{"id":1043,"date":"2012-02-28T07:38:16","date_gmt":"2012-02-28T07:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/personalpolishing.wordpress.com\/?p=1043"},"modified":"2012-02-28T07:38:16","modified_gmt":"2012-02-28T07:38:16","slug":"foods-that-fight-memory-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/foods-that-fight-memory-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Foods That Fight Memory Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Carole Jackson<\/strong>, Bottom Line Health<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u0080\u0099s a new way to potentially prevent Alzheimer\u00e2\u0080\u0099s\u00e2\u0080\u0094a disease that we know frustratingly little about\u00e2\u0080\u0094and it\u00e2\u0080\u0099s not some exotic, expensive or potentially dangerous drug. It\u00e2\u0080\u0099s actually an affordable, natural component that\u00e2\u0080\u0099s found in everyday foods. For the first time, there\u00e2\u0080\u0099s a human study that confirms an association between dietary\u00c2\u00a0choline<\/em>, an amino acid found in eggs and some other foods, and better cognitive performance. The study, from Boston University School of Medicine, appeared in the November 2011 issue of theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition.<\/em><\/p>\n

BRAIN BOOSTER<\/h4>\n

Researchers investigated the dietary habits of 744 women and 647 men ranging from 36 to 83 years of age. None had dementia when the study started. In the early 1990s and then again between 1998 and 2001, participants filled out a questionnaire about their diets\u00e2\u0080\u0094they were asked how often they had eaten particular foods in the past year. After the second questionnaire was given, the researchers performed neuropsychological tests to evaluate the participants\u00e2\u0080\u0099 cognitive skills, including verbal memory (remembering a story) and visual memory (remembering images). They also did MRI brain scans to see if there were any tell-tale lesions in the white matter areas called\u00c2\u00a0white-matter<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0hyperintensities<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0(WMH). WMH in the brain is considered a marker of vascular disease and is strongly associated with cognitive impairments that precede Alzheimer\u00e2\u0080\u0099s disease.<\/p>\n

The results:<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0First, this study demonstrated that people who were currently eating the most choline performed better on tests of verbal and visual memory, compared with those who currently had the lowest choline intake. Researchers also found that those who had eaten the highest amounts of choline years earlier (as demonstrated by the first questionnaire) were more likely to have little or no WMH. In other words, eating lots of choline may make your memory sharper, and it also may reduce the risk for damage to the brain and even Alzheimer\u00e2\u0080\u0099s disease.<\/p>\n

HOW THE NUTRIENT PROTECTS YOUR NOGGIN<\/h4>\n

To learn more, I called study coauthor Rhoda Au, PhD, associate professor of neurology at Boston University. Dr. Au emphasized that this is an observational study, so it doesn\u00e2\u0080\u0099t prove cause and effect, but it does show a link between choline and memory. Why? Choline\u00e2\u0080\u0099s crucial contribution to cognition, said Dr. Au, may be as a building block for a neurotransmitter called\u00c2\u00a0acetylcholine<\/em>, which is known to help transmit information between neurons faster.<\/p>\n

DIET \u00e2\u0080\u009cDOs\u00e2\u0080\u009d<\/h4>\n

How much choline do you need each day? The recommendation from the Institute of Medicine for men is a daily intake of 550 mg and for women, 425 mg.\u00c2\u00a0The richest food sources are\u00e2\u0080\u00a6<\/em><\/p>\n