Walking off dementia
When we think of the benefits of exercise we usually think of its
positive effects on our waistlines and our heart health as well as perhaps
on our balance, coordination and muscle strength. We don’t take into
account exercise’s effect on our thinking abilities and memory, but
research shows that regular exercise is good for our brains too, and may
even help prevent dementia. The researchers say there is an association
between the amount of ‘grey matter’ in the brain which is involved in
muscle control, sight, hearing, memory, emotions, and speech, with levels
of physical activity and whether or not our thinking and memory decline
with age.
One study involved 299 people aged around 78 who were cognitively
(thinking) normal at the beginning of the study. These people were asked to
record the distance they walked weekly, and nine years later they had MRI
scans of their brains. Four years after that they were tested to see if
they had developed any cognitive impairment or dementia. Rather than
declining as they aged, those who were regular walkers had actually
increased the volume of grey matter in their brains.
So how much walking do you need to do to see an improvement in your
brain function? The researchers calculated that to increase grey matter
over the nine years, people had to walk approximately 10-15 kilometres per
week or more. These people halved their risk of developing dementia
compared to those who didn’t walk as much. So it seems walking is not only
good for the cardiovascular system (heart and arteries), muscles and bones,
it helps keep you sharp too – even with relatively modest amounts of
walking. Another reason to increase the amount of physical activity we get
each day – even if it’s just walking to the shops, work or the local cafe
instead of driving.
Dementia describes a collection of symptoms that are caused by disorders
affecting the brain. It can interfere with thinking, behaviour and the
ability to perform everyday tasks, which can impact on the person’s social
and working life. It’s more common in people over the age of 65, but can
happen to anyone – it is not simply an unavoidable part of ageing.
There are many different forms of dementia but some of the most common
types are Alzheimer’s disease, Vascular dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.
Early signs may not be immediately obvious, but some common symptoms
include:
Progressive and frequent memory loss
* Confusion
* Personality change
* Lack of interest and withdrawal
* Loss of ability to perform everyday tasks
It’s essential that a medical diagnosis is obtained at an early stage
when symptoms first appear to ensure that someone with a treatable
condition is diagnosed and treated correctly, and appropriate support is
offered for the individual as well as their family and friends.
Glycemic Index
You may have heard of something called the Glycemic Index (GI). It’s a
measure of the effect of different carbohydrate foods (such as sugars and
starches) on our blood glucose levels. A food’s GI is a measure of how it
behaves in our bodies when it comes to our blood glucose (sugar) and
insulin – the hormone that lowers blood sugar by sending it inside cells to
be used as energy). Low GI carbohydrates are slowly digested and only
produce small fluctuations in our blood sugar and insulin. It’s this some
experts argue that is the secret to long term health and the key to
sustainable weight loss.
Unlike the thinking behind many of the high protein, low (or no)
carbohydrate diets popular today, a diet low in GI recognises that the body
needs carbohydrates and encourages eating healthy carbs. Slower
carbohydrate digestion can help people who want to lose weight (or maintain
their current weight), those wanting to improve their cholesterol and those
wanting to reduce their chances of type 2 diabetes or heart disease. A low
GI diet is also often recommended for people who already have type 2
diabetes to help look after their condition.
Eating low GI foods that slowly trickle glucose into the blood stream
can maintain balanced energy levels throughout the day and keep people
feeling fuller for longer between meals. It’s thought a diet low in GI can
improve physical and mental performance as well as reduce the risk of
breast cancer and improve pregnancy outcomes.
The way to adopt a low GI diet is to shift from high GI to low GI
carbohydrates. You can do this by:
* Eating breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
* Eating breads made with wholegrains, stone-ground flour, or
sourdough
* Reducing the amount of potatoes in your diet
* Using Basmati rice instead of white rice
* Eating wholemeal pasta, noodles, or quinoa (a seed available at most
health food stores)
* Eating plenty of salad and vegetables
Recipe:
Stuffed baked capsicums
Ingredients:
4 red capsicums, tops cut and seeds removed (keep the tops to make the
‘lid’)
2T olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1T dried oregano
½t ground cumin
2T tomato paste
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 zucchini, diced
2 cups cooked couscous*
1 tin chickpeas, drained
¼ cup chopped parsley
Pepper to taste and feta for topping
*Different brands cook cous cous using a variety of methods, best follow
the instructions on the pack for the best result
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. In a pan heat olive oil and cook onions until soft
3. Add garlic, oregano and cumin and stir for two minutes
4. Add tomato paste, tomatoes and zucchini
5. Add cooked couscous, chickpeas and parsley and stir until combined –
season with pepper
6. Stuff capsicums until just full
7. Sprinkle with feta & place ‘lids’ of capsicums on top
8. Bake for 30 minutes, allow to cool slightly and serve
Floaters
Chances are that sometime in your life you’ll start to experience
floating specks and spots in front of your eyes. They’re known as floaters,
and are especially common when looking at bright backgrounds such as the
sky. When you first notice them you might be tempted to rub your eyes,
thinking they might be specks of dust or the like, but doing so won’t make
them disappear as they’re actually occurring inside your eye.
Floaters are little lacerations of protein in the gel that’s inside your
eye, somewhat like a yolk in an egg. When we are born the gel sits there as
a scaffold to hold the eye’s shape and then about midway through life it
starts to breakup and condense, forming small clumps that float in the
jelly like substance of your eye (the vitreous humor). Floaters are more
common as you get older.
Normal floaters are harmless, but you should see a doctor immediately if
you experience the following symptoms:
* A sudden increase in the number of floaters – some people refer to
them as ‘showers’
* The floaters become visible in every background
* Flashing lights in your peripheral vision
* A black area in part of your vision develops
Potentially, these can indicate a detached retina, which could render
you blind if not treated urgently. So while floaters are generally
harmless, it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for warning signs of
something more serious.
Did you know?
Did you know telling people their ‘lung age’ significantly increases
their chances of quitting smoking?
With the New Year and multitude of resolutions we make with it, there’s
probably someone you know who would like to quit smoking. This should be
strongly encouraged - but how best to motivate people to throw away their
cigarettes?
Researchers used smokers’ lung function to see if this provided
additional drive for smokers to quit. They did a trial testing how many
litres of air a smoker could force out in a second. One group was told the
number of litres, while the other group was told their lung age. For
instance a 50 year old might have had the lungs of a 75 year old.
Those told their lung age were significantly more likely to quit or were
smoking fewer cigarettes 12 months later compared to those told how many
litres of air they could exhale. This was true not only for people with a
substantially increased lung age, but for younger smokers as well. It seems
it made the person think it was worth quitting while they were ahead.
So if you know someone whose new year’s resolution was to quit smoking,
get them to speak to their doctor about their lung age and different ways
they can quit, not only could it help them keep this year’s resolution but
it could give them many more years to make resolutions as well.
For more tips on quitting smoking visit http://www.quitnow.gov.au/ or
call the Quitline on 13 7848.
Myth
Twins are at a disadvantage when it comes to intellectual performance
compared to non-twins.
Fact
Common reasons for this thinking was that twins don’t grow as well in
the last phase of pregnancy and that their parents didn’t have as much time
to devote attention to them as non-twins. There was evidence for these
theories, early studies showed reduced school results and IQ in twins.
However as years have passed and other studies have been completed those
differences have just about disappeared. A plausible explanation is that
better nutrition, health care and well-being have made twins less
vulnerable.
So if you are a parent of twins and have heard of them having poorer
intellectual development, you should relax. It’s almost certainly a thing
of the past, at least in countries like Australia.
Dr Norman Swan
Saw palmetto and men’s waterworks
Saw palmetto is a popular plant extract taken by men who have urinary
symptoms because of an enlarged prostate gland. The symptoms include a weak
stream, getting up at night frequently to pass water and having to go again
soon afterwards because the bladder hasn’t completely emptied.
Over the years there have been various trials testing whether saw
palmetto truly improves men’s urinary symptoms. In the early days there
were positive results but these trials weren’t very well carried out.
However, as the trials improved and were better done, they showed that saw
palmetto wasn’t as good as people had thought.
One of the criticisms of the more recent trials was that they didn’t
give a high enough dose of the extract. So a trial just published compared
saw palmetto to placebo in a large number of men with urinary symptoms and
tripled the dose over a period of six months. The good news was that there
were very few side effects and in both groups of men – the placebo and the
saw palmetto – symptoms improved but the saw palmetto was no better than
the dummy tablets at any dose.
If a man wants to use saw palmetto there’s no harm, but there’s unlikely
to be any benefit either, so perhaps his money could be better spent on
something else.
Useful tips to help urinary symptoms include laying off caffeine drinks
and alcohol in the evening and being careful not to drink too much before
bed. When passing water, be patient and try to let the bladder empty.
Oesophageal cancer
One of the fastest rising cancers in Australia is in the oesophagus, the
tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach. There are two main
types of oesophageal cancer - squamous cell carcinoma, which tend to occur
in the top part of the oesophagus and adenocarcinoma, which occur closer to
the stomach. The latter has increased dramatically in Australia and the
rest of the Western World, but researchers aren’t sure why the incidence is
going up and what causes it to develop.
Studies have suggested some of the risk factors that may increase your
likelihood of developing oesophageal cancer include:
* Being over the age of 50
* Being male
* Heavy alcohol consumption
* A diet low in fruit and vegetables
* Being overweight
* A history of Barret’s oesophagus, a condition where the lining of the
oesophagus changes due to a long history of acid reflux and heart burn
Many symptoms of oesophageal cancer are typical of indigestion with the
most common symptom being difficulty swallowing food. While chances are
that it won’t be caused by cancer, if you have difficulty swallowing it’s
best to see to your doctor. Like with all cancers the best advice is
prevention, so look at the risk factors and ask – is there anything you
could do differently to help prevent it?
