Better Health & Living: Article: 3 Ways To Lower Your Brain Age

Issue: September 2008

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3 Ways To Lower Your Brain Age

by Sarí Harrar

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brain age
1 Read a challenging book—or try a harder crossword puzzle. It’s never too late to challenge your brain, say researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who tracked the mental skills of 700 older Americans for up to five years. They found that those who enjoyed mentally stimulating activities most often were 42 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. The good news: The participants weren’t studying ancient Greek or taking up the sousaphone. People in this study gave their little gray cells a workout by visiting the library, writing letters, and playing games with others—or alone, by doing puzzles such as crosswords and sudoku.

brain age
2 Order your favorite fish. When Oxford University researchers checked the cognitive abilities and fish-eating habits of 2,031 older Norwegian women and men, they found that more fish meant sharper thinking skills. People who ate at least 2.5 ounces of fin food per week performed better on six mental-processing tests than those who ate less. Those who ate fatty and lean fish (such as salmon and flounder) had the best scores, leading experts to suspect that something besides the good-for-you omega-3 fatty acids in fish is good for our noggins. Canned fish and fast-food fish sandwiches helped somewhat.

brain age
3 Enjoy fruit salad every day. In a study of the eating habits of 8,000 French men and women, researchers from the University Victor Segalen in Bordeaux found that those who ate fruits and vegetables every day were 28 percent less likely to develop dementia than those who had these natural goodies less often. Produce is packed with antioxidants and flavonoids that can protect brain cells from damage.