Is Lifestyle the Key to Cognitive Function?

Recent research indicates that certain lifestyle factors can play a significant role in the retention of cognitive function over time. For individuals who wish to take proactive steps to retain mental prowess as they age, recent research points to a number of key areas in which to focus efforts for optimal results.

Muscle Strength Linked to Brain Function

In November of 2009, researchers from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago published a study in the ‘Archives of Neurology’, which indicated that maintaining muscle strength may aid in the retention of cognitive functionality over time.

The study followed men and women aged 54 and 100 over a four year period, testing muscle strength and brain function, and concluded that patients who demonstrated continued strength also retained the highest cognitive functioning.

Dwindling Social Lives can Cause Cognitive Decline

These results are an interesting adjunct to those of an earlier study conducted by the same research group which examined the correlation between a decline in cognitive function and decreased social activity, finding that a diminishing social life may adversely impact motor skills.

Dr. Aron S. Buchman of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center said the study demonstrated that a decrease of just one point on the social activity scale produced a cognitive decline equal to that created by five years of the aging process.

Lifestyle Elements Important for Brain Function

The studies bear out the accepted wisdom that in order to retain ones mental faculties, individuals must pay attention to balance in their lifestyle. Key areas on which efforts should be focused include:

*Programs of physical exercise, which can help retain muscle strength and therefore have positive implications for the retention of mental function.

*A balanced and active social life, which is proven to help combat the effects of aging on cognitive function.

As with many other areas of health and aging, the key to keeping performance at an optimum level would seem to lie in achieving a balance of work and play, albeit maintaining an appropriate nutritional intake also appears (unsurprisingly) beneficial.

Nutritional Approach to Optimum Cognitive Function

Nutritionists have long extolled the virtues of key dietary elements in fighting age related degeneration, and cognitive function is no exception. When taking a holistic approach to the retention of both physical and mental prowess, certain dietary elements and supplements should not be ignored. A balanced diet is vital in retaining both mental and physical strength and should be supplemented with a premium quality multivitamin to ensure that deficiencies are avoided.

Antioxidants: Weapons Against Cognitive Degeneration

Antioxidants such as alpa lipoic acid, or ALA, and acetyl L-carnitine, or ALC, are widely believed to be powerful tools in the fight against age related mental degeneration, and should be a component in a premium quality multivitamin complex. Additionally, the soy-sourced supplement phosphatidylserine has been qualified by the FDA as a possible weapon in the fight against dementia.

Can We Retain Cognitive Function?

While no one single factor can definitively insure against the age related decline of mental faculties, studies would seem to show that combining careful lifestyle and nutritional choices can offer significant protection against the loss of cognitive function. UltraFitnessDynamics

Can Exercise Combat Aging?

While it is a well-known maxim that eating healthily and taking part in physical activities are two of the best ways to maintain health, is it possible that sustaining a regular exercise routine could actually slow the aging process?

A recent study printed in ‘Circulation’, the journal of the American Heart Foundation, appears to indicate that regular exercise may well be at least one aspect of a fountain of youth.

Aging Protection in the Genes

Research conducted at Saarland University’s Department of Internal Medicine in Homburg, Germany determined that long-term exercise appeared to aid the retention of genetic protection against cell damage associated with age. The study compared the cells of professional athletes with those of healthy non-smoking individuals who did not indulge in regular exercise and found that the telomeres – an element of DNA that prevents age related damage to chromosomes – were better preserved in the bodies of the athletes.

Telomeres may be likened to bookends, which help a cell to retain its integrity during and after the ongoing process of cell division. As individuals age, their cells face a greater risk of damage from the sheer number of divisions performed over time. However, the telomeres are believed to perform in the same fashion as the hard plastic at the end of a shoelace, capping the cell at either end and preventing the unraveling effect of age.

Enzyme Key to Retention of Youth

As a result of the study, researchers concluded that the sustained exercise regime of the athletes had stimulated the production of a protective enzyme that helped to maintain the integrity of anti-aging DNA. The results bear out the long-held theory that physical exertion is one key to the maintenance of heart health. Indeed, the lead author of the study, Dr. Ulrich Laufs, noted that the evidence was proof of the youth-retaining possibilities of a continued exercise regime.

“This is direct evidence of an anti-aging effect of physical exercise. Physical exercise could prevent the aging of the cardiovascular system, reflecting this molecular principle. Our data improves the molecular understanding of the protective effects of exercise on the vessel wall and underlines the potency of physical training in reducing the impact of age-related disease.”

Steps to Prevent the Aging Process

Thus the message for those wishing to retain their youth would seem to be clear, and there are a number of proactive steps that may be taken to prevent the impact of aging on the body. Lifestyle choices are paramount for health, thus ensuring a balanced nutritional intake, perhaps augmented by the addition of a premium multivitamin supplement, antioxidant supplements and probiotics, in addition to a consistent exercise regimen, must be on the menu as well.

Starting and maintaining a regime of physical exertion can slow the aging process and reduce the risk of health issues and disease so often associated with the very fact of age itself.

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