If you are over sixty, you have probably experienced those dreaded "senior moments." You know what I'm talking about: those times when you can't remember where you put your reading glasses or car keys, or maybe even where you parked your car at the mall. If so, I have good news for you: have a glass of wine or two a day and you might actually improve your memory.
Recent studies at several universities have shown that moderate consumption of alcohol, seven to fourteen glasses of wine or beer per week, may actually improve your "episodic memory," the ability to remember events. The studies are based upon follow-up analyses of participants in the famed Framington Heart Study. The consumption of alcohol is believed to increase brain cells.
This follows several earlier studies that showed that similar consumption of wine and beer may actually prevent the onslaught of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. The percentage decline in those diseases in moderate drinkers compared to teetotalers was a startling 37%.
The recommened level of consumption per day is one glass of wine or beer for women and no more than two glasses for men.
So drink up and remember where you read about this important information. http://www.notjustforboomers.blogspot.com, where you can find lots of useful information everyday.
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Showing posts with label dementia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dementia. Show all posts
Friday, October 24, 2014
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Good News: Exercise Can Prevent Dementia!
All boomers and even those who are not yet boomers worry at times about the potential for cognitive decline or dementia. The good news is that neither is inevitable. The magic bullet to avoid those dreaded aspects of aging: good old-fashioned aerobic exercise.
A number of recent studies have shown that while brain volume shrinks as we age, exercise can reduce the amount of shrinkage and actually produce new neurons in the brain. In one of those studies at the Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas, the researchers followed over 19,000 adults for some 24 years to determine if exercise could prevent dementia and even Alzheimer's. The good news is that those persons who were the most fit had the least amount of dementia.
The studies show that the most beneficial form of exercise is aerobic, such as walking, running, cycling and swimming. Most importantly, the studies have shown that it is never too late to start exercising. Whichever form of exercise you choose, it is important that you keep at it consistently. Optimally about 2 and one half hours of aerobic activity per week is enough to keep those neurons growing..
Source: AARP Bulletin, September 2013, p.12.
A number of recent studies have shown that while brain volume shrinks as we age, exercise can reduce the amount of shrinkage and actually produce new neurons in the brain. In one of those studies at the Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas, the researchers followed over 19,000 adults for some 24 years to determine if exercise could prevent dementia and even Alzheimer's. The good news is that those persons who were the most fit had the least amount of dementia.
The studies show that the most beneficial form of exercise is aerobic, such as walking, running, cycling and swimming. Most importantly, the studies have shown that it is never too late to start exercising. Whichever form of exercise you choose, it is important that you keep at it consistently. Optimally about 2 and one half hours of aerobic activity per week is enough to keep those neurons growing..
Source: AARP Bulletin, September 2013, p.12.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Hot Chocolate Can Prevent Dementia
A recent study of a group of individuals over the age of 70 has suggested that drinking two cups of hot chocolate each day may improve your brain's memory skills. The Harvard Medical School study showed that drinking two cups of hot chocolate for thirty days resulted in improved blood flow to the brain. The participants in the study showed an average increase in blood flow of about 8 percent by the end of the study. This translated to a substantial decrease in the time necessary for the individuals to perform certain memory tests from an average of 167 seconds to 116 seconds.
While the researchers and others who have seen the research have cautioned that the results of the study are still preliminary and that further research is necessary involving control groups, it seems to me drinking a couple of cups of hot chocolate a day may well worth doing. Who knows, maybe those cups may help you find those keys or eyeglasses you are misplacing or maybe even help you to avoid dementia or the mental decline everyone is worried about as they age. Let me know what you think.
The study was performed by Dr. Farzaneh Sorond, an assistant professor at the Harvard Medical School. For a more complete discussion of this study and comments from the Alzheimer's Association, see http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2386257/Drinking-hot-chocolate-prevent-ALZHEIMERS-boosting-blood-flow-brain.html
While the researchers and others who have seen the research have cautioned that the results of the study are still preliminary and that further research is necessary involving control groups, it seems to me drinking a couple of cups of hot chocolate a day may well worth doing. Who knows, maybe those cups may help you find those keys or eyeglasses you are misplacing or maybe even help you to avoid dementia or the mental decline everyone is worried about as they age. Let me know what you think.
The study was performed by Dr. Farzaneh Sorond, an assistant professor at the Harvard Medical School. For a more complete discussion of this study and comments from the Alzheimer's Association, see http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2386257/Drinking-hot-chocolate-prevent-ALZHEIMERS-boosting-blood-flow-brain.html
Friday, June 7, 2013
Good News for Starbucks: Coffee Can Save Your Life
I am not a coffee drinker; I prefer a nice soothing cup of tea. But maybe, I'm missing out on a magic bullet to good health. At the very least, it appears that coffee (and presumably the caffeine in coffee) may just save your life if you are a regular drinker of three or four 5 ounce cups of coffee, or the equivalent of one venti from Starbucks.
Recent studies by the National Cancer Institute, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Miami and the University of South Florida all suggest that coffee drinking can reduce the risk of diabetes, skin cancer, prostate cancer, oral cancer and breast cancer recurrence.
Some of those studies also show that coffee may reduce the likelihood that you will develop dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
For more information, see the June 9, 2013 issue of the New York Times Magazine for the article, This is Your Brain on Coffee, by Gretchen Reynolds.
Given these potential benefits, I may just head down to Starbucks rather than the local pharmacy.
Recent studies by the National Cancer Institute, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Miami and the University of South Florida all suggest that coffee drinking can reduce the risk of diabetes, skin cancer, prostate cancer, oral cancer and breast cancer recurrence.
Some of those studies also show that coffee may reduce the likelihood that you will develop dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
For more information, see the June 9, 2013 issue of the New York Times Magazine for the article, This is Your Brain on Coffee, by Gretchen Reynolds.
Given these potential benefits, I may just head down to Starbucks rather than the local pharmacy.
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