Staying Young

Osteoporosis is preventable

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Osteoporosis
medicalnewstoday.com

Take steps to improve bone health before osteoporosis becomes problematic

By Dr. Jessica Pennington, Lexington Herald Leader

May 5, 2017

“Osteoporosis is a common bone disease that occurs most often in older adults. It makes bones weak and more likely to fracture due to a deficiency in calcium and vitamin D. Nearly 10 million Americans are currently suffering from osteoporosis. It is important for older adults to take measures to improve bone health and prevent osteoporosis-related injury.

Bones are living, growing tissues that are constantly regenerating. They are structured like a honeycomb, with intricate gaps and spaces. With osteoporosis, the spaces in the bone structure are much larger than in a healthy bone. These bones become porous and less dense, so they weaken and are more likely to fracture.

Osteoporosis often has no symptoms. People with this disease cannot feel their bones getting weaker, and many people do not know they have osteoporosis until they experience a fracture, which most often occurs in the hip, spine or wrist. These can be caused by falling or bumping into an object, or in severe cases, from simple movements like sneezing or hugging.”

Nearly one in two women and one in four men over the age of 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.

Read more about improving bone health

Benefits of walking

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walking
Photo : Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

I try to walk everyday for exercise and weight management.  I even wear a pedometer to keep track of my daily steps.  Now, after reading the following article I will be walking to improve my brain health.

Walking Could Improve Neural Connectivity, Lowering Risk of Alzheimer’s in Older Adults

By John Raphael, Nature World News

May 5, 2017

“A new study led by the University of Maryland School of Public Health revealed that walking interventions could improve the neural connectivity in older adults, potentially reducing the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s disease.

The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, showed that walking for 30 minutes for four times a week can increase the neural connectivity between the brain’s posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/precuneus region and other brain regions of patients diagnosed with MCI.

‘The brain’s posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)/precuneus region is a hub of neuronal networks which integrates and disperses signals,’ said Dr. J. Carson Smith, director of the Exercise for Brain Health Laboratory and senior author of the study, in a press release. ‘We know that a loss of connectivity to this hub is associated with memory loss and amyloid accumulation, both signs of MCI and Alzheimer’s.'”

Read more about the benefits of walking

 

When should antidepressants be prescribed?

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Research Snapshot: Depression screening in older adultsantidepressants

Erin McHenry
April 24, 2017

“The number of antidepressants prescribed in the U.S. is skyrocketing as more primary care providers give antidepressants to patients even though many of them don’t have a psychiatric diagnosis.

A group of University of Minnesota researchers set out to study how that trend might be affecting older adults.

‘We found that physicians were less likely to prescribe unnecessary antidepressants when they screened their patients for depression,’ said Greg Rhee, Ph.D., M.S.W., primary author of the study affiliated with the College of Pharmacy.

The study looked at adults age 65 or older.

The study, recently published in Preventive Medicine, utilized data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. It surveyed primary care physicians to randomly sample over 9,000 visits made among older adults in 2010-2012.”

Out of 9,313 visits analyzed in Rhee’s study, only 209 included a depression screening.

Find out more

BRiTE Program aids adults with mild memory loss

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BRiTE ProgramInnovative program aids older adults with mild memory loss

By Tony Dearing, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

April 24, 2017

“Two days a week, Jennie Dorris raises her baton to help an unlikely group of musicians melodize their way to better brain health.

Few of her students have previous musical training. Their concern is more medical. They’ve been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, and the marimba lessons she leads on Mondays and Fridays are part of an innovative wellness program designed to help slow their memory loss.

Research has shown music can be instrumental (pun intended) in keeping our mind sharp as we age.

So when scientists at the University of Pittsburgh set out to create a program aimed specifically at people with MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment), the idea of including a marimba class struck the right chord.

‘We chose these types of instruments because they are very visual, and you can sort of feel like you’re playing a game while you’re learning a melody,’ Dorris says. ‘This is a really unique way to connect with people who want to work on their memory.'”

Read more and view video demonstration

At 101, Kaur runs and wins the race…

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I’m not sure I could even run 100 yards and I’m only 57!  Maybe I could start running for fitness though…

101-year-old woman wins 100 metre sprint Kaur

By Adam Boult, The Telegraph

“Man Kaur, a 101-year-old Indian woman, racked up her 17th gold medal this week at the World Masters Games in Auckland, New Zealand, completing the 100 metre sprint in one minute 14 seconds.

Truth be told, she was the sole competitor in the race, with no other runners coming forward to take part in the 100-years-and-over category.

Speaking to reporters via an interpreter, Kaur said after the race: ‘I enjoyed it and am very, very happy. I’m going to run again, I’m not going to give up. I will participate, there’s no full stop.’

Kaur started participating in athletics events eight years ago, at the age of 93, following encouragement from her son Gurdev Singh, 78, who also competes in the Masters Games.”

Read more

Do you take an afternoon nap?

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afternoon nap
end-your-sleep-deprivation.com

Afternoon Naps May Help Preserve Memory for Older Adults, Study Says

By Fran Kritz, Neurology News

April 11, 2017

“For people 65 and older, a daytime nap just after lunch and for at least an hour may be just the thing to preserve memory and cognition. That’s according to a new study published online in the December 20, 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Previous studies found cognitive declines in some people 65 and older, as well as an increase in afternoon napping among some older people. Researchers at the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and School of Nursing wondered if there was a relationship between the two, says Junxin Li, RN, PhD, the lead author of the study and a postdoctoral research fellow at the center.

Dr. Li says earlier studies showed that 22 to 69 percent of older adults take daytime naps, a much higher rate than younger people, and that in China a post-lunch nap is considered part of a healthy lifestyle.

Nap-Cognition Link

After accounting for differences in age, education, and general health, researchers found a correlation between naps and performances on cognitive assessments. Participants who took an hour nap after lunch did better on the cognitive tests compared to the people who did not nap or who took either shorter or longer naps. Significantly, people who took no naps, short naps, or longer naps had decreases in their mental ability that were four-to-six times greater than those who took one-hour naps. Those decreases in ability were about the same as would be expected for someone about five years older than each participants’ actual age, according to the researchers.

Dr. Li calls the results ‘intriguing’ but acknowledges that the results show an association between napping and cognitive ability rather than a causal effect. The team plans more studies to see if a causal relationship exists.”

Read more about afternoon naps

Are you taking an omega-3 supplement?

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I always heard that taking an Omega-3 supplement might be good for me, but until I read the following article I didn’t know why.

omega-3 supplementOmega-3 fatty acids good for adult, elderly brain health

By Dr. Joel Fuhrman, for Uinta County Herald

April 16, 2017

“The omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, usually obtained from eating fish, are important nutrients for proper brain function, starting with fetal development, and continuing into old age. DHA is most often associated with cognitive functions like learning and memory, and EPA with mood and anti-inflammatory effects.

I recommend taking an omega-3 supplement (preferably one derived from lab-grown algae, rather than eating fish or taking fish oil), since most people have a low intake of DHA and EPA unless eating fish regularly; research has confirmed that vegans tend to have low omega-3 levels.

In adulthood, omega-3 adequacy helps to maintain optimal brain function, prevent depression and lay the groundwork for a healthy brain later in life. A 6-month study of DHA and EPA supplementation in young adults (18-45 years of age) documented improvements in measures of memory.

Additionally, 12 weeks of DHA supplementation was found to improve blood flow to the brains of healthy young adults during a cognitive task.

No matter what your age, maintaining adequate omega-3 stores is crucial now, and for the later life health and functionality of your brain.

…Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease are the two most common neurodegenerative diseases. Omega-3 fatty acids appear to be useful for preventing these diseases. Low omega-3 intake and low levels of DHA in the blood are associated with age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.

Also, DHA depletion in certain areas of the brain occurs in Alzheimer’s disease. In some studies, low plasma EPA also associated with risk of dementia or cognitive decline.

More recent studies have investigated brain volume, finding that higher blood omega-3 levels are associated with larger brain volumes in older people, implying that abundant DHA and EPA could help to prevent brain shrinkage with age.”

Read more about omega-3 fatty acids

Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and a board certified family physician specializing in lifestyle and nutritional medicine. The Eat To Live Cookbook offers over 200 unique disease-fighting delicious recipes and his newest book, The End of Heart Disease, offers a detailed plan to prevent and reverse heart disease using a nutrient-dense, plant-rich eating style. Visit his informative website at DrFuhrman.com.