12 Strategies to Keep Your Mind Healthy and Sharp

Cognitive changes related to aging are actually related more to today’s diet and lifestyle, rather than to the aging process itself, says Joseph Mercola, who reveals twelve strategies to keep your mind healthy and sharp.

... Cognitive changes related to aging are actually related more to today’s diet and lifestyle, rather than to the aging process itself. As you age, the cumulative effects of environmental toxins, exposure to free radicals, poor nutrition, stress and other factors take their toll on your body. What has been called “age-related cognitive decline” is really an accumulation of this damage to your cells. But this cognitive decay is NOT set in stone!

There are three primary factors that play a powerful role in maintaining sharp mental function, even as you age: Read more

Is Vitamin K the Key to Preventing Atherosclerosis and Dementia?

Vitamin K is is know for its ability to promote normal blood clotting, but a new study shows that it can also help prevent arterial hardening, atherosclerosis and cognitive decline.

Vitamin K is a critical nutrient widely known for its ability to promote normal blood clotting. A wealth of new information demonstrates that this vitamin in its multiple forms can provide a powerful anti-inflammatory shield to protect against many lethal diseases of aging. Writing in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers show that vitamin K works with other fat-soluble nutrients to protect the brain from arterial calcification that leads to a stroke or cognitive decline. Vitamin K works to prevent the deposition of calcium within arterial walls and ushers the mineral toward the normal construction of bone throughout the body. The research provides proof that eating a healthy diet to maintain adequate stores of vitamin K over a lifetime can help prevent arterial hardening, atherosclerosis and cognitive decline. Read more

Green Tea May Prevent Dementia and Cancer

Scientists at Newcastle University set out to discover whether the protective properties of green tea tea are still active once it has been digested - and found that they are.

Green tea could protect the brain against Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, say scientists.

The drink, which originated in ancient China, may also play a vital role in guarding against cancer, their study suggests.

Scientists at Newcastle University set out to discover whether the protective properties of the tea – previously shown to be present in the freshly brewed form – are still active once it has been digested. Read more

Memory Loss Is NOT a Normal Part of Aging, Say Dementia Experts

Though many older people laugh off memory lapses as "senior moments," dementia experts say they shouldn't. Memory loss is NOT a normal part of aging. It's a symptom of an underlying disease.

Mild memory lapses experienced by older people are often excused as 'senior moments,' but a new study has found the brain changes that cause the forgetfulness are also responsible for dementia.

The findings contradict a long-held notion that memory loss is a normal part of ageing, the U.S. team said.

'We don't think that just because you are old, a problem in thinking and memory is normal and should be ignored. We think it's an actual sign of disease,' said lead researcher Dr Robert Wilson, at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Read more

Coffee May Reverse Alzheimer's Disease

Drinking five cups of coffee a day could reverse the memory problems of Alzheimer's disease. Scientists proved it on mice, anyway.

Drinking five cups of coffee a day could reverse memory problems seen in Alzheimer's disease, US scientists say.

The Florida research, carried out on mice, also suggested caffeine hampered the production of the protein plaques which are the hallmark of the disease.

Previous research has also suggested a protective effect from caffeine. Read more

Take Care of Your Heart and Mind: Brush and Floss Your Teeth

Brushing and flossing is not only good for your teeth and gums, but also for your heart and mind.

Brushing and flossing your teeth daily does more than help prevent cavities, periodontal (gum) disease and bad breath. According to the American Academy of Periodontology, having healthy teeth and gums also lowers your risk of heart disease and stroke. And now researchers at West Virginia University have found a clean mouth may also do something else -- prevent memory loss. Read more

How to Avoid Dementia

A new study suggests that an effective way to ward off Alzheimer's disease is to keep working.

Keeping the brain active by working later in life may be an effective way to ward off Alzheimer's disease, research suggests.

Researchers analysed data from 1,320 dementia patients, including 382 men.

They found that for the men, continuing to work late in life helped keep the brain sharp enough to delay dementia taking hold. Read more

Binge Drinking Increases Risk of Dementia

While a little wine may help you live longer, heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk of dementia later in life, especially for women.

Heavy drinking may be to blame for one in four cases of dementia. Doctors have linked alcohol intake to the development of the brain-wasting condition in between 10 and 24% of the estimated 700,000 people in the UK with the disease.

They warn that binge drinking and increased consumption are likely to produce an epidemic of alcohol-related brain damage in the future, which could see drinkers starting to experience serious memory problems in their 40s.

Women who drink a lot are at much greater risk than men of suffering problems with their cognitive functions, because they are physiologically less well able to cope with alcohol's effects. Read more