improved cognition Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Eating Blueberries Benefits Mood and Mobility

AHA Publisher — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 08:00:39 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – The consumption of berries can enhance “beneficial signaling in the brain.” Plant foods are our primary source of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, but some plant foods may be better than others. As I’ve explored before, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial showed us that one cup of blueberries a day can improve cognition among older adults, and the same happens in children after just a single meal with blueberries, though two cups of berries may work better than one. As I discuss in my video Benefits of Blueberries for Mood and Mobility, that single hit of berries may also improve mood. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, young subjects were asked a series of questions, such as Are you very slightly or not at all, a little, moderately, quite a bit, or extremely interested? Excited? Strong? Ashamed? And so on. As you can see in the graph below and at 0:55 in my video, before and after drinking the placebo, there was no significant change in young adult participants aged 18 through 21. But, two hours after consuming about two cups of blueberries, their positive mood scores improved significantly. They felt more enthusiastic, alert, inspired, and attentive. The same results were found in seven- to ten-year-old children. Benefits achieved not with some dangerous new mood-enhancing drug or Ritalin, but blueberries—and after just a single meal. Now, blueberries can’t do everything. Although a cup of berries certainly appears to improve brain function, no improvements in walking (gait) or balance were observed. What if you tried two cups of blueberries a day?Might six weeks of two cups of frozen blueberries a day affect the functional mobility in adults over age 60? Study participants were randomized to prepackaged blueberries or prepackaged carrot juice as a control, and researchers measured tasks, including one where “two bright yellow ropes on the floor outlined the narrow path, and participants were instructed to walk within the roped path.” The blueberries beat out the carrot juice control, and significant improvements suggest “blueberry supplementation may provide an effective countermeasure to age-related declines in functional mobility…” In retrospect, the researchers thought perhaps the control should have been “a true placebo (e.g., cucumber powder) without antioxidant properties,” since the carrots themselves may have offered some benefit, too. Had they used a different control, the blueberry results may have been even more impressive. “Overall, this study demonstrates the need for greater exploration of blueberry supplementation as a nonpharmacologic countermeasure to the public health issue of age-related declines in functional mobility and independence.” Or, to use the punnier version, “dietary interventions with polyphenol-rich [phytonutrient-rich] foods, such as blueberries, present a potentially fruitfulstrategy for combating some of the deleterious effects of age-related neurodegeneration.” (Emphasis added.) Isn’t science grand! I love that these studies were conducted. The video I referred to is Flashback Friday: Benefits of Blueberries for the Brain. Key Takeaways Plant foods are our primary source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. Blueberries can not only improve cognition, but also our mood. One daily cup of blueberries improved cognition in older adults, and one to two cups a day did the same in children. Two hours after consuming about two cups of blueberries, young adults and younger children experienced improved positive moods, such as feeling more enthusiastic, inspired, alert, and attentive. Researchers investigated the effects of six weeks of two cups of frozen blueberries a day in adults over 60 and found they had significant improvements in functional mobility, such as walking on a roped-off, narrow path. Dietary interventions with phytonutrient-rich foods like blueberries may be effective for countering some age-related effects on functional mobility, independence, and neurodegeneration. To read the original article click here.

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One Daily Cup of Blueberries Found to Improve Cognition

AHA Publisher — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 07:00:14 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – Blueberries can significantly improve cognitive performance within hours of consumption. When you search the medical literature for studies on berries, papers like this pop up: “A 3-Week-Old With an Isolated ‘Blueberry Muffin’ Rash.” Or, you’ll see pictures of strawberry tongues or read about a way to describe the appearance of stool, though “stools truly resembling currant jelly” are not very common. What is it with pathologists’ love affair with food terminology? The grossest may be the way amoeba chest infections are described—“expectoration of ‘anchovy sauce-like’ pus,” which sounds gross even without the pus. There are actual studies on berry supplementation, such as how they can mitigate the negative effects of a high saturated fat diet on the brain and behavior, but that one in particular was in mice. Maybe a better way to mitigate would be not feeding your pet mouse a stick of butter in the first place. Then, there are studies of proprietary berry-based nutraceutical supplements, purported to improve cognitive performance. At 1:11 in my video Flashback Friday: Benefits of Blueberries for the Brain and below, you can see how the supplement group has a steeper rise in cognitive performance over the placebo group. Looks impressive, right? Ah, but old hats will instantly recognize this as the timeless trick featured in the 1950s classic, How to Lie with Statistics. If you look closely at the chart, you’ll notice the Y axis does not start at zero. That’s to inflate the appearance. When you correct the graph and start that axis at zero, you can see the effect doesn’t look quite so impressive. There are studies of actual berries on actual humans, but when they’re funded by berry industry trade groups, you get studies like this: “An afternoon snack of berries reduces subsequent energy intake compared to an isoenergetic confectionary snack.” Sounds great, but what’s an “isoenergetic confectionary”? Candy. Researchers compared strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries to a handful of Jelly Babies, which are just like coated gummy bears. Do berries offer so little that you have to compare them to candy to make them look good? You may remember I’ve talked before about that famous Harvard study where berry eating appeared to delay brain aging by up to two-and-a-half years. You don’t know if it’s cause-and-effect, though, until you put it to the test. Researchers found that “blueberry supplementation improves memory in older adults” in just 12 weeks’ time, but that was feeding them up to six cups of wild blueberries a day. Now, this was a proof-of-concept pilot study just to see if they could get any effect. We just didn’t have any studies using more realistic doses…until now. What about just one daily cup of blueberries? Researchers found that “the addition of easily achievable quantities of blueberry to the diets of older adults can improve some aspects of cognition,” like long-term memory. In terms of the number of errors, the placebo group got worse, and the blueberry group got better, as you can see below and at 3:03 in my video. You can even correlate the cognitive improvements with enhanced brain activation using fancy brain scan technology to actually visualize the improved blood flow to those same regions of the brain caused by the blueberry consumption. Does it work in kids, too? Well, “blueberry treatments have shown positive effects on cognition in both animals and adult humans,” but do those these benefits transfer to children—human children? Researchers put together a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study comparing about one cup of blueberries to two cups and no blueberries at all. What did they find? “Importantly, across all measures, cognitive performance improved,” and the more berries, the better. This wasn’t after 12 weeks of eating berries, either, but within hours of just a single meal with blueberries. Sounds like we should add blueberries to breakfast, especially on days our kids are having their exams. Wait a second, healthy and delicious? That’s what plant-based eating is all about. Key Takeaways Berries have been studied in animals, the findings of proprietary berry-based supplements have been inflated, and industry-funded trials of actual berries on actual people have tended to compare the fruits to candy. These are some examples of what’s found on berries in the scientific literature. Researchers determined that up to six cups of wild blueberries a day improves memory in older adults in 12 weeks, but the dose is unrealistic. When adding just one daily cup of blueberries to the diets of older adults, researchers found improvements in their long-term memory and some other aspects of cognition. The cognitive improvements in the older adults were also correlated with blueberry consumption via advanced brain scan technology. In children, researchers found that cognitive performance improved “across all measures,” and the more berries, the better. Importantly, the improvements were found within hours of just one meal with blueberries, not after 12 weeks of eating berries every day. To read the original article click here.

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Wow! New Study Shows Ginger Combats Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Impairment

AHA Publisher — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 08:00:35 +0000

Lori Alton via NaturalHealth365 – Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative condition that impairs memory and cognitive abilities, currently affects over 6 million Americans – and causes the death of 83,000 people every year. Unfortunately, rates of the disease are soaring, with the Alzheimer’s Association predicting that this number will climb to 13 million by the year 2050. Conventional pharmaceutical drugs to address Alzheimer’s disease have shown disappointing results, and researchers are searching urgently for novel therapeutic agents to use against this debilitating condition. Now, recent research has provided a ray of hope. In a review published in January 2021, the authors reported that ginger combats the oxidative stress, inflammation, and neuron cell death that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers: Neuroprotective Effects of Ginger Help Improve Memory and Cognition In a review published in Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy in 2021, the authors used human, animal, and cell studies to evaluate the effects of ginger – and its bioactive constituents gingerol, shogaol, and borneal – on Alzheimer’s disease. Scientifically known as Zingiber officinale, ginger is an ancient herb that has been revered in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine for centuries for its ability to treat a host of ailments – including coughs, colds, infections,rheumatism, digestive problems, and fevers. (And yes, ginger has a long history of herbal use for memory problems as well!) The team noted that studies on fish, mice, and humans have consistently shown that ginger can improve memory and cognition. In one study published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, researchers assessed the effects of ginger supplementation on cognitive tasks and working memory in middle-aged women. The reviewers reported that ginger improved scores for word recognition, spatial working memory, and numeric working memory. Researchers believe that ginger enhances memory by increasing the expression of a protein known as nerve growth factor (NGF). Encouragingly, ginger has also been shown to inhibit beta-amyloid peptides, which have been tied to “senile plaques” that trigger Alzheimer’s disease. And the effects can be dramatic. In one study, treatment with ginger reduced amyloid plaque-induced behavioral dysfunction – along with brain cell death. In addition, a compound in ginger known as 6-shogaol has been shown to help block inflammatory chemicals, or interleukins, involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. And, finally, ginger boosts levels of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter essential for memory and learning. The authors concluded that ginger possesses “great potency for improving memory functions” and is a “safe nutraceutical that can be applied to combat neurodegenerative diseases.” They called for more research to further explore the exciting neuroprotective effects of ginger. Destructive Free Radicals Spur Alzheimer’s Disease Scientists think that Alzheimer’s disease stems from age-related impairment in the cell mitochondria, which triggers the release of harmful free radicals. The subsequent oxidative damage causes all sorts of mischief – such as increasing the neurofibrillary tangles and beta-amyloid plaques, which contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. Free radicals also cause the release of toxins such as malondialdehyde while affecting levels of antioxidants – including glutathione and superoxide dismutase – in the body’s natural defense system. By the way, Alzheimer’s disease is the leading form of dementia – a steady decline in thinking, behavioral and social skills. Sadly, experts say the incidence of dementia doubles every ten years after age 60. Ginger Has All the Right “Anti’s” to Prevent Disease Neuroprotection is not the only weapon in ginger’s arsenal against disease. The authors had high praise for ginger’s other therapeutic effects as well, noting that its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory powers help it act against cancer and type 2 diabetes. Ginger is also antibacterial, antifungal, and antispasmodic – and can act as a natural fever reducer. As if that weren’t impressive enough, ginger may even promote weight loss, lower blood sugar and help decrease levels of harmful LDL cholesterol. Believe it or not, ginger is just getting started! The review authors also noted that a ginger constituent known as 6-gingerol could help protect against stomach ulcers, boost the immune system, protect the liver and alleviate allergic reactions. (In fact, it’s difficult to think of a condition that ginger doesn’t help!) Use Fresh or Powdered Ginger to Add Peppery, “Zippy” Flavor to Recipes While ginger is treasured in herbal healing, it has a multitude of culinary uses as well. You can utilize fresh ginger root or powdered ginger to enliven beef, poultry, and fish recipes – along with sauces, stews, vegetables, and salads. You can even steep ginger into a soothing, warming tea by thinly slicing an inch or two of ginger root and boiling it for 10 minutes. (Add honey and lemon juice for even more flavor and antioxidant punch!) Incidentally, ginger’s close relative, turmeric, is believed to have many of the same therapeutic effects as ginger – thanks to its content of a powerful antioxidant known as curcumin. So why not combine both of these flavorful spices in the same recipe? Ginger supplements are available in capsules and tablets, with natural health experts typically advising around 1,500 mg a day in divided servings. If you are interested in supplementing with ginger, check first with your trusted integrative healthcare provider. While ginger is generally recognized as safe when used in moderate quantities, excessive amounts can cause side effects such as heartburn and diarrhea. The new research reveals ginger’s potential as an important weapon in the decades-long battle against Alzheimer’s disease. Wouldn’t it be ironic if a lifesaving natural therapy was “hiding in plain sight” the whole time? Sources for this article include: NYDailyNews.com MayoClinic.org AlzheimersAssociation.org LifeExtension.com To read the original article click here.

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