Dementia – 3 ways to keep brain young

The article on Dementia: Three ways to 'keep your brain young - they are not diet or exercise’ was authored by Harriet Whitehead on Nov. 13, 2021 in www.express.co.uk

“The NHS (National Health Service) says that there is good evidence that a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your risk of developing dementia. Although there are some risk factors you can’t change, there are many that you can. This will not mean that you definitely do not develop the condition but can make it less likely.

Harvard Health Publishing says that there are “ways to keep your brain young”. Some surround diet and exercise, though there are a number of other factors. These include advising that you “care for your emotions”. It says that “people who are anxious, depressed, sleep-deprived, or exhausted tend to score poorly on cognitive function tests” so good mental health and restful sleep are important. Moreover, you should “protect your head” as moderate to severe head injuries, even without diagnosed concussions, increase the risk of cognitive impairment.

Thirdly, you should consider building social networks. It states: “Strong social ties have been associated with a lower risk of dementia, as well as lower blood pressure and longer life expectancy.”

The Alzheimer's Society (AS) notes that midlife – from your 40s into your early 60s – is a good time to start taking steps to reduce your risk of developing dementia, though it is helpful to take steps at any age. “The brain changes that cause dementia can start years or even decades before symptoms develop. If you live a healthy lifestyle now, you are reducing the chances that these brain changes will happen,” it adds.

There are five more common types of dementia and these are Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementia and mixed dementia.By 2025, Dementia UK reports more than one million people will be living with dementia in the UK.

Dementia diet

This article is suitable for those readers who are in their early 50s, or even younger and not yet afflicted by any telltale signs of dementia. As a principle Porosh believes in preventive care so that we never rue the fact of not having taken adequate precautions while in our prime. The contents of this write-up have been adapted from a write-up ‘Dementia diet: The vegetables you should eat weekly to ward off memory loss for longer’ published by Aimee Robinson in https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health. Although the research findings pertain to the West yet the basic content remains relevant for us Indians.

While dementia cannot be cured, scientific research over the years has found that certain lifestyle factors can hold off symptoms for longer. Although sleep, exercise and alcohol consumption all play a pivotal role in keeping the brain healthy, diet is among one of the best ways to ensure you are fuelling your brain with nutrients.

There are a number of foods likes berries, fish and nuts. However, one group of vegetables rises to the top of the charts when it comes to their memory-boosting attributes. According to the rules of the MIND diet, people should try to eat a minimum of six portions of green leafy vegetables each week. Leafy greens include salad vegetables and can be enjoyed as a side with a protein of your choice. Moreover, if the amount of leafy greens consumed is increased, it can have even more benefits for neurological health.

A study published in Neurology in January 2018 found that eating half a cup cooked or one cup raw of leafy green vegetables every day was associated with a slower decline in brain function. Furthermore, researchers at Tufts Human Nutrition Research Centre on Ageing in Boston and Rush University in Chicago, found that from a group of 960 participants, those who ate leafy greens were the equivalent of 11 years younger than those who shunned the vegetables. According to the researchers, many of the nutrients packed into leafy greens are what makes them so beneficial. Lutein, vitamin K, nitrate, folate, alphatocopherol, beta-carotene and kaempferol were all identified as key players in boosting cognitive health.

However, leafy greens are not the only vegetable beneficial to brain health and memory maintenance. According to the MIND diet, eating any other portion of vegetables as part of your weekly diet can also play a crucial role. Despite this, though, experts do say that diets are not a "cure-all", and should be followed as a suggestion rather than a solid solution.

Nikolaos Scarmeas, MD, associate professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center and at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens said: "It may be prudent to follow such diets even with suggestive, rather than proven, evidence regarding their cognitive benefits."

We hope that the readers of this blog who are not necessarily senior citizens and thus, make relevant lifestyle changes.

In quest of happiness

Quite often we say that happiness is a state of mind. But how many of us comprehend the underlying meaning? Perhaps not many. An analogy of a child could help us appreciate it better. A child of a few months is a bundle of joy so long as its basic needs are taken care of. Anyone coming in contact with the child also feels happy. If observed minutely a child is incapable of attributing its happiness to any object external to it as the faculty of ownership is not yet developed. Thus, even a seemingly trivial object like a piece of paper is good enough to him/ her cheerful. But, as adults, we usually seek happiness in acquiring material objects. Therefore, a question that should bother a reflective mind is the source of happiness whether it is external, or internal.

Actually it is both. The internal source of happiness is self-sustaining and can be nurtured through self-disciplining techniques etc. However, we are not taught to look inwards for seeking happiness. It is always externally projected. Hence, acquisition of new objects gives us joy but its impact is only momentary.

One may, with experience, realize this inevitable truth of life but it often this realization comes tad too late for us to cultivate the habit of looking inwards and thus, be in a state of cheerfulness most of the time.