Simple Tips to Sharpen Wits

1. Folic Acid Boosts Brain Power

Research from the Netherlands suggests that folic acid can help boost brain power in the over-50s.
In a three-year study, those taking 800 micrograms of folic acid per day performed significantly
better in a range of mental agility tests than those taking a placebo.
The government recommends 200 micrograms of folic acid per day for adults, but says most people
can get enough by eating a varied and balanced diet. Good sources include broccoli, Brussels
sprouts, peas, chick peas, reduced salt yeast extract and brown rice.
Vegetarians generally have higher folic acid intakes and higher blood levels of folic acid as they eat
more fruits, cereals, pulses, and leafy green vegetables. Vegans had higher folic acid intakes than
meat-eaters, fish-eaters and vegetarians in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and
Nutrition (EPIC).

2. Vegetarianism: The Smarter Choice for Kids?

Links between intelligence and the vegetarian diet were demonstrated two years ago when a team of
veggies won the BBCs Test the Nation IQ battle. Now research in the British Medical Journal
suggests that intelligent children are more likely to become vegetarians later in life. Researchers at
Southampton University found that people who went vegetarian by the age of 30 had an IQ five
points higher than average when they were 10. This might explain why people with a higher IQ are
healthier: vegetarians generally suffer less heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, various
cancers, bowel disorders, gallstones, kidney stones and osteoporosis!

3. Bolster your Mood

Shorter days and low light levels can trigger winter depression, or Seasonal Affective Disorder
(SAD). SAD sufferers tend to crave sweet or starchy foods, which are natural short-term mood
improvers. These foods naturally cause the brain to produce a chemical called serotonin the same
brain chemical that is elevated by antidepressants. According to Dr Neal Barnard, author of
Breaking the Food Seduction (St Martins Griffin, New York), there is nothing wrong with using
these foods to cope with the winter blues. Just choose them carefully especially if you dont want
to put on weight. "Biscuits, cakes and chocolate contain plenty of carbohydrate (which is not
likely to cause much weight gain all by itself), but they also contain enough butter. or other
fats to add a lot of calories. In contrast, wholegrain bread, brown rice or rice cakes, pasta and
fruit provide healthful carbohydrate, which increases your natural serotonin production with
very little fat - as long as you don't add it in the kitchen." Dr Barnard adds: Winter depression
and the overeating that comes with it also responds well to daylight, especially a generous
amount of it early in the morning. He recommends a 20-minute walk outdoors in the first
morning light to help cut food cravings and to boost mood and energy levels.

4. Cut Dementia Risk

Research in the British Journal of Medicine suggests that being obese during your forties can
increase your risk of developing dementia. Detailed health checks were made on over 10,000 men
and women between 1964 and 1973 (when they were aged 40 to 45). Seven per cent of participants
went on to develop dementia. Being obese increased dementia risk by 74 per cent, while being
overweight increased it by 35 per cent. The link between obesity and dementia in women was
stronger than that in men.
These findings concur with a Swedish study which found that the higher a woman's body mass
index (BMI), the greater her risk of dementia. The 18-year study assessed 392 adults between the
ages of 70 and 88. Of the 93 participants diagnosed with dementia, women who developed it had a
higher average BMI than those who didnt. For every one unit increase in BMI at age 70 years, the
risk of dementia increased by 36 per cent. A wealth of research suggests that vegetarians and vegans
have a lower risk of overweight and obesity and that replacing meat with a plant-based alternative
may help with weight control.

5. Get Smart - Lose the Flab!

Weight loss might not only help cut dementia risk but also boost brain power, according to a study
published in the journal Neurology. Researchers from Toulouse University Hospital in France tested
the cognitive ability in over 2,200 healthy workers aged 32 to 62. Middle-aged adults with a high
BMI scored less on cognitive tests than those with a low BMI. For example, a test involving word
memory recall showed that those with a BMI of 20 (considered healthy) remembered an average of
nine out of 16 words, while those with a BMI of 30 (classed as obese) remembered an average of
seven out of 16 words. Study author Dr Maxime Cournot suggested that these findings may be due
to a host of factors including the thickening and hardening of cerebral vessels because of obesity, or
possibly the development of insulin resistance.

6. Juice may Cut Alzheimer's Risk

Research suggests that drinking fruit and vegetable juices frequently may cut the risk of developing
Alzheimers disease. In a study published in the American Journal of Medicine, US and Japanese
scientists followed almost 2,000 people for up to 10 years. Risk for Alzheimers was a massive 76
per cent lower among those who drank juice more than three times a week, compared with those
who drank it less than once weekly. They concluded that fruit and vegetable juices may play an
important role in delaying the onset of Alzheimers disease, particularly among those who are at
high risk for the disease.

7. Alzheimer's Disease... Good Fat

People who eat omega-3 fatty acids may have a lower risk of Alzheimers later in life say
researchers from Aberdeen University. 120 over-64s were given written intelligence tests and gave
blood samples for analysis. There was a clear link between better results and the presence of omega3s, but only in those missing a particular gene thought to predispose to Alzheimers. In those with
the gene present, the omega-3 fats made no difference to their test scores.

Omega-3s are a type of polyunsaturated fat. Good vegetarian sources include flaxseeds (linseeds),
walnuts and their oils.

8. Alzheimer's Disease... Bad Fat

People with high cholesterol levels in mid-life are more likely to develop Alzheimers than those
with low cholesterol, according to new research from California. From a group of 9,752 people
(whose cholesterol had been measured in their 40s) 504 developed Alzheimers. Those with high
cholesterol levels in mid-life were 50 per cent more likely to develop this disease later in life.

9. Calcium in Dairy Linked to Dementia

Too much calcium may lead to dementia in the elderly, new research reveals. Scientists found that
excess calcium in the diet can narrow the blood vessels in the brain leading to tissue damage
(lesions) that may cause cognitive impairment, dementia, depression and stroke. The brains of 79
men and 153 women aged between 60 and 86 were scanned, and all were found to have a number of
lesions. The findings, presented at the Experimental Biology meeting in Washington DC, suggest
that the calcium in dairy foods may be responsible.
The same US team previously showed that people who consume high levels of fatty dairy produce
have more lesions but fat intake alone was not a factor. This study provides support to the growing
number of researchers concerned about the effects of too much calcium, particularly in older adults.

10. Alzheimer's and the Link with Meat

Symptoms of Alzheimers are very similar to the brain-destroying infection Creutzfeltd Jakob
disease (vCJD), the human form of mad cow disease. And theres little difference between them
according to a recent book by Dr Murray Waldman, Torontos coroner, who claims that Alzheimers
may well be caused by a rogue protein called a prion in much the same way that vCJD is. More than
this, he believes the source of vCJD and Alzheimers is identical meat!
Waldman sets out his reasons. In all prion diseases the brain is affected by dense deposits and
dementia is the major symptom. In most cases these symptoms dont show until later in life and
prior to that there are no indications that people are incubating the disease. There is no way of
reversing it once it starts. Prion diseases were first described in medical literature around the start of
the 20th century. The majority of cases are in the developed world with very few in countries such
as India, Bangladesh and Nigeria. All these factors are true for Alzheimers also.
Waldman charts the growth of the meat industry and meat eating and relates this directly to the
number of cases the more meat, the more cases of Alzheimers. The World Health Organisations
figures for meat consumption correlate almost exactly with Waldmans theory.
The organisations which were set up to represent AD victims must surely have made a similar
connection? It seems not. Both diseases involve proteins in the brain that somehow change shape
and cause damage, says Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research for the Alzheimers Society. But
they are different proteins and the diseases have a different biochemistry and a different pathology.
So what is the cause? Many of the risk factors for heart disease also apply to Alzheimers.

It still puts meat squarely in the frame as those risk factors are saturated fat, cholesterol, high levels
of a substance called homocysteine and high blood pressure, all caused largely by animal products.
Such an immediate rejection of the idea that prions may be involved seems a little arrogant
considering that the man who discovered them, and won a Nobel Prize for his efforts, Professor
Stanley Prusiner, believes they may well be. If this eminent scientists instincts are correct then the
way to avoid Alzheimers entirely is to stop eating meat. If hes wrong and Dr Sorensen is right, the
way to dramatically reduce your risk is to stop eating not just meat but dairy products also, along
with seafood and eggs.
Dr Margaret Rayman (Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Ageing Optima) has brought
together all this advice into a recommended diet to avoid the devastating disease that is
Alzheimers. It is, of course, entirely vegan and contains no animal products at all.