Scientists who study memory and other
cognitive functions like to say that what's good for the body is good for the
brain, too, and proof for that axiom continues to grow.
A wealth of research
shows that people who eat right, stay trim, and follow other well-established
healthy habits have the best shot at remaining sharp-witted as they grow older.
Recently, several
clinical trials have provided even more powerful evidence that adopting a
healthy lifestyle can protect your brain and reduce the risk for age-related
cognitive problems.
The FINGER Study
A number of population
studies have found that people who engage in regular exercise, eat a healthful
diet, and keep mentally active (with mentally challenging activities, for
instance) have a reduced risk for cognitive decline.
But an association
between a behavior and a health outcome doesn't prove that one causes the
other. For that level of evidence, scientists conduct clinical trials, randomly
choosing one group of participants to receive a therapy or other intervention,
then comparing their outcomes with other study participants who don't receive
the treatment being studied.
To determine whether
healthy habits truly benefit the brain, a team of scientists in Finland set up
an experiment called the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive
Impairment and Disability (abbreviated as FINGER), which they reported on in
The Lancet in 2016.
The study included 1,260
men and women aged 60 to 77 who were generally healthy, though many had risk
factors closely linked to dementia, including high blood pressure and high
cholesterol, which may both be improved through diet changes and exercise.
At the outset of the
study, all subjects had their memory and other cognitive skills tested, and
only those whose scores were average or slightly below average were invited to
participate.
Half of the FINGER
subjects were enrolled in a comprehensive program of lifestyle changes. They
were encouraged to eat a healthful diet that included plenty of fruit,
vegetables, and whole grains, but avoid sugary treats and artery-clogging fats.
Men and women in the
active treatment group were asked to follow fitness regimens that included both
aerobic exercise (such as walking or jogging) and strength training. They were
also required to use computer-based cognitive-training programs three times a
week.
The other half of the
subjects in the FINGER study were given basic health advice and served as a
control (or comparison) group.
After two years, all
FINGER participants took a second battery of cognitive tests. Men and women who
adopted lifestyle changes showed a 25 percent improvement in memory and other
thinking abilities compared to subjects in the control group.
According to the
authors, the FINGER study is the first long-term clinical trial to show that
lifestyle changes can help prevent cognitive decline.
Obesity and other risk factors
In another 2016 study,
published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Brazilian
researchers focused specifically on the role of obesity, which studies have
linked to an increased risk for dementia.
The authors of this
study recruited 80 obese people aged 60 and older who had been diagnosed with
mild cognitive impairment, which is a subtle, but noticeable age-related
decline in thinking ability, and another known risk factor for dementia. Could
shedding some pounds help protect these men and women from memory loss and
other cognitive woes?
To find out, the
researchers randomly chose half of the participants to receive weight-loss
advice from a nutrition counselor. After one year, participants who lost even a
modest amount of weight showed improvements in their overall cognitive
capacities, ability to recall words, language skills, and executive function
(or ability to focus attention and multi-task).
In addition to eating well and staying
fit, keeping your brain busy may help stave off the loss of mental acuity, too,
according to some studies, though most were small and the benefits of cognitive
training remain controversial. On the other hand, one recent trial found
evidence that seniors who become socially engaged may improve brain health.
As part of the ongoing
Brain Health Study, researchers from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at
Johns Hopkins performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on the brains of
111 men and women aged 60 and older.
Next, about half of the
subjects were assigned to work as volunteer tutors and teachers' aides in inner
city kindergartens and elementary schools. The remaining men and women acted as
a control group.
Two years later, a
follow-up set of MRIs showed that men and women in the control group had
experienced slight shrinking in several brain regions, including the
hippocampus; loss of volume in the hippocampus has been linked to memory
problems and an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease. Meanwhile, men and (to
a lesser extent) women volunteers who worked in schools showed increased volume
in this important brain region.
What
you can do
There's plenty of proof
that the same steps that reduce the risk for common diseases can also help keep
your mind sound and functioning at a high level.
A
major 2015 review by the Alzheimer's Association found convincing evidence that
you can reduce the risk for age-related cognitive decline, and possibly
dementia, by exercising regularly and taking steps to curb cardiovascular risk
factors. That means watching your weight, avoiding or managing diabetes and
high blood pressure, and not smoking.
Consuming a healthful
diet and staying mentally engaged through learning may help, too.
There's really no
downside to habits, so the only question that remains is: What are you waiting
for?
(Source: HealthAfter50)
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