The aging brain is a shrinking brain. This is just a fact of life. When brain shrinkage is extreme, dementia may occur.
Rather bleak tidings from the Framingham Offspring Cohort study. In participants with the least amount of blood pumping through their hearts, there was almost two years greater brain aging than in participants with more robust hearts.
According to an August 2, 2010 article on emedicinehealth.com, heart health and brain health are closely intertwined. These findings did not indicate a relationship with cardiovascular disease.
As brain volume shrinks, structural changes also occur in the brain. However, signs of cognitive decline did not necessarily emerge.
This study was published in the August 10, 2010 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Lest the starkness of this research discourage you about a healthy vital old age, be reassured that you have some choice in the matter of brain aging and shrinkage due to languishing blood flow.
You can increase blood flow to your brain in some basic ways. A Eurekalert! public release from November 2, 2010 recommended drinking beet juice. Whatever your personal feeling about contact with the humble beet may be, it can do wonders for blood flow.
In the Nitric Oxide Society's peer-reviewed online journal Nitric Oxide: Biology and Chemistry, drinking beet juice was reported to lower blood pressure, and increase perfusion (blood flow) to the brain.
Beets contain high amounts of nitrates, as do cabbage, celery, spinach, and some lettuces. Eating these vegetables enable good bacteria in the mouth to turn nitrates into nitrites. These nitrites dilate blood vessels which increases blood flow and oxygen headed for areas that are short of oxygen.
The study indicated that a high-nitrate diet increased blood flow to the areas of the brain most associated with cognitive decline and dementia. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, the study concluded, can contribute to good brain health.
Funding for this research came in part from the National Institutes of Health.
We hear about the value of moderate exercise all the time. It moves us toward better health, better mood, better mental sharpness.
Yet more research has joined the chorus. Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital's Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine in Dallas performed research that indicated that exercise can significantly improve blood flow to the brain. This was reported on April 12, 2011 on sciencedaily.com.
Going for a brisk 30 to 50 minute walk three or four times a week brought an increase of blood flow to the brain of 15 percent.
Increased blood flow brings more glucose, oxygen, along with other nutrients to the brain. In the process, metabolic wastes like amyloid-beta protein which is linked with Alzheimer's disease, are washed away.
More research is needed on this subject, but evidence certainly points in the direction of the importance of increasing blood flow to the brain to increase and extend health and vitality.
Resources:
When Heart Pumps Less Blood, Brain May Be at Risk for Dementia
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=118589
Daily dose of beet juice promotes brain health in older adults
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-11/wfu-ddo110210.php
Moderate Exercise Dramatically Improves Brain Blood Flow in Elderly Women
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110412131921.htm
Reviewed May 18, 2011
Edited by Alison Stanton
Visit Jody's website and blog at http://www.ncubator.ca and http://ncubator.ca/blogger