Drinking tea could help stave off cognitive decline

The following is from  the MNT Knowledge Center and written by Honor Whiteman

Thanks to its high levels of antioxidants, tea has been linked to a lower risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. However, its potential health benefits may not end there. Researchers have found that regular tea consumption could more than halve the risk of cognitive decline for older adults, particularly for those with a genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease.

New research suggests that regular tea intake could lower the risk of cognitive decline in later life.

Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the United States; in 2015, more than 3.6 billion gallons of tea were consumed in the country, with black tea being the favourite.

The possible health benefits of tea consumption have been well documented. A recent study published in The American Journal of Public Health, for example, associated moderate tea intake with a reduced risk of cardiovascular events.

Past research has suggested that drinking tea may also have brain benefits, with one study linking green tea consumption to better working memory.

For this latest study, lead investigator Feng Lei, from the Department of Psychological Medicine at National University of Singapore's (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and colleagues sought to determine whether there might be a link between tea intake and cognitive decline.

The researchers came to their findings - published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging - by collecting data from 957 Chinese adults aged 55 and older.

Between 2003 and 2005, the team collected information on the participants' tea consumption, including how much tea they drink, the frequency of tea consumption, and what types of tea they consume.

Every 2 years until 2010, the participants underwent standardised assessments that evaluated their cognitive function.

The researchers identified 72 new cases of neurocognitive disorders among participants between 2006 and 2010.

Compared with adults who rarely drank tea, those who consumed tea regularly were found to have a 50 percent lower risk of cognitive decline.

Furthermore, among adults who possessed the APOE e4 gene - which is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease - those who drank tea regularly were found to be at 86 percent lower risk of cognitive decline.

These findings remained after accounting for numerous confounding factors, including the presence of other medical conditions, social activity, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors.

The researchers note that the cognitive benefits were seen with consumption of tea that was brewed from tea leaves, such as green tea, black tea, and oolong tea.

The study was not designed to pinpoint the mechanisms behind tea's potential brain benefits, but Lei says that it could be down to the beneficial compounds the beverage contains, such as theaflavins, catechins, thearubigins, and L-theanine.

"These compounds exhibit anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential and other bioactive properties that may protect the brain from vascular damage and neurodegeneration," Lei explains. "Our understanding of the detailed biological mechanisms is still very limited so we do need more research to find out definitive answers."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 47.5 million people worldwide are living with dementia, and there are around 7.7 million new cases of the condition every year. By 2050, it is estimated that the number of people living with dementia will have risen to 135.5 million.

Although the study from Lei and team was conducted in Chinese adults, the researchers say that their findings are likely to apply to other populations, and they could have important implications for the prevention of dementia.

"Despite high-quality drug trials, effective pharmacological therapy for neurocognitive disorders such as dementia remains elusive and current prevention strategies are far from satisfactory.

Tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. The data from our study suggests that a simple and inexpensive lifestyle measure such as daily tea drinking can reduce a person's risk of developing neurocognitive disorders in late life.

Happy July 4th to my American Friends

The Travel and Leisure website has a list of the top towns to celebrate this holiday The high-ranking towns for July 4th tended to score well in founding-father-friendly categories like charming main streets, parades, and feeling patriotic.

While most offer festivities like watermelon-eating contests, dog parades, or fireworks, other winners just exude enough star-spangled pomp to feel like a trip back in time. In Lambertville, NJ, or New Hope, PA, you can walk the same streets where Washington’s army marched, or eat pizza at the same corner where his troops once camped for the night.

The winning town of Flagstaff, AZ, can't claim any direct ties to 1776, but, like Boulder, makes up for that with more than enough fanfare.

For a complete list of America's Favourite cities as voted by the folks who visit Travel and Leisure.com go to:

http://www.travelandleisure.com/americas-favorite-places/cities 

High BMI as a senior, can have a negative impact on cognition

The following is from Medical News Today and was published in October 2016

There are plenty of reasons it's important to maintain a healthy weight, and now you can add one more to the list: It may be good for your brain.

Researchers from the University of Arizona have found that having a higher body mass index, or Body Mass Index (BM!), can negatively impact cognitive functioning in older adults.

"The higher your BMI, the more your inflammation goes up," said Kyle Bourassa, lead author of the study, which is published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity. "Prior research has found that inflammation - particularly in the brain - can negatively impact brain function and cognition."

Previous studies also have linked higher BMI - an index of body fat based on height and weight - to lower cognitive functioning. But how and why the two are connected was far less clear.

"We saw this effect, but it's a black box. What goes in between?" said Bourassa, a UA psychology doctoral student. "Establishing what biologically plausible mechanisms explain this association is important to be able to intervene later."

Bourassa and his co-author, UA psychology professor David Sbarra, analyzed data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, which includes over 12 years' worth of information on the health, well-being and social and economic circumstances of the English population age 50 and older.

Using two separate samples from the study - one of about 9,000 people and one of about 12,500 - researchers looked at aging adults over a six-year period. They had information on study participants' BMI, inflammation and cognition, and they found the same outcome in both samples.

"The higher participants' body mass at the first time point in the study," Bourassa said, "the greater the change in their CRP levels over the next four years. CRP stands for C-reactive protein, which is a marker in the blood of systemic inflammation in your body. Change in CRP over four years then predicted change in cognition six years after the start of the study. The body mass of these people predicted their cognitive decline through their levels of systemic inflammation."

The findings support existing literature linking inflammation to cognitive decline and take it a step further by illuminating the important role of body mass in the equation.

Sbarra added a word of caution in trying to understand the findings.

"The findings provide a clear and integrative account of how BMI is associated with cognitive decline through systemic inflammation, but we need to remember that these are only correlational findings," he said. "Of course, correlation does not equal causation. The findings suggest a mechanistic pathway, but we cannot confirm causality until we reduce body mass experimentally, then examine the downstream effects on inflammation and cognition."

"Experimental studies finding whether reducing inflammation also improves cognition would be the gold standard to establish that this is a causal effect," Bourassa added.

Cognitive decline is a normal part of aging, even in healthy adults, and can have a significant impact on quality of life. The current research may provide valuable insights for possible interventions and new research directions in that area.

"If you have high inflammation, in the future we may suggest using anti-inflammatories not just to bring down your inflammation but to hopefully also help with your cognition," Bourassa said.

Of course, maintaining a healthy weight is also good for overall health, he added.

"Having a lower body mass is just good for you, period. It's good for your health and good for your brain," Bourassa said.

Ageing Well

Recommendations for action: Ageing Well by Peggy Edwards, Consultant on Ageing at the Council for Senior Citizens Conference 2016

You can learn more at this website: http://grandmothersadvocacy.org/

1.    Combat stereotypes of seniors and aging in our culture and inform people about the diversity there is among seniors.

2.    Recognize the potential for isolation and loneliness for seniors who live alone and provide interventions that reduce isolation.

3.    Provide more support to informal caregivers (e.g. respite and day care) and consult with them about their needs. Pay attention to “sandwich generation” carers who are looking after multiple generations at the same time.

4.    Provide adequate and flexible in-home care services in the community (including some non-personal care supports such as house cleaning) so that seniors can “age in place” in their later years.

5.    Address issues in residential care, including staff shortages, lack privacy, and overmedication. Make the maintenance of “quality of life” the main goal of care and accommodation in the last few years of life.

6.    Address the problem of affordability and access to oral health, eye care and nutritious foods for low-income seniors.

7.    Recognize and support the (unpaid) care that grandparents provide to children.

8.    Communicate appropriately with seniors. Engage and listen to seniors of all ages. Provide information in-person and by phone in addition to electronic communication.

9.    Support intergenerational policies, programs, and practices based on “village” planning, not silos between age groups. Reach out and collaborate with younger generations, mentor and role model, and build advocacy and capacity together.

10. Support research and programs that use technology to enhance the health and well-being of older adults and enable them to continue to live independently.

11. Support story-telling with seniors (in all forms) that break down stereotypes, record lived history, demonstrate the resilience of seniors and share wisdom, and experience across generations.

12. Support a new more flexible life course paradigm that:

•       allows people to go in and out of learning, work, caregiving and leisure at different times throughout the life course

•       embrace a human rights approach that concentrates on reducing inequities, particularly among our most vulnerable seniors

•       creates an intergenerational community of caring that encourages boys and men to take on key roles and responsibilities, and that provides policies and programs that support parents and family caregivers.

13. Acknowledge and celebrate seniors’ contributions in informal caregiving, voluntarism, and activism.