Dementia

Is Your Fat Shrinking Your Brain?

It isn’t breaking news that the majority of the US population is overweight or obese.  The situation has been spiraling out of control for decades.  Prospects for impacting this trend have been so bleak that new data indicating that US obesity rates have stabilized generated extensive news coverage, including segments on two national television networks, with many sources contrasting the high prevalence of obesity with the fact that rates are not climbing.  Should we really be celebrating that a third of adults[1] and one in six kids and teenagers[2] are heavy enough to be considered obese, even if that percentage hasn’t statistically increased since 2003?  Well, let’s consider the population.  From 2003 to 2011, the US population increased by approximately 18 million.  So that would mean about 6 million more obese adults even though the percentage did not increase.  During this same period, humans as a race set a new milestone; for the first time in history there are more overweight people in the world than underweight.[3]  Read the rest of this entry »

Feed Your Brain to Avoid Dementia

As an unprecedented number of Americans approach middle and old age, there is growing public concern about the loss of mental acuity that often is attributed to aging. Medical advances have dramatically increased the likelihood of surviving into the period of life that has been associated both with wisdom and mental decline. It is becoming more and more common to enter into the eighth and ninth decades of life in generally good physical health, increasing the probability that the body will outlive the mind.  Maintaining cognitive competency is crucial for personal independence and quality of life.  Factor in the growing evidence that how one lives in earlier stages of life, including our food choices, affects cognitive aging; we all should be paying a little more attention to what we feed our brains. Read the rest of this entry »

Alzheimer’s Disease…Have We Been Barking Up The Wrong Tree?

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is often called the most common form of dementia.  All dementias are characterized by a progressive loss of mental functions.  Since 1906, AD has been considered to be a distinct form of dementia distinguishable from all other dementia by certain structures found in the brains of sufferers.  Although this has been the conventional wisdom among neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, gerontologists, and others medical professionals, a new breed of scientists are challenging that notion.  The conventional theories about AD may be trying to treat the wrong issue. Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin D and Healthy Living

Both medical journals and the popular press over the last several years have been replete with information about the adverse health risks associated with insufficient vitamin D.  Low levels of vitamin D have been linked with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease[1], diabetes[2], certain cancers[3], osteoporosis, autoimmune diseases, obesity, multiple sclerosis[4] and chronic pain.[5] Read the rest of this entry »

Exercise & Diet Reduce Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

Dementia Risk Increased by Abdominal Obesity

Belly Fat is Toxic to your Brain as Well as Your Body

I have previously reported on the association between belly fat (visceral fat) and the increased risk for insulin resistance, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea and premature death. As if that weren’t sufficient reason to flatten your stomach, that middle-aged bulge may also increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia later on in life. Read the rest of this entry »

Smokers More Likely to Suffer Cognitive Decline

Dangers From Smoking Continue to Mount

Smoking is a very expensive habit, both financially and health-wise.  It has been widely recognized as the greatest individual risk for heart disease, stroke, emphysema, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) and lung cancer.  It has also been strongly implicated in early erectile dysfunction (ED) and breast cancer. Read the rest of this entry »