Just like the right diet can prevent heart disease, high blood
pressure, or cancer, health experts are finding that certain foods
may boost your mind.
Although there is no current treatment proven to cure
Alzheimer's disease or dementia, there are foods that play a
positive role in overall mind health.
The Alzheimer's Association refers to a "brain-healthy diet" as
"one that reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes,
encourages good blood flow to the brain, and is low in fat and
cholesterol."
Stay on top of your mental ball game with these 10 foods:
Blackberries
Whether it's a new dance or a foreign language, the older you
get the harder it is to learn new things.
The reason? In order to process new information our brain cells
need to "talk" to each another. Yet, as we age those cells become
inflamed making it harder for them to communicate with one
another.
Blackberries can get the conversation flowing again. They
provide potent antioxidants known as polyphenols that zap
inflammation and encourage communication between neurons, improving
our ability to soak up new information according to a 2009 Tufts
University study.
Coffee
If you're trying to kick your java habit you might want to
reconsider. A recent Finnish study of 1,400 longtime coffee
drinkers reveals that people who sipped between three to five cups
of coffee a day in their 40s and 50s reduced their odds of
developing Alzheimer's disease by 65 percent compared with those
who downed fewer than two cups a day.
Researchers believe that coffee's caffeine and ample
antioxidants are the keys to its protective affects.
Apples
Here's a new reason to munch on an apple a day: Apples are a
leading source of quercetin, an antioxidant plant chemical that
keeps your mental juices flowing by protecting your brain
cells.
According to researchers at Cornell University, quercetin
defends your brain cells from free radical attacks which can damage
the outer lining of delicate neurons and eventually lead to
cognitive decline.
To get the most quercetin bang for your buck, be sure to eat
your apples with their skins on since that's where you'll find most
of their quercetin.
Chocolate
You've heard the good news that chocolate can lower your blood
pressure. Now researchers have discovered it can also keep your
mind sharp.
A 2009 Journal of Nutrition study found that eating as little as
one-third of an ounce of chocolate a day (the size of about two
Hersey's kisses) helps protect against age-related memory loss.
They credit polyphenols in cocoa with increasing blood flow to the
brain.
Cinnamon
Beta-amyloid plaques are one of the trademarks of Alzheimer's
disease. The other is tangles in the brain made of tau proteins
that can cause brain cells to die.
Emerging research from the University of California at Santa
Barbara reveals that two compounds in cinnamon -- proanthocyanidins
and cinnamaldehyde -- may inactivate these tau proteins.
While this research is still in its infancy, a sprinkle of
cinnamon on your oatmeal or yogurt certainly couldn't hurt.
Spinach
This leafy green is packed with nutrients that prevent dementia
like folate, vitamin E, and vitamin K.
Just one-half cup of cooked spinach packs a third of the folate
and five times the amount of vitamin K you need in a day. Maybe
that's why a 2006 Neurology study reveals that eating three
servings of leafy green, yellow and cruciferous vegetables a day
can delay cognitive decline by 40 percent.
Of these three, leafy greens were found to be the most
protective. Try your spinach drizzled with a little olive oil. Its
healthy fats boost absorption of fat-soluble vitamins E and K.
Extra virgin olive oil
You may not have heard of them before but ADDLs (or amyloid
B-derived diffusible ligands) are Alzheimer's-inducing proteins
that are toxic to the brain. In the initial stages of the disease
they attach to brain cells rendering them unable to communicate
with one another and eventually leading to memory loss.
Extra virgin olive oil may be a potent foe against ADDLs
according to research conducted at the Monell Chemical Senses
Center in Philadelphia, PA last year. It's rich in oleocanthal, a
compound that disables dangerous ADDLs.
Salmon
This swimmer isn't just good for your ticker, it's good for your
grey matter too. Salmon is a top source of DHA, the predominant
omega-3 fat in your brain, believed to protect against Alzheimer's
disease, an illness that affects over five million Americans.
It's also nature's number one source of hard-to-get vitamin D, a
nutrient recently shown to ward off cognitive decline.
A study published in the July 2010 issue of the Archives of
Internal Medicine reveals that older people who are vitamin D
deficient are 40 percent more likely to suffer from age-related
memory loss.
Curry
Turmeric, a cousin of ginger, is one of the principal spices in
curry powder. Turmeric is especially rich in curcumin, a compound
believed to inhibit Alzheimer's disease in multiple ways according
to experts at the University of California Los Angeles Alzheimer's
Disease Research Center.
Not only does it block the formation of beta amyloid plaques, it
also fights inflammation and lowers artery-clogging cholesterol
which can reduce blood flow to your brain.
Concord grape juice
Alzheimer's researchers like to say what's good for your heart
is good for your brain. Now they're finding that the same
heart-healthy polyphenols in red wine and Concord grape juice can
give your brain a boost.
When researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of
Medicine gave 12 older adults with declining memory a daily drink
of Concord grape juice or a placebo drink for three months, they
found that the volunteers who drank the grape juice significantly
improved their spatial memory and verbal learning skills.
Researchers believe that -- just like blackberries -- grape
juice polyphenols improve communication between brain cells.
