very distinct parts of the brain.
One of the groundbreaking discoveries in research on the aging brain has revealed that aging degrades certain types of memory while leaving others intact. Memory occurs in the temporal lobe, but within this temporal lobe, differences are clear. These differences are in the “declarative system” – which can be considered a sort of conscious, readily available memory for things like people and places – and the “nondeclarative system” – an unconscious or gained memory of sorts, such as memory for a learned motor skill or for perception and experiences.
While we might consider these both “memory” (we “remember” how to play tennis or that we have a fear of dogs, just as we “remember” what we had for breakfast or who our friends are), they are in fact not unified systems at all. Consider a patient who, because of a disease of the brain, cannot remember relatives or store any memory of meeting or seeing people that he or she has just seen early in the day. Then, consider that this patient can learn a skill over the course of several days and improve upon it. In both of these scenarios memory seems to be at work, but the two systems are not connected.
Has Rick Castle Solved the Mysteries of the Brain?
The nature of this disconnection is not known. However, we do know that this “declarative” or conscious memory system is susceptible to age, whereas the “nondeclarative” memory (or skill at tennis and our fear of dogs) is much less susceptible. We can see evidence of this in an episode of Castle this season, a prime time procedural about solving murder cases. As part of the episode’s plot, a man who may have witnessed or committed a murder had lost his memory. He had no recollection of who he was, where he lived, or who he was married to. In an effort to determine his identity, the quick-thinking detective asked the man to sign something. With pen and paper in front of him, he signed effortlessly, and his name was discovered.
The sly Rick Castle realized that although the man could not recall his name (declarative memory) he would still be able to sign his name (nondeclarative memory) because it was something he had repeated so often, it had become second nature – the act of moving the pen was a motor skill, like driving, not a conscious recollection of what he was writing. While access to one type memory had been blocked, the other was wide open.
While a prime time murder series shouldn’t be considered a reliable source for science, the scene seemed to have a handle on the idea that different types of memory occur in different systems, and while one can be eroded or wiped clean, the other can remain intact. Finding out what portion of the temporal lobe is in charge of the declarative and nondeclarative systems can play an important role in isolating the disease discovered by Dr. Alzheimer back in 1906.
Brain Aging & Cholesterol Metabolism
Isolating Alzheimer’s disease is one step toward the achieving the ideal: anti-aging. If we can preserve brain function, along with body function, we can delay the aging process. Unfortunately, we cannot currently modify our genes or treat Alzheimer’s disease or the memory loss that comes with the aging brain. We can only take precautions by understanding its risk factors. Researchers have discovered that one of the risk factors appears to be how the body handles glucose. Studies of the genetic code of those with Alzheimer’s disease appear to suggest it is connected to cholesterol metabolism.
One of the normal processes in our body is that it releases insulin from the pancreas and allows the muscles to metabolize it. But as we age, we all become a bit insulin resistant. For some, this can lead to type-2 diabetes, an age-related disease. For others, it may not lead to a diagnosis of diabetes, but it can still pose challenges to the aging body.
Knowing that increases in insulin are risk factors provides important knowledge in the prevention of this disease. For example, lately there has been much interest in eating foods with a low glycemic index as part of a healthy diet. Understanding the glycemic values of food makes healthy meal planning easier especially for people with diabetes. A food’s glycemic load measures both the type and quantity of carbohydrate consumed, telling us how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar and how much of that carbohydrate a particular food contains. (While research is currently underway to evaluate these claims, GI foods may also have an effect on weight loss and appetite control.)
When we talk about “brain food” we are talking about food that is good for our brain because of how efficiently our body can process its glucose. Foods with a low glycemic load keep our glucose levels steady and can keep us clear headed – perhaps not just in the short term but in the long term. So, when it comes to preventing diseases of the aging brain, one thing we can do is watch our glucose intake and take measures to prevent diabetes.
What else can we do to prevent aging in the brain?
1) We can exercise – our bodies and our minds. That the healthy brain is associated with a healthy body is not just lip service. Moreover, high brain function is related to social engagement and intellectual activity. Cognitive involvement, especially social involvement, is a major factor in preserving brain function.
2) We can hope for a cure. First stage Alzheimer’s disease is known to affect the synapses of the brain, not the cell itself. This means that if caught and treated early, because cell death is not occurring, chances are good that the brain could repair itself. At the same time, finding the gene responsible for Alzheimer’s does not automatically mean there will be a cure. (Consider the search for the right drug to treat Huntington’s disease: while the gene can be isolated and families can be tested, finding out you have the gene only means you can prepare, not be cured.) It is, however, a first step.
3) We can embrace the benefits of the aging brain. While age-related memory loss and Alzheimer’s can occur, there are other benefits to growing old with the brain you have. The aging brain retains wisdom and perspective. Anxiety generally decreases in the aging brain. And, while details may be lost, the big picture is not: the aging brain appears to retain is ability to grasps the “gist” of things – a benefit that is both advantageous and valued.
Interested in more information on Alzheimer’s Disease? The Alzheimer’s Project is a series of films produced by HBO which provide an in-depth look into the scientific advances being made in research and medical understanding of this disease.
Participate in Alzheimer’s Research. Scientists are making great strides in identifying potential new interventions to diagnose, slow, prevent, treat, and someday cure Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, more than 90 drugs are in clinical trials for AD, and more are in the pipeline awaiting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to enter human testing. Find out about how to be part of a trial or study at the National Institute of Aging.
Educate Yourself & Find Support. The Alzheimer’ Association can help you to understand the warning signs of aging and provide you with avenues for support when it comes to living with this disease.
The Charlie Rose Brain Series was used as a source for some of the information in the above post.
