How do I keep my mind sharp? (part 1)
How do you keep your mind sharp?
All
of us from time to time forget things. Wait… where did I put my keys?
Ooohh, I know you but I’m embarrassed to say your name has escaped me.
Or even, Why did I just walk in this room?? Sometimes it’s not really
about being “forgetful” or memory loss so much as it is having too much
to think about at any given time, juggling too many plates at the same
time, competing with the possibility of being mindful and attentive in
the moment.
And
we also know that some age-related memory decline is very common. But
have you noticed that even among the very old, there is quite a bit of
variance from person to person in mental sharpness and memory? And
while all the reasons for that variance are not yet elucidated, there
are some known strategies to keep the mind sharp and the memory strong.
Here are a few.
Go
Nuts! At the Nutrition and Health Conference in Phoenix in May, one of
the very interesting lectures was an update on the research on
nutrition and memory. Fran Grodstein, ScD, a professor at Brigham and
Women's Hospital and Harvard, highlighted the value of nuts. Her
research has shown that at five or more servings per week, nuts protect
against cognitive decline in the elderly! I knew there was a reason that
walnut half looked like a brain.
For
now, don’t worry, that’s all I’m going to ask you to remember. Just
nuts. With the next newsletter, I’ll add some more tidbits.
Until then, be well!
Robert Pendergrast, MD, MPH
Aiken-Augusta Holistic Health
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