The idea that we need to think about brain health like we think about heart health has begun to hit the mainstream as baby boomers begin to feel the effects of poor brain health. Memory problems, mood disorders, lost words, forgetting facts once known well--many boomers are facing these problems and wondering if this is just the tip of the iceberg.
For some these are the beginning years of decline into dementia, but for others it is simply aging, which is not to say it cannot be avoided or at least limited. And for those who are at the crest of clinical cognitive decline, evidence shows that early action can limit the severity of illness.
When we think of heart health, we think of things like doing aerobic exercise, eating less animal fats, controlling our blood sugar and limiting stress. Remarkably, or maybe not-so-remarkably, these same changes will benefit the brain.
The major culprit
A growing body of evidence indicates that chronic inflammation, a major player in heart and vascular disease, is also one of the main contributing factors to the development of dementia and mild cognitive decline. In fact, laboratory tests for inflammation are one of several factors we can use to estimate someone's relative risk for developing vascular or Alzheimer's dementia.
Chronic inflammation can be caused by food allergies, high stress, poor sleep, or a high fat or high sugar diet. All of us have low-grade inflammation going on in our bodies all the time. It is a byproduct of cellular metabolism. If we don't have what we need to cool it down, calm it down or quench it--like antioxidants and good omega-3 fats--then it burns at a higher rate and, over time, this causes degenerative conditions, both in the heart and cardiovascular system, and in the brain.
It won't surprise you that low-grade inflammation is going to have an impact beyond the heart and mind. Our joints, muscles, liver, kidneys--in fact every tissue is affected by inflammation. Reducing inflammatory pressure in any person will pay dividends beyond whatever "dis-ease" initiated the interventions in the first place. The question is, how do we do this?
Three steps to brain health
Here are three initial steps to reducing inflammation in a way that will meaningfully affect your brain health:
1.
Eat three to four servings of fruit every day. Choose dark-skinned fruits like blueberries, blackberries and plums over light-coloured fruits like bananas. These provide potent antioxidants that help quench the body of inflammation-causing free radicals. They are also alkalinizing foods, and alkalinizing the body helps to reduce inflammation.
2.
Drink green tea or matcha green tea. One to three cups a day will drastically increase the amount of inflammation-fighting antioxidants in your system.
3.
Limit land animal fats and increase fish oil, olive oil, flaxseed oil and hemp seed oil. Land animal fats, like those found in beef, chicken skin, butter, milk and other dairy products, contain fats that encourage the production of inflammatory mediators that encourage free-radical damage to body cells.
Shifting the balance of fats we consume away from land animal fats to the omega-3 and -6 fats found in fish and seed oils makes a big difference in the amount of inflammation your body can produce. In addition, your brain needs these healthy fats to function properly. They are used for insulating the nerve fibres and modulating nerve impulses.
For over 10 years, Dr. Pamela Hutchison has practised with a clinical focus on mental health, neurology and neurobehavioural disorders in both adults and children. She is the clinic director of Acacia Integrative Health Clinic in Victoria, BC. http://www.acaciahealth.ca 250-475-1522
Top Seven Risk Factors to Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's may be prevented through simple lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity and quitting smoking, suggests a new study presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Paris and published online in The Lancet Neurology.
Through statistical analysis, lead researcher Deborah Barnes, a professor at the University of California in San Francisco, and her colleagues found that seven known behaviour-related risk factors combined account for 50 percent of the more than 35 million cases of dementia worldwide.
The seven top risk factors are:
1. low level of education - linked to 19 percent of cases
2. smoking - 14 percent
3. physical inactivity - 13 percent
4. depression - 11 percent
5. midlife hypertension - 5 percent
6. obesity - 2 percent
7. diabetes - 2 percent
Another recent study published online in
Neurology that relied on over 7,200 responses to the Canadian Study of Health and Aging suggests that engaging in healthy behaviours, like taking care of your vision and ensuring proper denture fit, could help lower risk for Alzheimer's and dementia. Researcher Dr. Kenneth Rockwood, professor of geriatric medicine and neurology at Dalhousie University, Halifax, said that single risk factors, ranging from eyesight quality and dental issues to arthritis and heart disease, tended to be less important than overall general health. Moreover, leading an active and healthy life when younger likely leads to better brain health when older.
According to
Medscape Medical News (July 15, 2011), "This study makes perfect sense because all the deficits that the researchers looked at--even problems such as badly fitting dentures--cause inflammation," commented George Bartzokis, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine. "And inflammation can hurt the brain."