taking care of your brain

8/9/2019 Taking Care of Your Brain

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Taking Care of Your Brain

What aging can bring: Forgetfulness, decline in mental agility, risk of Alzheimer’s

disease.

What the research shows: “Doing things that hit both the left and right sides of the brain, like word puzzles plus mazes and visuals, has been proven to build

brainpower,” says Gary Small, M.D., director of the University of California at Los

Angeles Center on Aging. Swedish researchers believe there’s also a connection

between physical activity and cognitive decline. Their study found that subjects who

exercised at least 20 minutes two or more times a week at midlife reduced their risk

of developing Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia later by 60 percent. On the

nutrition front, a study at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

showed that an essential omega-3 fatty acid counteracts the brain’s production of

neuron-damaging amyloid proteins.

What you can do: "Challenge yourself mentally and physically; as little as 10

minutes of exercise a day may lower your risk of Alzheimer’s," says Small. Eat

antioxidant-loaded foods, such as almonds, leafy greens, and blueberries; and if you

don’t eat enough fatty fish rich in omega-3 acids, like salmon (at least two servings

a week), ask your doctor about taking a daily 1,000-milligram fish-oil supplement.

What aging can bring: Wrinkles, brown spots, skin cancer.

What the research shows: Sun exposure and smoking can cause the loss of

collagen and elastin and changes in DNA that can lead to skin cancer. Avoiding

these stressors is “the most important thing to for skin,” says Kenneth Beer, adermatologic surgeon in West Palm Beach, Florida. Antioxidants will help keep

damage at bay by “allowing the skin to repair itself,” says Beer.

What you can do: Drink at least one cup of green tea (a powerful antioxidant)

daily, and be sure to get enough vitamins C and E. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen

(one that protects against both UVA and UVB rays) of at least SPF 30 every day;

check the label for one or more of these ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide,

and Mexoryl. Topical application of green tea and vitamins C and E, which are found

in many anti-aging products, helps boost the skin’s ability to fend off free-radical

damage. And cover up outside whenever possible: Sun exposure can also lead to

brown patches.

What aging can bring: Yellowing, gum disease, tooth loss, oral cancer.

What the research shows: “Teeth can last a lifetime,” says Edmond Hewlett,

associate professor of restorative dentistry at the UCLA School of Dentistry. A

healthy mouth has a good supply of saliva, which contains minerals that can halt



and even reverse early stages of tooth decay. If you have a drier mouth (a common

side effect of antihistamines, antidepressants, and medications for high blood

pressure), decay can spread faster, and you’ll need to be even more vigilant with

your care.

What you can do: “Anytime we eat, bacteria are left sitting on the teeth, so brushyour teeth as soon as possible,” says Hewlett. This will also help remove stains from

foods and beverages such as blueberries, coffee, tea, and red wine. Brush for two

minutes to cover all your teeth and gums, floss, and consider rinsing once a day

with a mouthwash that contains fluoride. See your dentist for a cleaning twice a

year (or more often if needed), and have a thorough checkup once a year for gum

disease, cavities, and signs of oral cancer.

What aging can bring: Loss of aerobic capacity.

What the research shows: "At any age, you can maximize your aerobic capacity

with regular exercise," says Jerome L. Fleg, M.D., a medical officer at the National

Heart Lung and Blood Institute. And the fitter you are, the easier it is to perform

daily tasks. If you are in good shape, you may need only 50 percent of your aerobic

capacity to do something like push a vacuum, depending on your age and sex.

What you can do: Intense activities aren’t necessary; even “walking at a brisk

pace on a regular basis can help maintain aerobic capacity in older adults,” says

Fleg. (Always consult your physician before starting an exercise program.)

What aging can bring: Decreases in strength and muscle mass, loss of flexibility,loss of balance.

What the research shows: “Maximal muscle strength is achieved in the 20s and

30s,” says Roseann M. Lyle, Ph.D., professor of public health at Purdue University, in

West Lafayette, Indiana. “If you’re sedentary, you will start losing strength after age

50 at a rate of 2 to 5 percent per decade.” But if you keep using your muscles,

through activities like weight training, you can maintain strength and flexibility even

into your 90s. It’s also important to work on balance, which falters with age, and to

keep muscles agile so you can react quickly.

What you can do: Add resistance moves to your workout, and mix in some fast,

dynamic exercise as well―dance classes, tennis, volleyball, anything that gets you

“moving fast in different directions,” says Lyle. Good balance builders are one-

legged squats, yoga poses such as “tree,” and even something as simple as

standing on one foot and then the other while you brush your teeth or do the

dishes.



What aging can bring: Dry skin, swelling, stiffness, bunions, hammertoes.

What the research shows: “Your feet may change size as you get older due to

water retention or ligaments that relax,” says Jane Andersen, a podiatrist and aspokesperson for the American Podiatric Medical Association. In extreme cases,

badly fitting shoes can lead to problems like bunions and hammertoes.

What you can do: Have your feet measured yearly (ideally at the end of the day),

and vary your shoe types and heel heights. Bunions and hammertoes “come from

repetitive motions,” says Andersen, “and can often be prevented with supportive

shoes that fit well, plus orthotics to neutralize foot position.” Weight-bearing

exercises will beef up bone density (the feet are a common site of osteoporosis).

Andersen recommends moisturizing the feet nightly with a gentle exfoliator or an

intense moisturizing lotion to keep them soft and supple.

What aging can bring: Cardiac disease, heart attack, stroke.

What the research shows: "High blood pressure is the number one culprit when

it comes to heart trouble," says Michael F. Roizen, M.D., coauthor of You: On a Diet .

"If you know only one number, it should be your blood pressure." (The ideal is

115/76.) A diet high in sodium is linked to high blood pressure. As for cholesterol,

the numbers to shoot for are a total count of less than 200, with an HDL greater

than 60 and an LDL around 70. The two risk factors are linked: High blood pressure

causes little nicks to form in arteries, which the body then plasters over with

cholesterol. That attracts inflammatory cells, creating arterial plaque that can lead

to clots, heart attacks, and strokes.

What you can do: Keep your diet low in salt and saturated fat and high in fruits,

vegetables, and whole grains. Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic activity four or five

days a week.

What aging can bring: Dryness, presbyopia, cataracts, macular degeneration,

glaucoma.

What the research shows: Although presbyopia (trouble reading things up close)

almost inevitably sets in around age 40, good nutrition may help with other age-related eye issues. “People who consume high levels of antioxidants have a reduced

risk of macular degeneration [a disorder that leads to gradual vision loss],” says

Emily Chew, deputy director of epidemiology and clinical research at the National

Eye Institute, in Bethesda, Maryland. (Smoking, however, increases your risk.) And

omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids help “open up the glands around the eyes, so

patients with dry eyes make more, better-quality tears,” says Michael Goldstein, an

ophthalmologist in Boston.



What you can do: See an eye doctor regularly to catch early signs of trouble. Eat

plenty of leafy greens and consider taking a fish-oil supplement. Protecting your

eyes from sun exposure can help reduce your risk of cataracts.

Taking Care of Your Bones

What aging can bring: Osteoporosis, fractures.

What the research shows: In your 30s, your body stops storing calcium, so if you don’t get

enough in your diet, your body will start depleting its stores. Another cause of brittle bones islack of exercise. “Bone is live tissue, like muscle, and it needs to be stressed to grow,” says Carla

Sottovia, Ph.D., assistant fitness director of the Cooper Aerobic Center, in Dallas. Anything that

puts weight―stress―on the bones will help build bone mass, but “you want to stress them in asmany different ways and directions as possible,” says Lyle.

What you can do: Lyle recommends activities that include a variety of movements, likeracquetball and dancing. Women need between 1,000 and 1,200 milligrams of calcium in their daily diet or as a supplement, along with 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D and 350 to

400 milligrams of magnesium.

taking care of your brain

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