Did you ever forget where you put your keys, or why you walked into a particular room, or what someone's name is?
Such memory lapses have been dubbed "senior moments," since many people find their brains slowing down with age. In fact, 69 percent of older adults say that one of their top fears is losing their mental function. I'm here to tell you to stop being afraid -- and start exercising your brain. Many years ago I started the Foundation for Advanced Brain Studies to explore how the brain works. We learned that brain exercise is vital to maintaining memory. Anything that engages and challenges your brain counts as brain calisthenics. At 88 years old -- with every intention of living decades longer -- I'm still running a company, writing articles, launching new ventures and fully enjoying life. You can better enjoy life too, at any age, by adopting these five ways to remain brain fit:
1) Eat beets. Researchers from Wake Forest University had 14 seniors (70 years old and up) drink either 16 oz. of beet juice or eat a control diet in the morning for two days, then used MRI machines to measure blood flow to the brain. The groups switched diets for another two days, then were tested again. The result: The beet-juice drinkers enjoyed 21 percent increased blood flow to the frontal lobes -- sensitive areas of the brain vulnerable to the degeneration that leads to dementia.
2) Eat more spinach, kale, broccoli and cauliflower. Harvard Medical School researchers found that middle-aged women who ate the most leafy greens and/or cruciferous veggies boosted their odds of maintaining mental sharpness in later years. Specifically, those who ate eight or more servings of vegetables, like spinach and broccoli, scored higher on cognitive tests than subjects who consumed just three servings a week.
3) Eat more berries. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and other varieties have anthocyanins that can help reverse some loss of balance and memory associated with aging. Researchers at the Neuroscience Laboratory at Tufts University found blueberry-supplemented animal subjects had improved brain and motor function coordination.
4) Don't forget fish. As I have said before in my blog, I eat a fish and vegetarian diet, enjoying seafood sometimes three times a day. For example, I have two sardines for breakfast and a fish entrée for lunch and dinner. Happily, a study found that older people who eat fish at least once a week might reduce their risk of Alzheimer's by more than half. Other research indicates that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish may support the function of brain cell receptors. Fish also keeps you trim: it has half the calories and less than a tenth the saturated fat as the same size serving of beef, yet fish protein may help you feel fuller longer.
5) Drink more fruit and vegetable juice. A Vanderbilt University study found that those who drank fruit or vegetable juice more than three times per week were an astounding 75 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's than once-a-week or non-juice drinkers. Researchers believe that the antioxidant polyphenols contained in the juice guard against the oxidation (or rust, if you will) of brain tissue. You'll get even more healthy nutrients if you squeeze (or juice) your own fruit and vegetables.
Personally I like to juice up several different kinds of fruit and vegetables - which may include various combinations of bananas, red bell peppers, apples, carrots, celery, broccoli, spinach, parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.
Why is diet so important to brain health? I created and built the North Carolina Research Campus to study that question. It is the only campus in the world encompassing eight universities all working together for the benefit of health and longevity. These include Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State University, UNC Charlotte, North Carolina Central University, NC A&T State University, UNC Greensboro and Appalachian State University. According to Steven Zeisel, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Nutrition Research Institute at the North Carolina Research Institute, "The same factors that affect the health of your arteries also impact the 100,000 miles of blood vessels that support your brain. Though most brains account for less than 2 percent of body weight, they organ uses 20 percent of the body's blood supply and 25 percent of its oxygen supply."
So be smart, and you'll stay smart -- for as long as possible. Exercise your brain and body, keep engaged with work and friends, and feed your brain with a healthy, plant-based diet -- as well as knowledge.
To learn more, visit our Dole Nutrition Institute which publishes articles, brochures, videos and sign up for our Dole Nutrition News at www.dole.com.
Deepak Chopra: A New Era for the Brain -- Guiding Your Own Evolution
Marie Pasinski, M.D.: Adults, How Will You Keep Your Brain Fit This School Year?
Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.: Family Going Veggie? How To Make Sure They Get The Right Nutrients
2. Fruits and veggies are healthy, not news but always good to be reminded.
3. Mr. Murdock has access to the best healthcare money can buy, and as mentioned by others, all the good food and as much pineapple as he wants.
Question for you Mr. Murdock: What's the life expectancy of a Dole employee working for you in a third world country? Has the number of limbs hacked off improved since the 1990's?
The study design was to provide high nitrate food, using beets and beet juice, to test whether this dietary nitrate intake over 4 days could affect brain blood flow, presumably by production of a short-lived gas called nitric oxide known to increase blood flow in all organs. Dietary nitrate intake was 9x higher in the beet-fed subjects.
Using the most precise brain imaging equipment available, the researchers found statistically significant, positive effects (+21%) of the high nitrate diet on blood flow in brain white matter (communication) structures believed to be vulnerable to low blood flow conditions in elderly subjects. Blood flow to the whole brain was not different between groups.
In the usual way of introducing new scientific findings, the article was published in a respected peer-reviewed journal.
PS: How to get children to eat vegetables? Easy: serve them first, when they're still hungry. Usually kids are allowed to eat what they like first, and the vegetables are kept for when there's no appetite left.
I have recently been thinking about a program I saw about Mr. Murdock some time ago - it seems it was on 60 Minutes (but my search of the 60 Minutes website comes up short). I have been thinking about food and how I eat extensively lately and wanted to review some of Murdock's practices. My young son has recently been diagnosed as casein and gluten intolerant and we have begun a diet free of those ingredients in recent weeks. It has made a significant difference in both of our lives. We already feel more alive and less lethargic. I am very interested in Murdock's theory and practice and reading this article today gives me a shot in the arm to get moving. Thank you.
1- Continue to learn new skills such as a second or third language; musical instrument or ballroom dancing lessons or a cooking class.
2- Volunteer for a cause you believe in...
3- Start a part-time business (a product or service you enjoy)
4- Join Toastmasters..You meet cool people and maintain or improve your communication skills.
5- Make love as often as your body and time will allow...
6- Never overeat or even to the point you feel full. Once the hunger pangs are gone--stop. Even if you eat healthy, overeating will sabotage your health.
7- Get a balanced workout at least 5 days per week. This includes: Weight resistance training. (if you have joint pain use bands.); Cardio training (20-30 minutes); Yoga or flexibility drills; Balance and coordination...Balance is too often overlooked, and most people 40+ have deteriorating balance, which can lead to broken bones or worse...
The mind is inextricably tied to your physical well-being. Lastly, if you're doing half of the above, you'll be happier, and what's the point in living longer if you're not happy.... :-)
I live in Palm Springs, CA, a resort/retirement town. I see seniors who are wealthy, and seniors who are poor (some have even outlived their wealth). I don't know how much time Mr. Murdoch spends with people who are only his peers in age, not wealth or status, but the reality is, some of them are NOT EATING AT ALL.
The advice you give is great, I'm 59, I've been doing a cardio smart walk 3 -4 tiimes a week, strengthh training with weights, and work with a resistance band. I swim and eat all the super foods on the list. People are telling a lot lately that I sure don't look my age. But I embrace my age. I hated being a kid.
But, 88, 89, 90, 100.............we're talking frail, I don't care what food you eat or how much you exercise, the human frame, unless it is rebuilt with super bone marrow something, and flesh remains elastic enough not to sag and eyes don't go blind, and minds don't go blank, I don't want to go there.
I don't want age into decreptitude. After 85 that's where you go.
Yes, exercise and diet are important (though they haven't been shown to contribute strongly to longevity - but selecting the right ancestors does). Exercise and diet, however, contribute strongly to the quality of the life you have, and quality is even more important!
1. recent link between excessive omega 3 and prostrate cancer.
2. be careful with beet juice?
http://www.juicingbook.com/vegetables/beet
I appreciate your article. I think that the tips that you give are all good for living a healthy life. I myself am a pescatarian (one that eats maily wild-caught fish and vegetables). I try and get a lot of exercise. Too many are getting little exercise and have the health problems to show it. That being said, I question whether your tips actually increase life expectancy. You are the chairman of a fruit company after all, of course you would find that a diet high in fresh fruit and vegetables would increase life expectancy.
I always understood that the primary thing that determined life expectancy was genetic. Diet contributed to health, but was not a primary determinant in life expectancy.