ALZHEIMER'S

By Sally-Ann Creed

Alzheimer's disease, one of the saddest and most difficult afflictions to handle, deeply concerns all of us. Sally-Ann Creed guides us along this complex path.

Do you ever misplace your glasses or house keys? Or walk into a room and forget why you went there?  We’ve all done this at some time or other, and it doesn’t mean we are developing Alzheimer’s disease, but with the disease on the increase, there are things we can do to avoid this becoming a reality in our lives if we start taking care of our brains as early as possible. 

Take the Memory Quiz to see how you fare! Remember, people can have a poor memory or forget things for many reasons - stress, fatigue and illness are all possible causes!

Memory Quiz:

1. People tend to become more forgetful beginning in their: (choose one)

* thirties
* forties
* fifties

2. Forgetting names and numbers is a key sign of Alzheimer's disease.

* true
* false

3. You can improve you memory by getting regular exercise.

* true
* false

4. An extraordinary memory for words and numbers indicates superior intelligence. 

* true
* false

Answers:

1. Scientists say that your memory usually starts to become less reliable around age 30.

2. False. Although memory loss is a common early sign, people with Alzheimer's also become anti-social, muddled and listless. It rarely strikes before 65.

3. True. Exercise keeps your brain well-supplied with oxygen and nutrients.

4. False. Retention has little to do with creativity, imagination, or the ability to use information in your daily life.

You can often improve your memory by following some easy health tips: 

* Follow a diet rich in antioxidants (plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables) and taking supplemental vitamins C and E can also be enormously helpful. 

* If you are a diabetic or if you have high blood pressure, work with your doctor to get these conditions under control. Left untreated, diabetes and high blood pressure can eventually lead to problems with how your brain works.

* Your brain is about 85% water, so it is easily dehydrated. Try to avoid drinking too much coffee and too many fizzy drinks and instead, give your brain the hydration it craves by drinking 30mls of water for every kilogram of your body weight each day.

* Include a lot of berries in your diet that have dark red and blue coloured skins. In an experiment where aging rats were fed a diet high in blueberries, their memory losses were reversed and they grew new brain cells.

* Many studies have shown that the brain benefits from regular physical exercise. Find some form of exercise you really enjoy, and make it a regular part of your life.

* Don't cut back on your hours of sleep. Your brain needs to use your sleeping hours to put new information into long term memory storage.

* Avoid eating a diet high in junk food with a lot of sugar, refined carbohydrates and fried, fatty foods. Your brain cells can be easily damaged and undernourished so include a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and especially fish in your diet.

* Reduce the stress in your life by simplifying your schedule, delegating more tasks to others and getting regular physical exercise. Long term stress can interfere with your ability to concentrate and to think clearly, and with your ability to form memories or to recall them later. 

* If you are having problems with your memory, ask your doctor or pharmacist whether any prescription drugs you are taking might be the cause of your memory difficulties. If any of your prescribed drugs are known to cause memory problems, ask if you can be prescribed a lower dose, or switched to another medication altogether.

* Being depressed can interfere with your ability to form memories or to recall them later. If you frequently feel sad, or if your life feels blank and empty, have yourself evaluated for depression, and get treated for this condition if necessary.

* Avoid using drugs and alcohol. These brain altering substances can interfere with your long term ability to think, learn, and remember. 

* Practice staying present in the moment and paying attention to the details of each experience.

* Stay interested in your life. Keep looking for new things to learn and to get excited about.

Fat in Fish Oil Helps Maintain Mental Health in the Elderly

While age, family history, and high blood levels of homocysteine are “significant risk factors” for the development of Alzheimer disease and all-cause dementia, a new study has found that DHA, a fat found in fish oil that is the primary fat in the brain and nervous system, may help maintain mental health in the elderly.

Building upon previous research linking low DHA levels to dementia and low fish intake to AD, researchers studied 899 men and women who were part of the Framingham Heart Study). The study participants had an average age of 76 years, were free of dementia at the start of the study, and were followed up for an average of 9.1 years for the development of dementia and AD. (“Plasma Phosphatidylcholine Docosahexaenoic Acid Content and Risk of Dementia and Alzheimer Disease: The Framingham Heart Study” in the November 2006 issue of the Archives of Neurology

The researchers found that patients who consumed at 180mg per day of DHA and an average intake of 3 servings of fish per week had a 47% decreased risk of developing AD compared to those with the lowest intake of DHA (90mg of DHA per day) and just over 1 serving of fish per week.  For the researchers, “[a daily intake of 180mg of DHA and 3 servings of fish per week] was associated with a significant 47% reduction in the risk of developing all-cause dementia in the Framingham Heart Study.”

Game: Short-Term Memory Test

A good short-term memory is necessary for many of life’s basic tasks, such as remembering a new friend’s phone number and recalling vocabulary words for a test. Here’s a quick test to check your short-term memory. Ask someone to give you 30 seconds to look at a list of 15 words. Then, ask this person to ask you to recall as many of the words as you can, and be given a score. Good luck!