DR MICHAEL MOSLEY: Boost your brain by drinking duckweed! –

The disease I fear most is dementia, which was the leading cause of death in the UK after Covid last year. I’m scared because I hate the idea of ​​slowly going crazy and being a burden to others.

My father, who died in 2003 at the age of 74, showed the first signs of it. He was a sweet man and remained cheerful and sociable until the end.

So much so that after his death, we learned that he gave large sums of money to the people he met in the taverns. He was a generous man, but I was wondering if that was a sign of mental setback.

Recent research from the University of Southern California even suggests that this may be the case. Study found seniors with early Alzheimer’s were more willing to give money to a stranger.

Researchers recruited a group of adults with no obvious signs of dementia, with an average age of 69. They passed a series of cognitive tests and then took some money and asked them to share it with an anonymous person they were chatting with online.

The results showed that those who failed the brain tests gave most of the money.

This may mean that people in the early stages of dementia are more generous than the rest of us – but researchers fear this test may indeed show that they are far more vulnerable to exploitation.

Protecting your loved ones from this is clearly important. But what can you do to reduce your risk of developing dementia in the first place? Here are some research findings I’ve incorporated into my life:

Get an eye exam: Mild hearing loss can double your risk of developing dementia, according to the Royal National Institute of Deaf People charity. Severe hearing loss can increase the risk by five times.

And now a review of studies from Peking University in China has shown that older people with untreated vision problems are almost three times more likely to have symptoms of cognitive impairment than those without.

One theory for this link between vision and hearing loss and dementia is that when your senses diminish, your brain has to work harder to compensate and less ability to do things like store memory.

Another theory is that if you struggle with vision or hearing, you run the risk of social isolation, which, as we know, greatly increases the risk of dementia.

By testing regularly, as I do, problems can be found and fixed earlier. I also have some hearing loss and if I get to the point where I need a hearing aid, I won’t hesitate to buy it.

One theory for this link between vision and hearing loss and dementia is that when your senses diminish, your brain has to work harder to compensate and less ability to do things like store memory.

Invest in plants: Air pollution is bad for the lungs, heart and brain. The greatest danger comes from tiny particles called PM2.5, which are produced during the burning of fossil fuels and are small enough to circulate through the lungs, blood and brain.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that air pollution is the leading cause of not only death but also dementia.

A study by the University of Washington in the United States found that exposure to a modest increase in air pollutants (specifically, an increase of one millionth of a gram per cubic meter of air—compared to that of the WHO-recommended guidelines for 10 million grams per cubic meter of air per decade). one) led to a 16% higher risk of dementia.

To reduce my exposure, I try to only drive during quiet times to avoid getting stuck in traffic and taking quieter routes. My wife Clare and I have filled our house with houseplants because a 2019 study suggested they were good at trapping PM2.5 particles.

We also decided not to buy a wood stove as it produces a large amount of PM2.5.

I’m starting to paint: I recently attended an art course, for the first time since I was a kid. While I won’t give up on my daily chores, engaging in any strenuous activity is probably good for the brain, and painting seems particularly beneficial.

A few years ago I participated in a study at Newcastle University where we recruited 30 volunteers, put them through a series of cognitive tests, and then randomly assigned them to jog, solve puzzles or participate for three hours a week. Art class with a life model named Steve. Three months later, our volunteers repeated the cognitive tests, and although all groups had recovered, the art class group was the winner. Steve naked clearly made a big impression.

Eat Green: What you eat has a big impact on your body, but what diet is best for your brain?

A recent study in Israel compared the effect of a green Mediterranean diet similar to a low-fat diet, a Mediterranean diet (lots of vegetables, fatty fish, and olive oil) and a Mediterranean diet, but participants were also given three cups. green tea and green Mankai duckweed smoothie (Southeast Asian herb) rich in protein and other nutrients.

At the end of the 18-month study, both Mediterranean diets had improved participants’ brain volume, but the Greens prevailed. Researchers think this is because the green diet is particularly high in polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that can enter the brain and stimulate the production of new brain cells.

It’s not just green foods that are high in polyphenols; You can also find a lot in fruits, red onions, and apples. This is a great excuse to eat more strawberries this summer.

I never wanted a traditional tattoo, but I was intrigued by a new “electronic” tattoo measuring blood pressure developed by the University of Texas at Austin, USA.

These temporary tattoos are made of graphene, a substance that conducts electricity. Graphene strips are placed along the major arteries of the forearm; Then they send a small charge to your skin and analyze your body’s response.

From this, your blood pressure is calculated with incredible accuracy. I want one.

Being generous is good for you

A few months ago I wrote about how we applied to host a Ukrainian family. A few weeks ago, with the help of my local MP, Sarah Green, they finally got a visa and are now settling in our house.

The family consists of a mother and her three children; A 10-year-old boy, a 12-year-old girl, and a 17-year-old boy. The father and most of his relatives still live in Ukraine and worryingly close to the Russian-occupied territory.

I am proud that local schools are working hard to find places for children and local groups are supporting Ukrainian refugees with things like food and used bicycles.

Research shows that sharing with others is one of the best ways to make yourself happy, and this battle has shown how generous people can be.

If you’re considering joining the Homes For Ukraine program, I highly recommend it, but it’s clearly a long-term commitment as we have no idea when they’ll be able to return home safely.

Follow your nose to find friends

Do you have friends you clicked on when you first met? One of my favorite writers, Fyodor Dostoevsky, once wrote: “Sometimes we meet people who begin to interest us at first sight, or even complete strangers.”

Perhaps it should have written “at first glance,” as a Weizmann Institute of Science study found that the way we smell plays an important role in instant friendships.

They recruited 20 couples of friends who got along well from their first meeting and compared their natural body odors. They were asked to use unscented soap for a few days, avoid perfumes and deodorants, then wear clean T-shirts for 24 hours.

When the shirts were examined, it was found that friends had a more similar natural body odor than random strangers.

They also brought two strangers together to chat and then measured their body odor.

The most similar to each other were those that smelled very similar. So it seems obvious that we follow our noses when it comes to friendship.