The researchers studied samples of brain tissue from people with and without Alzheimer’s disease.
Fluid intelligence naturally declines with age, but three foods can help arrest this trend.
Fluid intelligence naturally declines with age, but three foods can help arrest this trend.
Eating cheese provides a remarkably high protection against cognitive decline with age, new research finds.
Daily consumption of alcohol, in particular red wine, is also linked to retaining a higher IQ with age.
The conclusions come from a study of 1,787 people whose diet and health were tracked for around a decade as part of the UK Biobank research.
The UK Biobank is a large biomedical database containing detailed information on half-a-million UK participants.
Along with the findings about wine and cheese, the results showed that eating lamb weekly, but no other red meats, improved cognition.
Excessive salt intake, meanwhile, was bad for cognitive health, especially for those at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr Auriel Willette, study co-author, said:
“I was pleasantly surprised that our results suggest that responsibly eating cheese and drinking red wine daily are not just good for helping us cope with our current COVID-19 pandemic, but perhaps also dealing with an increasingly complex world that never seems to slow down.
While we took into account whether this was just due to what well-off people eat and drink, randomized clinical trials are needed to determine if making easy changes in our diet could help our brains in significant ways.”
The researchers tracked fluid intelligence, which refers to the speed at which the brain works.
It is like the raw power of an engine or the speed at which a computer can process information.
In contrast, crystallised intelligence roughly refers to general knowledge.
Fluid intelligence naturally declines with age, but this research suggests that wine and cheese can help arrest this trend.
Mr Brandon Klinedinst, the study’s first author, said:
“Depending on the genetic factors you carry, some individuals seem to be more protected from the effects of Alzheimer’s, while other seem to be at greater risk.
That said, I believe the right food choices can prevent the disease and cognitive decline altogether.
Perhaps the silver bullet we’re looking for is upgrading how we eat.
Knowing what that entails contributes to a better understanding of Alzheimer’s and putting this disease in a reverse trajectory.”
The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (Klinedinst et al., 2020).
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People who experience these emotions in their 20s, 30s and 40s tend to develop memory problems in their 50s.
Just two daily servings containing vital nutrients is enough to reduce brain age by 11 years.
The foods boost memory and thinking skills, preventing them declining with age.
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Memory loss, anxiety and depression all improved after treatment.
The hormone boosts neuronal growth in the hippocampus.
The hormone boosts neuronal growth in the hippocampus.
Physical exercise produces a hormone called irisin that may help protect against Alzheimer’s disease, research finds.
The hormone boosts neuronal growth in the hippocampus, a region of the brain critical for learning and memory.
Mice in the study who swam every day had no memory problems, despite being injected with a protein linked to Alzheimer’s.
Dr Ottavio Arancio, who led the study, said:
“This raised the possibility that irisin may help explain why physical activity improves memory and seems to play a protective role in brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.”
Tests on mice revealed that the hormone irisin does indeed protect the brain’s synapses from damage and improve their memory.
Increasing levels of irisin was linked to better brain health in the mice.
In another study, mice were infused with beta amyloid, a protein linked to Alzheimer’s.
The results showed that those who swam every day for five weeks were free of memory problems.
When the researchers blocked irisin’s effect with drugs, the mice’s memory worsened.
This strongly suggests that irisin helps protect against Alzheimer’s.
Other research has shown that people with Alzheimer’s typically have low levels of irisin in their hippocampus.
The search is now on for drugs that can mimic its effect or increase levels of the hormone in the brain.
Dr Arancio said:
“In the meantime, I would certainly encourage everyone to exercise, to promote brain function and overall health.
But that’s not possible for many people, especially those with age-related conditions like heart disease, arthritis, or dementia.
For those individuals, there’s a particular need for drugs that can mimic the effects of irisin and protect synapses and prevent cognitive decline.”
The study was published in the journal Nature Medicine (Lourenco et al., 2019).
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