An apple a day should keep dementia at bay

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Anew study finds that white fruit reduces your risk of having a stroke or getting vascular dementia

The old adage that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" is a good one to follow, according to a new Dutch study. The researchers found that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables with white flesh, such as apples and pears, may protect you against stroke and vascular dementia.
"To prevent stroke and vascular dementia, it may be useful to consume considerable amounts of white fruits and vegetables," Linda M. Oude Griep, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in human nutrition at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, said in a statement. "For example, eating one apple a day is an easy way to increase white fruits and vegetable intake."

Although previous research has shown the positive health benefits of daily fruit intake, the new study suggests a link between stroke risk and fruits and vegetables of certain colors.
Orange, green and red

Researchers looked at the answers 20,000 adults gave to questions about what they ate over the previous year. The average age of the participants was 41, and all were free of cardiovascular diseases at the study's start.
Over the next 10 years, 233 suffered strokes. The researchers found that the risk of stroke was 52 percent lower for people with a high intake of white fruits and vegetables, compared with people who ate few foods in that color group.
The researchers classified fruits and vegetables into four color groups: orange/yellow, which contained mostly citrus fruits; green, which had dark leafy vegetables, cabbages and lettuce; red/purple, for mostly red vegetables; and white, of which 55 percent of the foods eaten were apples and pears.
The fruits were grouped based on the color of their flesh, not their skin. For example, a red apple belongs to the white group because although its skin is red, its flesh is white.
The color of the edible portion of fruits and vegetables reflects the presence of plant compounds such as carotenoids, which are organic pigments, and flavonoids.

Food color and stroke and vascular dementia risk
Apples and pears may lower stroke risk because they are high in dietary fiber and an antioxidant flavonoid called quercetin, the researchers said. Other foods classified in the white category were bananas, cauliflower and cucumbers. (Potatoes were classified as a starch.)
Green, orange/yellow and red/purple fruits and vegetables didn’t affect participants' stroke risk, according to the study, but the study authors said that people shouldn't dismiss them as less beneficial overall.

:Other fruits and vegetable color groups may protect against other chronic diseases," Oude Griep said.

The researchers also warned that the study findings should be interpreted with caution because food frequency questionnaires are subject to errors.
"The observed reduction in stroke risk might further be due to a generally healthier lifestyle of individuals consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables," according to Dr. Heike Wersching, of the Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine at the University of Münster in Germany, who was not involved in the study but wrote an editorial accompanying it in publication.

The study was recently published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Pass it on: Increasing your daily intake of "white fruits," such as apples, pears and bananas, may lower your risk of stroke, a new study shows.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/16/try-upping-white-fruits-to-avoid-stroke/#ixzz1eODJF3tX

Daffodil Drug Improves Dementia

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Worldhealth.net |

A new drug designed to treat Alzheimer's disease looks set to be an effective treatment for vascular dementia. A recent 12-month clinical trial of the drug Galantamine (Reminyl), which is derived from the daffodil, revealed that the drug improved cognitive function, delayed the effects of dementia, and prevented behavioral decline.

SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.health-news.co.uk

Exciting New Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

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Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

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AC Content

There is an electronic device that sticks to the neck of an Alzheimer's disease victim. It most likely works by increasing the body's production of nitric oxide. This is done with the use of infrared light transmission. This in turn relaxes the muscles in the neck. This allows the arteries diameter to increase. This will allow more blood to run through them delivering more blood to the brain. The patch is approximately the size of a band aid.

Early studies have shown that increased blood flow can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Laboratory tests done during a recent study show that infrared light goes through the skin to stimulate, mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase, an enzyme in blood vessels which stimulates the release of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide causes arteries to widen thus enlarging the area that blood can flow through in order to get to the brain. The patch is placed on an area of the skin directly over the carotid arteries. This light emitting patch is left on the skin for a few hours at a time.

Alzheimer's disease affects over 5.3 million Americans. In the past, research for treatments has focused on getting rid of the build up of harmful proteins. These bad proteins are called amyloid plaques. They can clump together and stop nerve signals from moving throughout the brain. This can affect a person's mood, behavior and memory.

Recent studies have shown limited blood flow to the brain may also be an important factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease. It is theorized that a limited blood supply deprives the brain of important nutrients, and severely limits waste products from getting eliminated from the body. A number of research scientists feel that it is accumulation of waste products that leads to brain damage.

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Dementia May Differ in Those With and Without Diabetes

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Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities



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(HealthDay News) -- Vascular disease, which affects blood flow in brain vessels, appears to be a common cause of dementia in some people with diabetes, new study findings suggest.

That's in contrast to dementia in people without diabetes, which the researchers say is more likely to be linked to the brain plaque deposits commonly seen in people with Alzheimer's disease.

The findings come from researchers at the Mayo Clinic's Florida campus and the University of California, San Francisco, who compared the ratios of two different types of amyloid beta proteins in blood samples from 211 people with dementia and 403 others without dementia.

"This helps in understanding diabetes and dementia. It suggests that the vascular dementia seen in diabetics, which appears to be related to small blood vessel disease and strokes, can potentially be averted if development of diabetes is prevented," neurologist Dr. Neill Graff-Radford said in a Mayo Clinic news release.

The study findings were slated for presentation July 14 at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease meeting, in Hawaii.

The findings support previous autopsy studies on people with diabetes and dementia, which found vascular abnormalities were related to dementia but not to the plaques and tangles characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, the authors noted in the news release.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about dementia.