‘Wisdom’ Helps Older Brains Keep Pace, Study Shows

Q.    I notice that my elderly dad still is very bright, but he takes a while longer to process information. Is that part of aging and how can we help him keep his mind as well as his body in good shape?

Here’s a study that may explain what’s happening with your dad. In a matched test, the brains of older people were not as fast as those in a group of younger people, but they performed just as well because their brains are wiser, say Canadian researchers.

“It was already known that aging is not necessarily associated with a significant loss in cognitive function,” explains Dr. Oury Monchi, University Geriatrics Institute of Montreal. “We now have neurobiological evidence showing that with age comes wisdom and that as the brain gets older, it learns to better allocate its resources. When it comes to certain tasks, the brains of older adults can achieve very close to the same performance as those of younger ones,” Monchi added.

The study included a group of 24 people aged 18 to 35 and a group of 10 people aged 55 to 75 who were still active professionally. For this test, participants were asked to pair words according to different lexical rules, including semantic category (animal, object, etc.), rhyme, or the beginning of the word (attack).

“When the young participants made a mistake and had to plan and execute a new strategy to get the right answer, various parts of their brains were recruited even before the next task began. However, when the older participants learned that they had made a mistake, these regions were only recruited at the beginning of the next trial, indicating that with age, we decide to make adjustments only when absolutely necessary. It is as though the older brain is more impervious to criticism and more confident than the young brain.”

That’s interesting information to consider. A mounting body of research also has shown that keeping the brain active is one important part of healthy aging. So anything you can do to encourage your dad to stay busy is valuable. The local Home Instead Senior Care^® office has a number of resources for family caregivers at http://www.caregiverstress.com/ that can help keep seniors healthy and engaged.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care of Frederick County, go to www.homeinstead.com/627. For more information about the study, visit http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/uom-css082511.php.

Hold the Bacon! Processed Foods Increase Diabetes Risk

Q.    My 82-year-old father just loves bacon and has several slices every morning. Since Mom died last year, I can’t seem to get him to eat a healthier diet. Any suggestions?

Widowers can take the path of least resistance – foods that they love to eat and are easy to prepare, but may not be healthy for them. Too much processed foods can be among those choices.

A study of more than 400,000 participants by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers finds a strong association between the consumption of red meat, particularly when the meat is processed, and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes that strikes more than one of four senior citizens. The study also shows that replacing red meat with healthier proteins, such as low-fat dairy, nuts, or whole grains, can significantly lower the risk.

This study is among the first to estimate the risk reduction associated with substituting healthier protein choices for red meat.

After adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), and other lifestyle and dietary risk factors, the researchers found that a daily 100-gram serving of unprocessed red meat (about the size of a deck of cards) was associated with a 19 percent increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

They also found that one daily serving of half that quantity of processed meat – 50 grams (for example, one hot dog or sausage or two slices of bacon) – was associated with a 51 percent increased risk.

“Clearly, the results from this study have huge public health implications given the rising type 2 diabetes epidemic and increasing consumption of red meats worldwide,” said senior author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH, who co-authored the study with An Pan, research fellow. “The good news is that such troubling risk factors can be offset by swapping red meat for a healthier protein.”

The researchers found that, for an individual who eats one daily serving of red meat:

·         substituting one serving of nuts per day was associated with a 21 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes;

·         substituting low-fat dairy, a 17 percent lower risk; and

·         substituting whole grains, a 23 percent lower risk.

Loneliness can impact widows and widowers like your father. Consider contacting your local Home Instead Senior Care^® office to discuss how they might help. And visit http://www.mealsandcompanionships/, for health tips, health lifestyle options and recipes.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care of Frederick County, visit www.homeinstead.com/627. For more about the study, go to http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2011-releases/red-meat-type-2-diabetes.html.