Nobel Prize winner for physics Charles Kao Kuen said he finds communication hard because of Alzheimer’s disease. In an interview with KTSF 26, a Chinese-language TV station serving Northern California, Kao, 75, said he sometimes finds it difficult to talk…… more

Yesterday the New York Times reported on a study commissioned by the National Football League. The findings were a big concern for NFL players.  It seems Alzheimer’s disease or similar memory-related diseases appear to have been diagnosed in the league’s former players vastly more often than in the national population — including a rate of 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49! Read more here…..

In addition to good nutrition and regular exercise, researchers recommend that seniors also keep their minds active. According to a National Institute on Aging four year study, keeping the brain actively stimulated across a variety of areas reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Read more here….

Scientific American posted an interesting article that proposed to put a predictive time line on the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Read about it here.

Whether it’s decision making, judgment, basic math, memory loss  or other brain function, it is increasingly important to stimulate all these cognitive capabilities on a regular basis. One is rarely used in isolation. Cognitive cross training programs can help at the early stages of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease or in advance of cognitive decline.

Alzheimer’s disease is the elephant in the room that is not effectively being planned for or dealt with by the Government or the Health Care industry. Consider just a few stats - By 2050, 115M people will be afflicted with the disease primarily due to the simple fact of living longer than earlier generations.  The cost to Medicare and Medicaid is expected to be approx. $30 Trillion (yes that’s a T folks), which makes the current economic crisis and health care reform topics pale by comparative scale.  Further, the availability of research funds for the study of Alzheimer’s disease, related treatment, and preventative therapies is significantly smaller than the funds that are channeled towards cancer and heart disease today.

One glimmer of sunshine may be the recent Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act that doubles the available funds for Alzheimer’s research at the National Institutes of Health. This is expected to save $61B of annual cost for Medicare and Medicaid within five years of a breakthrough. You can easily do the math and realize it’s a drop in the bucket on the expected financial toll the disease will take on us all.

Read about some of awareness that has been raised at this week’s World Alzheimer’s Day. Join the fight!

So you understand that maintaining a social network of friends is important to your cognitive health. Do you feel like your social life could use a boost? Try these tips for enhancing your social interactions and relationships:

• Call a friend or relative you haven’t talked to in a while
• Schedule a regular lunch or dinner date with a friend
• Organize a weekly card or board game with a group of neighbors
• Offer to babysit
• Participate in activities at your local community center
• Take an exercise class at a community center or gym
• Join a local walking or hiking club
• Sign up for an art or music class
• Volunteer for your favorite charity

In addition to potentially reducing your risk of developing dementia, having a personally fulfilling social life has numerous other health benefits. For instance, other  studies have shown that people with fuller social lives and relationships have a lower risk of early death, are less likely to become disabled, and have better overall physical and mental health.

SOURCES:  Humana, Inc.; JAMA/Archives journals;  The Lancet Neurology; Department of Health and Human Services;  National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; U.S Department of Health and Human Services

Brain decline has a profound impact on the life and relationships of people who develop it. “Being socially active, being an intellectually engaged individual, having recreational time, enjoying a good diet, lacking stress – these are all things that tend to help in avoiding dementia,” says Dr. Lawrence Whalley, author of The Aging Brain and psychiatrist and professor of mental health with the School of Medicine at Scotland’s University of Aberdeen.

How Social Activity Affects Dementia Risk

Studies show that having a fulfilling social life can significantly reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. A study in the February 2007 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry found that lonely people are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. The researchers tested 823 older people for loneliness and gave them a loneliness score of 1 (lowest) to 5. They found that for each point of increase in the loneliness score, the participants had a 51 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Another study, published by The Lancet Neurology, found that social networks (e.g., having close friends, staying in contact with family members) may help protect against the damaging effects of Alzheimer’s disease.  For this study, researchers collected information about the social networks of 89 elderly people. They also tested the participants’ cognition 21 times each year. After the participants died, the researchers analyzed their brains and found that the larger a person’s social network, the less effect tangles and plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease had on his or her cognitive test scores.

SOURCES:  Humana, Inc.; JAMA/Archives journals;  The Lancet Neurology; Department of Health and Human Services;  National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; U.S Department of Health and Human Services

Some time back I wrote about the cognitive skills necessary for safe driving.  It’s ever more clear that abilities such as vision, reaction times, attention, judgment and ability to multitask, that is, to focus on more than one task at a time are all essential to our ability to be safe on the road. As we age, our brains do change, and one of the normal changes is that our ability to multitask decreases.  Elderly drivers need to pay attention on the road and not use the phone—especially dialing numbers. (This is  true for younger drivers as well, but is a much harder sell, I’m afraid). This month, the Dana Foundation summarizes some recent articles on this topic that’s worth a read here.

You may find this primer about brain development and functioning, created by the Society of Neuroscience quite interesting. They are a nonprofit  organization of scientists and physicians who study the brain and nervous system and whose mission it to research and educate. The primer is called Brain Facts. It’s written with a non-medical audience in mind and it’s available for free. Definitely worth checking out if you have an interest in how the brain works, how memory is stored in the brain, how changes in the neural pathways effect our memory and the process of learning, to name just a few of of the interesting components.

Of course, there are many excellent types of food and ingredients for your brain. But which ones are totally natural and easily available?

Let’s cover  five of the brain healthiest foods, starting with… wild salmon! We all know the benefits of salmon, especially wild as opposed to farm-raised salmon. It is a great source of essential fatty acids like omega-3 and is low in saturated fat. It can help you improve your mood, your brain matter, your synaptic connections, your arteries and reduce your risk of stroke and dementia.

At number 2, … Cacao beans! No, sorry, we didn’t say chocolate, just minimally processed cacao beans which can be found in 100% organic non-alkalized cocoa powder or high cacao percentage dark chocolate bars with at least 75% cacao content or even better: 85% and more. Cacao beans help you shape up your brain power, greatly improve your mood and generally make you feel happy!

Now, ever heard of Matcha? Well, if you haven’t, it is a type of finely-powdered Gyokuru green tea, which has absolutely nothing to do with your supermarket tea bags! Drinking Matcha is like consuming the green tea leaf itself and all its health benefits: antioxidants, catechins, vitamins, Fluoride and L-Theanine.

Also discover the acai berry and all the health benefits of blueberries a.k.a. the brain berry! The acai is a South American berry that is high in protein, contains essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins and is generally highly benefiting for the brain!

Last but not least… coffee beans! You may have read that coffee has been shown to reduce the risk of mental decline and diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Coffee beans are very rich with antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals and freshly-ground roasted coffee bean powder has many brain and body health benefits. Just like cacao beans, however, coffee is best consumed in a pure form like pure espresso.

That’s the brain food roundup for today. Eat well and keep up with your brain workouts!

Source: Brain Ready.com