Ageless Brain

Chapter 1
Put Alzheimer’s on the Run!
 
If you’re old enough to remember landline telephones (or even party lines), there’s a good chance you’ve walked into a room and couldn’t remember why. Or found your misplaced keys in a strange place, like the refrigerator. Or experienced those maddening tip-of-the-tongue situations. These minor episodes of forgetfulness are so common—and often humorous—that they have an affectionate nickname: “senior moments.”
 
Once you hit middle age, it’s normal for the brain to backfire every now and again. 1 But if you find these momentary lapses worrisome, you’re not alone. A recent survey found that we fear Alzheimer’s disease (AD) more than cancer.2 That’s no surprise. Every 66 seconds,3 an American is diagnosed with this progressive brain disease that robs sufferers of more than memories. Over time, it steals their ability to live independently and erases their very identities. You may even have a friend, parent, or relative who’s battling the disease.
 
There’s no denying that Alzheimer’s and other age-related dementias are scary. But there’s every reason for hope: Recent research offers compelling evidence that you can strike a blow against them, and it’s as simple as making healthy changes. In 2015, the Alzheimer’s Association evaluated more than 150 studies that examined the links between cognitive decline and lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, and sleep. The association’s mind-blowing conclusion: “The public should know what the science concludes: certain healthy behaviors known to be effective for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer are also good for brain health and for reducing the risk of cognitive decline.” That means more greens and grains and less white flour, sugar, and animal fat. More moving, less sitting. More sleep, less stress. More mental challenge, less channel-surfing. You have more control over your brain health than you may have ever thought possible.4
 
So, take heart—then take action. As the search for an Alzheimer’s cure continues, this book reveals the simple actions you can take today to sharpen your memory and thinking now and in the years to come. It’s chock-full of the most effective tips out there, all supported by the most current and credible research, organized into digestible chunks that will be easy for you to read through and understand. And it’s never too early, or late, to start incorporating this knowledge into your life. So take a breath. We’ve assessed and translated the findings of scores of studies so we could bring you the ultimate guide to staving off and fighting Alzheimer’s. You’re about to get the very latest, science-backed lowdown on how to maintain and sustain your brain. L
 
LEARN THE FACTS, LOSE THE FEAR
There are three primary risk factors for Alzheimer’s. The first is age— nearly one in three people over the age of 85 develop it.5 The other two are a family history of the disease and a handful of extremely rare, hereditary genes11 (see sidebar on page 14). Although you can’t change these factors, consider this: Having the risk factors does not mean a person will definitely develop the disease.
 
Equally important: When it comes to Alzheimer’s, there’s compelling evidence that prevention is the first and best line of defense. Study after study suggests that healthy lifestyle choices help keep the disease at bay and may prevent or delay the onset of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the form of memory loss that has been found to increase the risk of developing full-blown Alzheimer’s.
 
For example, consider the findings of one landmark study conducted on over 1,200 older people in Finland. Researchers randomly assigned their participants, who were between 60 and 77 years old, to one of two groups. For 2 years, one group ate a diet of whole, natural foods, exercised at least three times a week, and received 30 to 45 minutes of computer-based brain training a week. (The findings on computerized exercises to promote cognitive health hold promise but are far from conclusive. See page 13 to learn the facts about those online subscription-based programs.) Health conditions associated with a higher risk of dementia, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, were monitored. The control group received health advice, and that’s it.12
 
Two years later, the lifestyle group scored 25 percent higher overall on a battery of thinking and memory tests compared to the control group. On some tests, this group’s scores were astonishing. For example, compared to the control group, it scored 150 percent higher in mental processing speed (how quickly the brain takes in and responds to information) and 83 percent higher in executive function (the ability to plan, organize, and focus on details). These findings, and others, can help you move past the fear that surrounds Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. Worry won’t help (in fact, research suggests it may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s!). Action will. You can use the research findings in the book to design your personal anti-Alzheimer’s action plan.
 
FOUR ALZHEIMER’S MYTHS TO FORGET
Chapter 2 lays out everything you need to know about Alzheimer’s and other age-related dementias. For now, it’s enough to know that the aging process affects the brain just as it affects other parts of your body. The changes of cognitive aging13 are normal, come on gradually, and vary widely from person to person, but are distinct from Alzheimer’s. So let’s clear up some common misconceptions.
 
Fallacy: As we grow older, memory is the most important aspect of a sharp, healthy brain.
 
Fact: A keen memory is an important part of brain health, but it isn’t the only one. Good cognitive health also includes the ability to solve problems, make decisions, and pay focused attention.
 
Fallacy: Alzheimer’s is at the root of all age-related memory problems.
 
Fact: While Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of memory problems, it is just one of many. Diseases that affect the brain, such as Parkinson’s disease, strokes, or multiple sclerosis, can also affect memory. But as you’ll learn, so can diabetes, thyroid disease, vitamin deficiencies, and some prescription and over-the-counter medications.14
 
Fallacy: Age-related changes in thinking and memory aren’t normal.
 
Fact: Cognitive aging occurs in everyone. What’s not normal is dementia, characterized by declines in cognitive abilities that affect the ability to perform day-to-day tasks. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. It progressively destroys cognitive function and the mental processes that include thinking, knowing, judging, and reasoning,15 and it begins well before symptoms like memory loss show up. The hallmark physical characteristics of a brain with Alzheimer’s are the progressive accumulation of plaques (a protein fragment called beta-amyloid) outside neurons in the brain and tangles (twisted strands of a protein called tau) inside neurons. These changes eventually damage and kill neurons. You’ll learn more about them in later chapters.
 
Fallacy: Only children’s brains produce new brain cells to help build the neural circuits that act as information highways between different areas of the brain.
 
Fact: Scientists have discovered that the adult brain continually generates new nerve cells, a process known as neurogenesis. One of the most active areas of neurogenesis in the brain, the hippocampus, plays a key role in memory and learning.19
 
The bottom line: Your brain ages along with the rest of you. But just as it’s possible to build stronger muscles at any age, there’s plenty you can do to help keep your mind and memory in top shape. It’s all here in these pages.
 
TEACH YOUR OLDER BRAIN NEW TRICKS
Along with a nutritious diet, regular exercise, and sufficient good-quality sleep, an ageless brain needs mental stimulation, which it gets from regular interaction with other people, learning new things and being open to new ideas, and exploring the big, beautiful world. Here’s what the research shows.
 
● Being socially active boosts brain function! Do you have at least a few people in your life you can talk to, have fun with, and turn to when life gets tough? While there’s no need to be (or become) a party animal to sustain your brain, research associates social activities, larger social networks, and social contact with better thinking and memory function and reduced risk for cognitive decline.
 
● To stay sharp, stay classy! A high level of schooling consistently is linked to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s. Whether you take up a musical instrument or a second (or third) language or learn more about a subject you’ve always been interested in, formal education at any age has been found to help reduce risk of cognitive decline and dementia. That’s a great reason to sign up for a class at your local college or community center or online.
 
● Challenging your brain keeps it youthfully plump! In one study, researchers asked over 300 middle-aged people how often they played cards or board games or put together puzzles.
 
Compared to participants who rarely or never broke out the games and puzzles, those who did at least every other day had greater volume in several brain regions known to be damaged by Alzheimer’s, including the hippocampus. The game players also got higher scores on cognitive tests.25
 
THE BREAKTHROUGH SCIENCE OF LIVING SHARP
This book clues you in to the simple lifestyle habits associated with keen thinking and memory. These habits are based on five pillars of brain health, and the first letter of each pillar spells out the word SHARP.
 
Savor Brain-Boosting Foods. Meal by healthy meal, you can protect your brain against Alzheimer’s. That’s because certain foods contain vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients shown in studies to preserve memory and reduce the risk of dementia. The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay study (or MIND, for short) identified nine foods that should make regular appearances on your plate and five foods to cut back on. Chapter 5 reveals them all, along with how to pick, store, and prepare the all-stars to maximize their brain-healthy benefits and simple ways to turn them into quick, flavor-packed meals.
 
Hit the Walking Trail or Gym. In one study, exercise was found to slash the risk of Alzheimer’s by more than 60 percent. So step right up to one of the best ways to keep your brain nimble—a regular half hour of exercise that raises your heart rate, along with simple muscle-building moves. If it’s been a while since you’ve been physically active, relax. Chapter 6 offers plenty of fun ways to get moving, from golf to dancing. And if your motivation to work out is in the basement, you’ll learn new, science-proven ways to fire it up.
 
Adjust Your Attitude. There’s no one in the world exactly like you; your personality is uniquely your own. But get this: Researchers have associated certain personality traits with both an increased or reduced risk of Alzheimer’s. Chapter 7 reveals what they are. The good news is, you don’t have to change your incredible self to protect your brain. What you can do is work to cultivate traits linked to having a sharp, keen mind in older age.
 
Reduce Brain-Shrinking Stress. Constant worry and stress do more than wreak havoc on your health and drain the joy from your life. They’ve been shown to shrivel parts of the brain vital to thinking and memory. There’s more—losing out on high-quality sleep appears to stress the brain, research suggests. Chapter 8 offers simple techniques shown to reduce the assault of chronic worry and tension on your brain. If stress keeps you up at night, the sleep-better tips can help soothe you into the restorative shut-eye an ageless brain thrives on.
 
Preserve Your Wits with Play. Building an ageless brain isn’t work. As you’ll discover in Chapter 9, it’s more like play. Just as you lift weights to build muscle, you challenge your brain to keep it keen—and there are so many ways to do it, you can forego crossword puzzles if they’re not your cup of tea. Simply take up an activity in which you’ll learn. How about joining a photography club or signing up for tango lessons? Your brain doesn’t care if your photos are fuzzy or you have two left feet. What counts is that you’re creating new neural pathways and perhaps new neurons, and following your passions in the process. In the “recipe” for an ageless brain, mental and creative stimulation are incredibly important ingredients.
 
START TRIMMING YEARS FROM YOUR BRAIN TODAY!
Although you can’t stop your brain from aging, there’s striking evidence that you can slow the rate at which it grows old. What’s incredible is that some studies have actually counted up the number of years healthy lifestyle habits can shave off your “brain age.” We will share the best with you as the book helps you prepare your brain to thrive—not just in the years ahead, but right now. Here’s a sneak peek.
 
Lose weight, gain a decade of potential brainpower! Being overweight or obese in midlife may age the brain by around 10 years, according to a study of over 500 adults.29
 
Get moving, trim a decade off your brain age! In a study of almost 900 older adults, those who got little or no physical activity experienced a decline equal to 10 more years of aging as compared to those who got moderate physical activity.30
 
Fork up veggies, shear off 5 years! Just two servings of veggies a day averted the equivalent of 5 years of mental aging in people older than 65.31
 
Eat berries, prune 2.5 years! In one study, at least a cup a week of either strawberries or blueberries, which brim with brain-protecting plant chemicals, slowed brain aging by two and a half years.32
 
Sleep tight every night, shave off 2 years! A 14-year study that followed over 15,000 women found that those who got 5 hours of shut-eye a day or less, or 9 hours a day or more, had lower average mental function than those who slept 7 hours.33 In other words, too little sleep, or too much, was equivalent to 2 years of cognitive aging.
 
The rest of Part 1 will give you a quick tour of the 3-pound super-organ between your ears and present a detailed quiz to help you gauge how well your lifestyle aligns with the scientific research that links a healthy lifestyle with a reduced risk of cognitive decline. Part 2, Stay-SHARP Basics, presents the basics of brain health. These “commandments” are your first steps to staving off memory loss and cognitive decline. Nail these, and you’re ready to go on to Part 3, Stay SHARP! These chapters present the specifics of how to keep your mind and memory keen with diet, physical activity, attitude, stress reduction, and mental stimulation.
 
Here’s the amazing thing: Just learning this stuff gets your brain percolating. And once you put the research to work and lock down the healthy habits presented in these pages, you’ll be on the ageless brain path for the rest of your life.