Gobble Up That Cranberry Sauce! (It’s GREAT for the Brain)

Cranberries: a staple of American holiday meals, they find their way onto the table  as gelled sauces & relishes, in muffins, stuffing, juices, fruit salads and pretty much anything else we can throw them into to add bit of tart , festive redness.

And as it turns out, we probably *should* be throwing them into as many dishes as possible;  cranberries are ridiculously healthy for us, and especially, excitingly, enticingly good for the brain.

Make Thanksgiving Brain-Healthy!

Far from the Norman Rockwell ideal, many of my Thanksgiving memories are of days that alternated between stress and mind-numbing boredom.  High expectations, exposure to family that didn’t get along, and  Great Aunt Gertrude’s stories of when you were a baby are enough to make just about anyone brain-dead.  And as I’ve gotten older, it’s only gotten worse; now it’s MY stories of “when you were a baby” that threaten to put me to sleep!

So I’ve decided to take the bull by the horns (or the turkey by the breasts bone) and put together a few tips to take Thanksgiving from brain-dead to brain-fit!  No, paying attention to brain fitness on this one day won’t change your life, but it might help you to be a little sharper – and if you turn it into part of the ritual, it can introduce others (Like Great Aunt Gertrude) to the benefits of brain fitness.

Sound interesting? Read on!

Moderate Drinking: Maybe Not So Good For Your Brain, After All

File this one under the category of “Why some science research is marked as preliminary” — and also under “Why the media (including bloggers *cough cough*) shouldn’t jump on these sorts of results too enthusiastically.”

What the heck am I going on about?

Not so long ago, a widely reported study noted that people who were moderate drinkers (about  1-2 drinks per day) seemed to stay a wee bit sharper as they aged, had less memory loss, and lowered odds of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

And there was some underlying support for the idea, too – red wine, for instance, is known to contain high levels of a resveratrol (believed to be beneficial for the brain), and moderate drinking can help improve blood circulation to the brain, increase “good” cholesterol, and other things that might (note that I said might!) be good for the brain.

Both the researchers, the American Medical Association, and other assorted experts advised caution about the idea — some even pointed to other studies that said moderate drinking might actually shrink the brain.  Even so, some people no doubt headed out to the bars, touting their boosted brain as the result of their drinking!

And a more recent look at the info suggests the situation is, indeed, a wee bit more complicated than that.

Brain Health & Tooth Brushing: Could There Be A Link?

For quite a while now, poor oral health has been linked to increased risk of  heart disease and strokes.  But could gum disease also contribute to cognitive problems, even increasing the risk of Alzheimer’s?  New research out of the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons suggests just that.

In the study, 2,350 adults over the age of 60 were assessed for both the levels of gum-disease and  tests of their cognitive skills.  The results?  Those with the highest levels of the bacteria that cause gum disease were two to three times as likely to struggle with simple memory and cognitive tasks, like remembering  word sequences or doing mental arithmetic.

Exercise Those Motor Skills!

Motor skills. According to Wikipedia, they’re a learned series of movements combined into one smooth, efficient action.   They include large or “gross” motor skills, like sitting up, walking or running…  and smaller, “fine” motor skills like writing, fastening buttons, or putting on a pair of earrings.

We first develop them in infancy and as toddlers, then add to our repertoire as adults.   And practicing motor skills has big benefits, at any age.. it  can help maintain coordination,  balance, and visual-spatial skills – and most importantly, it may help keep seniors more independent (just as learning these skills allows toddlers to become independent)

Motor skill exercises are just plain good brain exercise, too.

Multi-Tasking Troubles: Another Early Alzheimer’s Symptom

Recently, I’ve written about how problems with money management and visual & spatial skills can be very early indicators of the onset of Alzheimer’s. Another new study ads multi-tasking troubles to the list.

At the University of Edinburgh, a team of researchers have found that Alzheimer’s patients perform significantly poorly on tests of simultaneous tasks.   The 89 participants in the study were divided into three groups – healthy older adults, Alzheimer’s patients, and adults with chronic depression (a condition which early stages of Alzheimer’s can sometimes mimic, causing a misdiagnosis).

Nonsense: Could It Be Good For The Brain?

Our brains are wired to recognize patterns. We see them in faces, in written words, in numbers.  The patterns we learn  become part of our neural network, literally wiring them into our brain, and from there, they help interpret the world around us, and guide our reactions to what we observe.

But sometimes, our experiences just don’t fit those known patterns.   We might run across, say, a kangaroo hopping down Elm street, or a boat perched up in a tree – things that just don’t fit our knowledge of how the world is arranged.  Our response is usually to feel uncomfortable and disoriented; sometimes we laugh, sometimes we feel fear, and our response can range from mild to extreme. .

7 Keys To Brain Fitness: A Quick Review

It’s been a while since we went over the underlying concept of this weblog – seven “keys” that unlock brain fitness; I think it’s time for a review!  After all, the more often we repeat information, the more entrenched it becomes in our memory. So here goes!

The Three Activity Keys

Physical Activity:

Moderate, regular physical activity has some surprising effects for the brain;  it stimulates chemicals that act almost like fertilizer in the brain, causing the growth of new brain cells! Exercise also improves blood flow in the brain, increasing the oxygen and nutrients available, as well as reducing toxins.  Combine these direct effects with the benefits to the heart, lungs, and over all health, and its clear that if you’re looking for a basic brain-boosting activity, start with a daily walk or other exercise!