Let’s face it, we’re all getting older--both individually and as a population. That’s why researchers are so focused on learning what we can do to help maintain a healthy brain as we age. And what they are finding is that good nutrition can go a long way in supporting brain function through our golden years.

In Psychology Today, Perry Renshaw, MD, Ph.D, professor of psychiatry at the University of Utah School of Medicine and Director of the Magnetic Resonance Laboratory at the Brain Institute at the University of Utah writes, "today, accumulating evidence suggests that not only better overall nutrition, but also supplementation with several key nutrients may help stave off the reduced efficiency of brain cells that occurs with aging."

Renshaw points out several dietary nutrients and supplements that may be helpful, including:

• B Vitamins – especially thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, B-12 and B-6. Some B-Vitamins are necessary for the efficient metabolism of glucose, the brain’s primary fuel. Others are involved in metabolic functions that maintain healthy homocysteine levels.
• Antioxidants – Vitamin E and C, alpha-lipoic acid, CoQ-10, and plant-based antioxidants (Ginkgo Biloba, Curcumin, and Green Tea Extract.) Antioxidants help protect the brain from oxidative damage.
• Essential Fatty Acids – these are the so-called “good fats” found in fish, nuts and vegetables. One stand-out, the Omega-3 fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), comprises up to 50% of total fatty acids in the brain’s gray matter and is believed to exert a major influence on neural composition and function. Higher dietary intakes of fish and/or DHA have been associated with healthy brain function in a number of population studies.
• Citicoline - Citicoline is synthesized by the body from choline, an essential nutrient related to B-vitamins. Citicoline helps maintain brain levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine which supports memory and mental performance in healthy individuals.
• Magnesium – supports synaptic function in regions of the brain associated with learning and memory.

In addition to a healthy diet, experts recommend getting at least 30 minutes of physical exercise on most days to maintain optimal cognitive function.

Sources:

Psychology Today

LiveStrong

Something happens to your body around age 25 that can cause you to start gaining weight, even if your food intake and exercise levels have not changed—your metabolism starts to slow down. And, it continues to slow by about 2% per decade as you get older. When you add this to the fact that physical activity also tends to decline with age—it’s no wonder maintaining a healthy weight is so challenging.

Unfortunately, if our response to gaining weight is to go on a crash diet, we may lose a few pounds initially, but often end up gaining it back--plus a few pounds!

What Happened?

Crash diets, in which we take in too few calories, force our bodies to look elsewhere for nutrients to maintain bodily functions. Often this means breaking down muscle to “steal” nutrients. But since lean muscle is a calorie burning machine, losing muscle means burning fewer calories—the opposite of what we want.

Too few calories also puts your body into “conservation mode” which further slows your metabolic rate and increases fat storage.

The result: Short term weight loss followed by the effects of a lower metabolic rate—weight gain, fatigue and depression.

At this point, many people feel the situation is hopeless, blame themselves or the diet and try again, repeating a vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting that is hard on the body and doesn’t achieve the desired result.

So what’s the Answer?

Diet and metabolism experts say that most healthy adults can lose weight safely and for good if they follow a few guidelines.

• A combination of moderate calorie reduction and increased physical activity works best
• If you only have a few pounds to lose, try increasing your level of physical activity and/or cutting about 100-200 calories per day.
• Slow and gradual weight loss of no more than 1-2 pounds per week should be the goal.
• Physical activity should include both weight bearing and cardio exercises if health permits.
• Make sure you consume enough protein and other nutrients to help you build muscle.
• Avoid empty calories from foods like sugary drinks and snacks.

The good news is you can increase your metabolic rate as you gain more lean muscle.

We provide more tips in the article, The Healthy Way to Lose Weight…Naturally and for Good.

Sources:

Centers For Disease Control

The Washington Post

We have known for some time that vitamin B-12, among other nutrients, is essential for healthy brain function. It is also common knowledge that older adults are often deficient in B-12 due to impaired digestion that comes with aging.

A new study suggests being even mildly vitamin B-12 deficient could indicate that older adults are at risk for accelerated cognitive decline.

Study Details

Researchers from Tufts University examined data from a study involving 549 men and women who took the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a short list of questions and tasks commonly used to screen for cognitive performance. The subjects were divided into five groups, based on their vitamin B-12 blood levels.

Being in the two lowest groups was associated with significantly accelerated cognitive decline, based on an analysis of test scores from 5 MMSE tests given over a period of eight years. The average age at baseline was 75 years-old.

Men and women in the second lowest group did not fare any better in terms of cognitive decline than those with the worst vitamin B-12 blood levels. Over time, their MMSE scores declined just as rapidly.

“Rapid neuropsychiatric decline is a well-known consequence of severe vitamin B-12 deficiency, but our findings suggest that adverse cognitive effects of low vitamin B-12 status may affect a much larger proportion of seniors than previously thought,” said lead researcher Martha Savaria Morris, Ph.D.

B-12 Sources:

Good sources of B-12 are animal products such as salmon, beef, milk, yogurt and cheese. B12 may be added (fortified) in other foods such as soy milk and cereals. B-12 is not generally found in plant products so vegetarians who eat no animal products may need supplemental vitamin B-12 to meet their daily requirements.

Most individuals over the age of 50 should obtain their vitamin B-12 in supplements or fortified foods like fortified cereal because of the increased likelihood vitamin B-12 malabsorption.

Sources:

Tufts University

Linus Pauling Institute

November is Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and of all the health observances we’ve covered, this one is perhaps the most unsettling. You probably know someone touched by this horrible disease, but the latest facts and stats released from the Alzheimer’s Association are nonetheless difficult to comprehend:

• Alzheimer's disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and the only cause of death among the top 10 in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.
• Currently one in eight older Americans has Alzheimer’s disease.
• There is still not a reliable diagnostic test (like a blood test) to detect Alzheimer’s in its earliest stages when current drugs are most effective.
• More than 15 million Americans provide unpaid care valued at $210 billion for persons with Alzheimer's and other dementias. 
• The graying of America my bankrupt America.
  • In 2012, the direct costs of caring for those with Alzheimer’s or other dementias to American society will total an estimated $200 billion, including $140 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid.
  • Unless something is done, the costs of Alzheimer’s in 2050 are estimated to total 1.1 trillion. Costs to Medicare and Medicaid will increase nearly 500%.
• Every 68 seconds another American develops Alzheimer’s disease. By 2050 a new case will occur every 33 seconds.

For these reasons, the potential impact of this disease on your future and your family’s future as well as society as a whole is considerable.

This video from the Alzheimer’s Association details the growing prevalence and escalating impact of Alzheimer's and dementia on individuals, caregivers, families, government and the nation's healthcare system.

Source:

Alzheimer's Association

Anyone who’s in midlife or beyond has probably noticed that you have to work harder to maintain muscle strength and mass as you age. However, a pilot study suggests that fish oil may make your muscles act younger, minimizing the effect of normal age-related muscle loss.

Aging Muscles

During healthy aging, muscle size is reduced by approximately 0.5-2% a year. This process - known as sarcopenia - can result in a reduction in quality of life and loss of independence.

One way muscle function can be maintained is through exercise.  But as we age our body is less able to increase muscle mass through exercise alone.  In the last few years, researchers have found that our body needs additional nutritional support as well, including added protein, certain vitamins and now, fish oil.

Study Details

Among a group of elderly women, University of Aberdeen researchers found that 12 weeks of resistance exercise training coupled with taking fish oil improved muscle strength by 20% compared to an 11% increase in the placebo group.

“We believe the benefits of fish oil are due to a number of factors. Older people tend to have low-level inflammation in the body which interferes with the muscles’ ability to increase strength and mass. The anti-inflammatory qualities found in fish oil may reduce this inflammation and therefore inhibit this interference,” said lead researcher, Dr. Stuart Gray.

The omega-3 found in fish oil helps make muscles more fluid and proteins involved in increasing muscle mass function at a higher level in the body, he added.

Based on these encouraging results, a new longer study will soon be underway.  In this study, males and females over the age of 65 will participate in an 18 week course of resistance training.  Half the participants will take fish oil supplements the other half a placebo.

To determine the impact of fish oil in combating sarcopenia, the research will monitor changes in muscle including mass, volume and fat content using MRI. They will also measure insulin sensitivity and inflammation in blood samples and changes in protein synthesis and molecular signaling in muscle biopsies.

The research team hopes that providing new insights into the benefits of fish oil on muscles could lead to the development of new treatments to prevent against the loss of muscle with age.

Source:

The University of Aberdeen

You’ve probably heard by now that consuming fish can improve your memory. But understanding exactly how fish works it’s magic has been the subject of many studies.

The prime suspect in this mystery has been DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish that is necessary for brain development. But could DHA actually help older adults combat normal age-related memory problems? After all, we do know that DHA levels decline with age.

In the latest study, researchers found that lab animals fed a high-DHA diet had 30 percent higher levels of DHA in the region of the brain responsible for memory than animals fed a standard diet. Furthermore, this increase in DHA resulted in better communication between memory cells and faster relays.

This study demonstrates two important points. First, supplementing a diet with DHA leads to an increase in the levels of DHA in the brain. And second, the additional DHA actually supports healthy memory function.

But the benefits of eating fish and DHA don’t stop there. The same research team found that DHA supports vision health and function as we age.  Plus there are decades of research documenting the benefits of consuming fish for supporting cardiovascular and bone health.   

Generally, health experts recommend at least two to three servings of oily fish per week to reap these benefits. If you’re not particularly fond of fish, or concerned about mercury or other contaminants in fresh fish, fish oil supplements can provide a safe and effective alternative to fish.

Fish oil supplements contain concentrated amounts of the beneficial DHA and EPA essential fatty acids that your body needs, but that must come from your diet.

About CNCA Fish Oil:

CNCA offers three ultra-pure fish oil supplements containing high levels of EPA and DHA: EPAmax lemon flavored fish oil capsules, EPAmax Liquid Fish Oil (lemon flavored), and Omega-3 Max EC enteric coated fish oil capsules.

To ensure maximum purity and potency, all CNCA fish oil supplements undergo molecular distillation to remove impurities. Then they are independently tested for Dual Rancidity (Peroxides and Acid Value), Mercury, Lead, Arsenic, Cadmium, EPA and DHA levels, PCBs, Dioxin and Dioxin-like compounds, stability and bacteria, yeast, and mold counts.

Sources:

University of Alberta

Many people treat exercise as a necessary part of their day, to protect, maintain and improve their health, but not a fun part, unless you're meeting a guy- or girl-pal at the gym or, like me, catching up on podcasts, TV shows or breaking news with your trusty media player. That's why we're always looking for "hacks," efficient ways to shorten the time you spend on stuff like exercise but not miss out on the benefits it provides.

I've never been a fan of spending much time stretching before working out, and do it very rarely at best. A study presented at the most recent meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons may offer one more reason for you and me not to worry about it so much.

More than 2,700 patients/runners who ran at least 10 miles every week were split almost evenly into two groups: The stretchers who took 3-5 minutes to flex their various muscle groups immediately before running versus those who didn't.

Over a three-month period, stretching prior to a run didn't affect a patient's odds of being hurt. But one thing that made a big difference: A patient's odds of getting hurt after changing their stretching/non-stretching routine either way. Stretching runners who stopped doing it were 40 percent more likely to sustain an injury, while those who became stretchers after skipping it increased their odds of injury by 22 percent.

Some health experts urge folks, especially older ones, not to give up on stretching entirely. Aging reduces your body's flexibility, however, so some form of stretching may be necessary.

By the way, taking a pass on stretching doesn't mean skipping out on exercise either…

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons February 17, 2011

USA Today February 19, 2011

The beneficial components of red wine may be responsible for a few more benefits to the human body in addition to keeping a woman slim and trim. Add reducing the risk of age-related reductions in vascular functioning and declines in physical exercise capacity, according to a new study.

Scientists discovered these latest benefits while monitoring the vascular health of rats for 28 weeks (from 12 to 40 weeks old) and comparing supplementation with red wine polyphenols to apocynin, an NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) oxidase inhibitor.

Like apocynin, red wine polyphenols had the very same positive effects on rats, normalizing oxidative stress and the expression of different proteins in the formation of nitric oxide, while reducing endothelial dysfunction (an inability of arteries to dilate fully) and declines in physical performance associated with aging.

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Vol. 404, No. 2, p. 743-749, January 14, 2011

ScienceDaily January 31, 2011

Considering how much pets do for our collective health -- some believe owning a dog may be better than maintaining a health club membership -- the least we can do is return the favor, and that's more than merely springing for vitamins, as they get older.

Pets battle many of the same age-related problems we do, including diabetes, cancer, osteoarthritis, heart disease and chronic kidney disease, according to an assistant professor at Kansas State University. Unfortunately, "pet parents" (me included) are so focused on taking care of their more immediate needs -- food, attention and defecation habits -- that we forget the big picture.

Yes, it's so easy to take the health of our pets for granted because we see them every day, and their appearance doesn't change a great deal over time. However, my wife and I are pet parents to two lovely lady cats above age 12 (64 human years) who are squarely in their geriatric years and have their own health challenges. An incredibly picky eater, Miss Annie needs special foods and vitamins to help her maintain her shapely figure while Nuala is fighting a nasal disorder related to feline herpesvirus (FHV), prompting a runny nose and much sneezing.

While the correlation of aging with cats is tied just to years, weight and years determine a dog's age. Typically, the bigger they are, the older they are. For example, huge dogs in the 120-pound range (otterhounds and the like) are considered geriatrics by age 6, and canines that are less than 20 pounds reach their later years by age 11.

Thankfully, many of good things you do to protect and enhance your health -- better nutrition, gentle exercise, regular visits with a trusted physician and taking a quality supplement -- will help your pets age just as gracefully.

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healthfinder.gov October 29, 2010

K-State News Services October 19, 2010

More often than not, the best things that people can do to improve their lives and health are the simplest ones.

Nowhere is that more true than the myriad of fun things folks can do to improve their memory. To that end, the American Geriatric Society Foundation for Health in Aging recently unveiled a report (free PDF link below) detailing a litany of handy tips people can use.

Some of the key points you won't want to forget:

* Maintain a record of your appointments and to-do lists in an organizer or, if you're really tech-savvy, a PDA.

* Get organized by designating familiar places to put your house keys, glasses and that elusive remote control you've been looking for.

* Don't stress out about things you may have forgotten, as it worsens your ability to retain information.

* As hard as it can be in these tough times, resist the urge to multitask, especially when you're trying to absorb detailed information.

* Download the full tip sheet at the link below.

American Geriatric Society Foundation for Health in Aging Free PDF Report

Healthfinder.gov April 19, 2009

When your fellow Baby Boomer friends ask why you look so young and energetic, you can honesty say that it's "all in the genes." Just don't tell them about that multivitamin you take every day.

A study in the latest issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports Baby Boomer women who take a multivitamin daily may have "younger" cells than non-users, judging by the length of their telomeres, the region of repetitive DNA that protects the ends of chromosomes from destruction.

Telomeres are indeed handy as they also prevent a cell's chromosomes from fusing with others or being rearranged, which may lead to cancer.

After tracking the nutritional habits and the multivitamin use of nearly 600 women (ages 35-74), researchers found patients who take a multivitamin had longer telomeres (by some 5 percent). Additionally, women who had higher intakes of vitamins C and E from foods -- whether they took a multivitamin or not -- had longer telomeres too.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 89, No. 6, June 2009, p. 1857-63

Nutra Ingredients-USA.com May 27, 2009

A pair of studies confirm concerns by many health experts that the Baby Boomer generation in America and their elders isn't receiving adequate daily nutrition. The problem: As older Americans reduce how much food they eat every day, their intake of basic nutrients that keeps their minds and bodies healthy for the long haul falls too.

Even more worrisome, that one nutritional variable may contribute to health complications down the road, ballooning America's estimated health costs alone for Baby Boomers over age 65 by 2030 to some $16 trillion.

Considering an estimated 70 million Americans will hit their retirement years by 2030, what experts consider a healthcare crisis today could be a mere bump in the road compared to what looms ahead.

However, this damaging trend can be reversed to some degree, according to a study by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance.

Increasing the intake of calcium with vitamin D, folic acid and lutein (with zeaxanthin) among seniors could save more than $24 billion in America's health care costs over a five-year period.

Dietary Supplement Information Bureau March 10, 2009

Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Vol. 109, No. 3, March 2009, p. 422-429