Brain Health: Reducing the chance of Dementia

Published: Tue, 10/20/15

Hi


Brain: An organ of soft nervous tissue contained in the skull of vertebrates, functioning as the coordinating centre of sensation and intellectual and nervous activity. (Oxford Dictionaries)

If you're one of my close friends, you'll probably know by now that anything related to the brain makes me feel quite sick.

The look of it - grooves, all compacted and shiny, how we can still be awake with it being operated on, in the movies (Krull pops to mind here), the brain transfer machines, death by electric chair, sheep brain dissection at high school, the fact my Dad says I loved eating lambs brains when I was little (we do that in New Zealand!), even hearing the word "brain" makes me ill.

I just googled other languages: cerebro, cerveau , no-, noe, cervello, gehirn  are they any better?

Nope- because I still get that image of a brain in my head...



So there we are.

Putting all of my brain issues aside, here is a picture of the brain.

And you will probably have to agree with me , it is such an incredible organ - as stated in our definition: the "coordinating centre of sensation and intellectual and nervous activity". Just wow.

Many of you know that for the past couple of years I have been helping out a couple of evenings a week at a nursing home.

I helped with the nutrition side of things, holding a couple of talks with the residents families and nurses, menu planning, the preparation of meals and I also cared for the elderly on the second floor, where all but one of the 32 residents had some form of late stage dementia.


What is dementia?

Dementia is a chronic and progressive disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes and impaired reasoning.(Oxford Dictionaries)

- In 2015 there is approximately 850,000 people with dementia in the UK.
- There are 40,000 younger people with dementia in the UK.
- There will be 1 million people with dementia in the UK by 2025 (these are only the cases which are diagnosed)
- Most professionals agree - dementia is diagnosed too late. (Alzheimers.org)

There are many different types of dementia depending on which part of the brain is damaged. Movement can also be affected. If you are interested in learning about the specific types please visit:
Alzeimers.Org
 
So,  we may be living longer,  but to the expense of what?

Our brains in this case.

It's a cruel disease for the victim and for their families and the worst of all, it is diagnosed once it is too late really. The problem is, if the inflammation was in your knee or shoulder you would feel it and get it treated, even if it was in an artery, you're more likely to feel the effects and do something about it before you'd do anything about brain inflammation.

People can't feel the inflammation in the brain -  it's more likely to show itself as Mum coming across as a bit forgetful as getting old because she forgets where she has put the keys every second day or says the same thing 3 x during lunch.

So, most of my residents were old 90+, some of them were 70, the youngest, 64 which just goes to show, our brain can be compromised by the  dementia at any time.

Once dementia is in full swing, it can take the person right back to when the brain degeneration started- so with plenty of my residents- that was about mid 30's, which is why some didn't recognise their adult children anymore.

If the degeneration started then, when did the inflammation start? - when we were all getting sloshed in our early 20's? Who knows?

There are drugs that can help to improve the symptoms of dementia or that, in some cases, may stop them progressing for a while but as of yet there is no cure.

What can we do to best prevent dementia?

The NHS says:
  1. Eat a healthy diet.
  2. Maintain a healthy weight.
  3. Exercise regularly.
  4. Don't drink too much alcohol.
  5. Stop smoking (if you smoke)
  6.  Make sure to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level.

Now, as you know a "healthy diet" can have very different meanings to different people. So here's my idea given the brain is around 70% fat and inflammation of the brain is a key component when it comes to dementia.  

  1. Quit the 'low fat' craze - we need the fat NOT the sugar and chemicals..
  2. Eat real food over packaged - we need the nutrients rather than the sugar and chemicals.
  3. Eat oily fish 3 x per week - we need the DHA (omega 3 essential fatty acids).
  4. Eat plenty of walnuts, flaxseeds - we need the DHA (omega 3 essential fatty acids- once converted).
  5. Choose tubers (root veg) over grains.
  6. On the grains topic - try to stay away from gluten as much as possible.
  7. 50% of meal plates to be above ground, preferably organic veg.
  8. Be wary of aluminium  e.g. tin foil, aluminium pans etc. Some small studies say it is linked to Alzheimers, some don't -  I don't want to take the risk so would rather use stainless steel/iron or open bake/steam.
  9. Investigate your suspected intolerances/allergies.

Supplement wise and for plenty more information on brain health hop on over to Dr David Perlmutter's recommendations at:
David Perlmutter
If you haven't heard of him, he is a well known neurologist  specialising in brain health (his dad had dementia). He has plenty of recipes on his website also and his book Grain Brain is well worth a read.

Look after yourself out there - look after that brain!

Kim

Kim Chandler
Nutritional Therapist
07875 163901
www.eatwellandworkout.com
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