Healthy Mind

An estimated 5 million Americans age 65 and older have Alzheimers disease-a figure expected to increase 40% by 2025 and to nearly triple by mid-century, according to the Alzheimers Association . Many more suffer from other forms of dementia and from cognitive decline. Science is making unprecedented strides toward preventing and slowing such conditions, however. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Scientists have learned more about the brain in the last 10 years than in all previous centuries, because of the accelerating pace of research in neurological and behavioral science and the development of new research techniques.

Do recent hopeful headlines about vitamin E and Alzheimers disease mean you should run out and buy vitamin E supplements? Not unless you or a loved one already has mild to moderate Alzheimers-and even then the experts are split. The latest findings, from a study of 613 mostly male veterans at 14 VA hospitals across the country, focused on slowing the progression of the disease, not preventing it in the first place.

If you believe the bestseller lists, the biggest bad in the supermarket aisles is not fat or sodium or sugar but wheat. Its not just the booming popularity of gluten-free products, which are important for the small percentage of people diagnosed with celiac disease but whose benefits for the general population are questionable. (For a full discussion of the pros and cons of gluten-free products, see our October 2013 Special Report.) Bestselling books have warned that wheat consumption is a key contributor to abdominal fat (wheat belly), as well as triggering diseases ranging from diabetes to autism, and that eating wheat is linked to Alzheimers, depression, headaches, epilepsy and ADHD.

A potentially life-saving prescription for fighting heart disease, diabetes and stroke could be as close as those walking shoes gathering dust in your closet. According to an unusual new study, the benefits of exercise in reducing mortality from those leading causes of death match or even exceed the effects of prescription drugs for the same conditions. Patients with heart disease who exercised, for instance, had the same odds of surviving the condition as those given medications such as statins or antiplatelet drugs.

You already know that eating fish is healthy for your heart, but new research suggests it may also be good for your head. In a study presented at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, older adults who ate fish at least once a week-baked or broiled, not fried-had a greater volume of gray matter in the brain in areas important in Alzheimers disease. Fish consumption was also associated with sharply lower rates of developing mild cognitive impairment or dementia.

Unhealthy behaviors such as inactivity, poor diet and smoking have long been associated with a wide range of chronic diseases and risk of death. But a new study reveals that such lifestyle factors can also affect older adults' risk of disability and loss of independence.

You may not have to go heavy on the cocoa to boost your brain. Previously, a special cocoa high in flavanols was shown to positively affect cognitive function in older adults with early memory decline. But now a new study conducted in older adults with hypertension and/or diabetes has found that drinking just two cups a day of cocoa for a month was associated with significant improvements in cognitive function and blood flow in the brain.

You and your doctor are probably keeping an eye on your blood-sugar levels to gauge whether youre at risk for diabetes. But a new study suggests another risk that may be linked to higher blood-sugar levels (hyperglycemia), even among non-diabetics-dementia.

Answer : You should never stop taking any medication without checking with your own physician. As for coconut oil, its touted as a source of caprylic acid, which the body breaks down...

Answer : Wed be skeptical of any treatment that claims to be good for almost anything that ails you.