A low-cost, enjoyable habit that appears to protect brain health.
While getting older is the main risk factor for dementia, improving diet can slow cognitive decline.
These full-fat foods may slow cognitive decline and dementia with age.
Treatment for these depression symptoms may reduce dementia risk.
Older people’s memory and thinking skills dramatically improved.
Older people’s memory and thinking skills dramatically improved.
Hearing aids and cataract surgery can slow dementia by 75 percent.
Being able to see and hear better helps preserve people’s memory and their thinking skills as they age.
Dr Piers Dawes, study co-author, said:
“These studies underline just how important it is to overcome the barriers which deny people from accessing hearing and visual aids.
It’s not really certain why hearing and visual problems have an impact on cognitive decline, but I’d guess that isolation, stigma and the resultant lack of physical activity that are linked to hearing and vision problems might have something to do with it.
And there are barriers to overcome: people might not want to wear hearing aids because of stigma attached to wearing them, or they feel the amplification is not good enough or they’re not comfortable.
Perhaps a way forward is adult screening to better identify hearing and vision problems and in the case of hearing loss, demedicalising the whole process so treatment is done outside the clinical setting.
That could reduce stigma.
Wearable hearing devices are coming on stream nowadays which might also be helpful.
They not only assist your hearing, but give you access to the internet and other services.”
The two studies assessed the thinking skills of thousands of people before and after they had cataract surgery and hearing aids.
Cataract surgery was linked to a 50% improvement in thinking skills, while hearing aids were linked to a 75% improvement.
Dr Asri Maharani, the first author of both studies, said:
“Age is one of the most important factors implicated in cognitive decline.
We find that hearing and vision interventions may slow it down and perhaps prevent some cases of dementia, which is exciting- though we can’t say yet that this is a causal relationship.”
The studies were published in PLOS ONE and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (Maharani et al., 2018; Maharani et al., 2018).
A moderate number of daily steps may protect the brain from Alzheimer’s-related changes.
The probiotic has been investigated in over 250 clinical trials.
The probiotic has been investigated in over 250 clinical trials.
Probiotics help prevent mild declines in memory and thinking skills that typically occur with age.
Older adults with mild cognitive impairment who took Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) for three months displayed improved cognition scores.
LGG has been investigated in over 250 clinical trials and there is some evidence it can be useful for treating irritable bowel syndrome and some other gastrointestinal issues.
Ms Mashael Aljumaah, the study’s first author, said:
“The implication of this finding is quite exciting, as it means that modifying the gut microbiome through probiotics could potentially be a strategy to improve cognitive performance, particularly in individuals with mild cognitive impairment.
This adds a new layer to our understanding of the microbiome brain-gut connection and opens up new avenues for combating cognitive decline associated with aging.”
The experiment involved 169 people aged 52 to 75, some of whom had Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).
MCI is diagnosed when people have age-related problems with memory and thinking, but can still live independently.
People with MCI may go on to develop dementia, but some people never get worse and many improve.
Ms Aljumaah said:
“Many studies focus on severe forms of cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, but these conditions are more advanced, making them significantly harder to reverse or treat.
In contrast, we focused on mild cognitive impairment, which can include problems with memory, language, or judgment. Interventions at this stage of cognitive impairment could slow down or prevent the progression to more severe forms of dementia.”
Not only did the thinking skills of participants who took probiotics improve, the results showed, but changes were measured in the gut microbiome.
Microbes in the genus Prevotella decreased as people’s thinking skills increased.
Ms Aljumaah said:
“By identifying specific shifts in the gut microbiome associated with mild cognitive impairment, we’re exploring a new frontier in preventive strategies in cognitive health.
If these findings are replicated in future studies, it suggests the feasibility of using gut microbiome-targeted strategies as a novel approach to support cognitive health.”
It is not yet known how or why Prevotella interacts with brain health — that is what the researchers are working on next.
The study was presented at Nutrition ’23 in Boston, MA (Aljumaah et al., 2023).
These studies reveal some of the diets, foods and nutrients that protect the brain from dementia — and those that damage it.
The secret to memory health might lie in how your body manages a single molecule.
The supplement that may slow brain aging.
The supplement that may slow brain aging.
A diet sufficient in omega-3 fatty acids helps reduce the risk of memory loss.
People with low levels of fatty acids score worse on tests of memory, attention and problem solving.
People’s brain volume is also affected, said Dr Zaldy S. Tan, the study’s first author:
“People with lower blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids had lower brain volumes that were equivalent to about two years of structural brain aging.”
The most important omega-3 fatty acids are eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, known as EPA and DHA.
Even healthy young people can improve their memory by increasing their omega-3 intake, other research finds.
This study, though, included 1,575 older adults who were all free of dementia.
They were given tests of their memory, attention and problem-solving, as well as levels of DHA and EPA in their bloodstream.
The results showed that those in the bottom 25% for fatty acid levels had lower brain volumes and had poorer scores on cognitive tests.
The study was published in the journal Neurology (Tan et al., 2012).
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