BOOSTING BRAIN POWER

   At one time it was felt that brain power begins to deteriorate around college age but the latest news is that the brain continues to sprout new cells into old age.  “It may be that it is possible to bolster your brain power, no matter what is your age depending on what is done to feed and care for it with healthy food and exercise,” according to Louis Blerer, professor of  psychology, at the University of Quebec.    

   “Healthy eating habits are specific for brain function,” says Guylayne Ferland, professor of Nutrition at UQAM and a researcher at IUGM. Vitamins B12 and C are essential in the manufacture of nutrients that facilitate between brain cells and myelin, the substance that forms an insulating sheath around those cells, thereby speeding the transmission of messages.  Processed foods are the largest source of sodium, mainly in the form of salt.  Recently Ferland with colleagues in Quebec and Ontario conducted a study that shows healthy older adults who were physically inactive were more apt to maintain brain function IF they ate relatively little salt.  Some of Ferland’s researchers noted that a key role in blood clotting may be important to brain health also.  Vitamin K is found in foods such as green leafy vegetables, as well as in canola and other oils.  The darker the green, the richer the vegetable is in vitamin K.  The outer leaves of cabbage contain 19 times more vitamin K than the pale inner core.  Vitamin K is also involved in the synthesis of fats that make up the myelin sheath. 

    Intrigued by earlier studies that revealed vitamin K is involved in the synthesis of fats that make up the myelin sheath, she and her colleges have been investigating its impact on memory function.  “In 2011, we published a study where we showed that animals that had been maintained on a low vitamin K diet during their life showed a cognitive deficit memory task,” she explains.  (As the term implies, episodic memory involves a category long term memory recollection of specific events and situations.)  “As yet unpublished data from the same study hints that the same goes for humans.  We have a paper under review where we show individuals who have higher vitamin K status show better performances on a task that hinges on episodic memory,” Ferland adds.  If you want a tool box for improving your older brain, check out www.baycrest.org/smartaging.php.  It features articles on everything from which food support healthy brain function to tips on how to memorize a new piece of information and how to remember those pesky passwords and PINs.  From October 2012 Good Times.