SharpBrains Debunks the Top 10 brain and brain health myths

If your brain has been compromised or injured or you somehow you seem genetically prone to Alzheimer’s, you may be confused by all the information and mis-information surrounding brain health, brain training and cognitive improvements. I know I am.

Luckily, the whiz-bang scientists at SharpBrains have recently posted this helpful article that debunks brain training and health myths. You can read their original post here: http://sharpbrains.com/blog/2016/03/14/lets-debunk-these-ten-brain-myths/

Or you can read the following excerpt from that posting::

“Myth 1. Genes deter­mine the fate of our brains.

Fact: Life­long brain plasticity means that our lifestyles and behaviors play a significant role in how our brains (and therefore our minds) evolve physically and functionally as we get older.

Myth 2. We are what we eat.

Fact: We are what we do, think, and feel, much more than what we eat. (Even if, yes, nutrition plays a role)

Myth 3. Medication is the main hope for brain health and enhance­ment.

Fact: Non-invasive inter­ven­tions such as aerobic exercise and meditation can have comparable and more durable benefits, and free of side effects.

Myth 4. There’s nothing we can do to beat Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline.

Fact: While nothing has been proven to prevent the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease, there is abundant research showing we can delay the onset of symptoms for years.

Myth 5. There is only one “it” in “Use it or Lose it”.

Fact: The brain presents many neural circuits supporting a variety of important cognitive, emotional, and executive functions. Not just one. (Which is one of the reasons we should stop thinking about magic pills and silver bullets)

Myth 6. Intervention XYZ can help reverse your brain age 10, 20, or 30 years.

Fact: The concept of “brain age” is a fiction. Some brain functions tend to improve, and some to decline, as we get older. Nothing can be said to “reverse brain age” in a general sense.

Myth 7. There is a scientific consensus that brain training doesn’t work.

Fact: A group of scientists did issue such a statement, which was promptly contradicted by a larger group of scientists. Consensus…that is certainly not. Brain training, when it meets certain conditions, has been shown to transfer into real-world outcomes.

Myth 8. Brain training is primarily about video games.

Fact: Evidence-based brain training includes some forms of meditation, cognitive ther­apy, cognitive training, and bio/neurofeedback. Interactive media such as videogames can make those interventions more engaging and scalable, but it is important to distinguish the means from the end, as obviously not all videogames are the same.

Myth 9. Heart health equals brain health.

Fact: While heart health contributes significantly to brain health, and vice versa, the heart and the brain are separate organs, with their respective functions and relevant interventions. What we need is to pay much more systematic attention to brain health, so it can advance as much as cardiovascular health already has.

Myth 10. As long as my brain is working fine, why should I even pay attention to it?

Fact: For the same reasons you add gas to your car, and change the oil regularly– so that it works well, and for a long period of time.”

Copyright: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/profile_gajus'>gajus / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

AARP’s “Eat Your Way to Brain Health” Advice

The first sentence in this AARP article says it all:  “The research is clear: What you eat has a big impact on your brain. In fact, the right foods — and combinations of foods — can enhance memory, build new brain cells and even help ward off Alzheimer's.”

Author Amy Paturel reports that "Scientists are increasingly examining whole food groups — and diets — to determine which ones contribute to better cognition and which seem to hinder it. They've found that certain eating plans — including the Mediterranean diet, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet and a hybrid of the two, dubbed the MIND diet — can help stave off cognitive decline and protect the brain against disease."

I need to stave off my cognitive decline as I’m worried that someday soon my wife is just going to put me on a stool in a corner of the kitchen and occasionally dust me off as I lapse into senility.

I especially like that Ms. Paturel highlights these four food groups that can provide significant complementary brain health improvements:

1. Olive oil, green tea and leafy greens (broccoli, spinach and kale)
2. Beets, tomatoes and avocados
3. Nuts (especially walnuts), curcumin and pomegranates
4. Fish, blueberries, grapes, coffee and dark chocolate

Here’s a link to the article: http://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-2015/brain-diet.html

The MIND Diet: Cutting the Risk of Alzheimer’s by 50%

Here’s a link to an article by Carolyn Gregoire of the Huffington Post which reports that the “MIND diet” (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) “…is effective even if it is not followed rigorously, according to a new study from Rush University.

Researchers found that people who followed the diet closely had a 53 percent lower chance of developing Alzheimer's, and those who only moderately adhered to the diet still lowered their risk of developing the devastating brain disease by 35 percent.”

So why the bit about those who followed the diet “closely” versus those “who only moderately” adhered to the diet?

Because people cheat on diets, that’s why! I know a zillion people on diets and almost everybody cheats, cheats, cheats. They mostly cheat because the food on the diet tastes like cardboard or they just can’t give up that pint of ice cream after dinner every evening. 

Whatever the case, I like the idea of measuring what “normal” dieters actually do.

The original research was developed at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and published in the online edition of The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

I particularly like Ms.Gregoire’s article because it gives you more than just the headline and reworded press releasee. You can read it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/21/diet-alzheimers-_n_6896760.html

And here’s a link to the write up that Ms. Gregoire refers to: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-mind-diet-significantly-alzheimer-disease.html

Walnuts Every Day (might) Keep Alzheimer’s Away

Go grab a walnut from your kitchen shelf and take a quick look at it. Looks surprisingly similar to a brain, doesn’t it?

Well it turns out that looks might not be deceiving as researchers at the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (phew, that’s a long name) said that experiments with Alzheimer’s-susceptible mice found that subjects consuming walnuts showed significant improvements in learning skills and memory compared to mice without walnuts in their diets.

I learned this from an article by Fredrick Kunkle in The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/walnuts-appear-to-delay-onset-of-alzheimers-disease-new-study-finds/2014/10/20/d357bc7e-58a6-11e4-b812-38518ae74c67_story.html

 

Kunkle reports that “the study also found improvements in motor skills and reduction in anxiety.” He also noted that the equivalent walnut consumption for humans would be about “1 to 1.5 ounces of walnuts a day.” To my ears, “1 to 1.4 ounces” doesn’t sound like some huge challenge. It sounds like a small handful on my oatmeal every morning.

Interested? 

Suspicious? 

Want to believe but need more proof? 

Or are you just a curious engineer/scientist-type who needs more info? 

In any of those cases, here’s a link to the abstract in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease: http://iospress.metapress.com/content/n644184610325684/  

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