Category: Brain

Can diet reverse memory loss ?

Yes, diet may help memory loss.

Flavanols are natural chemicals present in tea, cocoa, apples, and berries.

A group from Columbia university and Brigham and Women’s Hospital assessed the effects of flavanols and multivitamins on memory.

The authors indicate the in people with poor intake of flavanol, benefitted from flavanol supplements.

Flavanols are naturally found in in certain fruits and vegetables. ( green leafy vegetables, blackcurrants, onions, apples, berries, cherries, peaches, soybeans, citrus foods, tea, chocolate, lettuce, peppers, grapes and even wine).

Even though more confirmatory studies are needed, a good intake of these fruits and vegetables would be beneficial to overall physical health.

References

1. Daily Telegraph. Memory loss ‘can be reversed by simple diet changes’.

2. PNAS 2006. Flavonoid fisetin promotes ERK-dependent long-term potentiation and enhances memory.

3. Harvard 2021 news letter. Harvard finds flavonoids linked to sharper thinking and memory.

4. Low-Flavanol Diet Drives Age-Related Memory Loss, Large Study Finds

5. ORIGINAL paper. (COcoa Supplements and Multivitamin Outcomes Study – COSMOS-Web): “Dietary flavanols restore hippocampal-dependent memory in older adults with lower diet quality and habitual flavanol consumption” according to authors published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ( doi : not live at time of publication of blog).

Disclaimer: Please note – This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is NOT a expert medical opinion on various topics. This blog is purely for information only and do check the sources where cited. Please DO consult your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant to you. The views expressed in this blog are NOT, in any way whatsoever, intended to be a substitute for professional advice. The blog is NOT previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed, in any way, by any organisation that the author is associated with. The views expressed in this blog likely represents some of the author’s personal views held at the time of drafting the blog and MAY CHANGE overtime, particularly when new evidence comes to light.

Does exercise help the brain ?

Yes, moderate and vigorous physical activity helps the brain to stay sharp.

A large study looked at people born across England, Scotland and Wales in 1970 and followed-up throughout childhood and adulthood

A report of the study with 4481participants (52% female) found that moderate and vigorous physical activity helps cognition compared to light intensity physical activity.

But a word of caution though !

People with sedentary behaviour in this study had better brain sharpness than doing light intensity physical activity !

It seems bizarre to suggest Sedentary activities are good for brain !

We don’t know why this study showed this particularly unexpected finding. It could be that the study missed to collect some important information that influences brain.

This fact about sedentary behaviour is counterintuitive but science does sometimes show unexpected results. Sometimes unexpected findings are true and Sometimes they are false due to data collection issues or convoluted statistical tests.

That’s why it is important that information from multiple studies is taken together rather than relying on one study to make any scientific conclusion on any topic !

References

Exploring the associations of daily movement behaviours and mid-life cognition: a compositional analysis of the 1970 British Cohort Study.

Minerva. BMJ. Physical activity and cognition in middle age.

Disclaimer: Please note – This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is NOT a expert medical opinion on various topics. This blog is purely for information only and do check the sources where cited. Please DO consult your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant to you. The views expressed in this blog are NOT, in any way whatsoever, intended to be a substitute for professional advice. The blog is NOT previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed, in any way, by any organisation that the author is associated with. The views expressed in this blog likely represents some of the author’s personal views held at the time of drafting the blog and MAY CHANGE overtime, particularly when new evidence comes to light.

Can mild Covid affect the brain ?

Yes, according to an Oxford study.

The team investigated brain changes in 785 UK Biobank participants (aged 51–81).

The team compared Brain scans before COVID infection and Brain scans after infection.

They found that people with COVID subsequently had “brain shrinkage” and reduced “brain function” particularly relating to parts of brain dealing with emotions smell and long-term memory

It is not known whether these brain changes are temporary and reversible after a while or whether these changes are permanent.

References

Original paper in Nature for COVID brain. Douaud, G., Lee, S., Alfaro-Almagro, F. et al. SARS-CoV-2 is associated with changes in brain structure in UK Biobank. Nature (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04569-5

Daily Telegraph. Covid may cause the brain to degenerate three times faster than normal
Study finds ‘significantly greater cognitive decline’ among people who have been infected with coronavirus
By Sarah Knapton, SCIENCE EDITOR
7 March 2022 • 4:46pm

BBC. Scans reveal how Covid may change the brain By Rebecca Morelle
Science Editor, BBC News

Bloomberg. Covid Can Shrink the Brain as Much as a Decade of Aging, Study Finds. By Jason Gale+Follow7 March 2022, 16:00 GMT

Daily Mail. ‘Covid brain’ IS real: Illness can cause regions of the brain to SHRINK and lead to cognitive decline, new study finds. By Bhvishya Patel For Mailonline
02:16, 08 Mar 2022 , updated 07:18, 08 Mar 2022

Disclaimer: Please note – This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is NOT a expert medical opinion on various topics. This blog is purely for information only and do check the sources where cited. Please DO consult your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant to you. The views expressed in this blog are NOT, in any way whatsoever, intended to be a substitute for professional advice. The blog is NOT previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed, in any way, by any organisation that the author is associated with. The views expressed in this blog likely represents some of the author’s personal views held at the time of drafting the blog and MAY CHANGE overtime, partic