Eat less to maintain sharp brain at old age

A father and son at the breakfast tableThe quantity of food the body needs to function optimally differs in human beings. However, experts say that eating less, particularly as one advances in age, can help elderly people to maintain sharp brains, increase lifespan and reduce the risk of ailments like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, reports Sade Oguntola.

It was during a visit to an elderly couple and the family was about having its lunch. As it was the culture in many African homes, the mother of the house would dish out food for every member of the family in their separate plates. While the sharing of the food was going on, one of the grandchildren,Kemi, made a comment about the small quantity of food served her grandfather and the response of her mother was on the quantity of food an elderly person should eat to live healthy and boost cognitive ability.

While it may sound painfully obvious, nutrition experts have been divided over whether cutting calories leads to long-term weight loss, because the practice can sometimes boomerang, triggering binge eating, weight gain or malnourishment.

But, new research suggests that eating less, particularly as one advances in age, can help the elderly keep the brain sharp, increase lifespan and reduce the risk of such ailments as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

The researchers from Brigham Young University wrote in the current issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion that restrained eating, particularly as one reaches the middle age, is important because the risk of significant weight gain doubles if one does not cut back on food consumption. Weight gain and obesity bring a greater risk of diabetes and a number of other chronic diseases.

The researchers followed 192 middle-aged women for three years and compiled information on their lifestyles, health and eating habits. The analysis revealed women who did not practice more restraint while eating were 138 per cent more likely to put on 6.6 pounds or more.

Agnes Floel and her team at the University of Munster in Germany suggested that eating less helps older adults improve their memory and prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s, based on an animal study.

In this study, scientists asked 50 elderly women to cut the number of calories they consumed by a third. After three months, the researchers found that the dieters were not only slimmer, but they were better than they had been at memorising lists of words, suggesting a boost in verbal memory. They also had better insulin levels and fewer markers of inflammation. The conclusion of this new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was that keeping under control amount of calories elderly people take may help keep the brain fit.

The exact means by which eating restriction may deliver these benefits is still being investigated, with theories ranging from a reduction in the production of “free radical” chemicals which can cause damage, to a fall in inflammation which can have the same result.

But experts agreed that the phenomenon made sense from a physiological standpoint.

Professor Sola Ogunniyi, a consultant neurologist and head of Department of Medicine, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, said it was true because in a situation where eating excessively in an elderly person results in a high blood sugar level, this may subsequently affect the blood vessel. When the blood vessels of the brain are affected, such is predisposed to developing stroke.

“Such small strokes in the brain can affect vital functions of the brain. A case where the small stroke affects vital functions that are concerned with memory, calculation, orientation or thinking, it means the cognitive function would be affected,” Prof. Ogunniyi said.

According to Prof Ogunniyi, “In a way, when you eat the right amount of food your body requires as an elderly person and exercise regularly, all can combine to ensure you live healthy and retain your ability to listen and remember things very well.

“However, this is not applicable in all individuals. In those with genetic risk, there is the tendency that as they get older, they may have some drop in their brain‘s ability to function. As such, they may have a decline in their brain capability. Much as this is rare, most of the cases of decline in brain capability we see are man-made. They are as a result of things like hypertension, poor control of high blood sugar, high fatty diet and lack of exercises.”

Professor Tola Atinmo, a nutritionist from University of Ibadan Human Nutrition Department, said that basic advise people are usually given as they are growing older is that they should eat less of such foods like rice because they are foods with high glyceamic index.

“At 50, you are no longer growing, so you do not need the quantity of food a younger person would need. So the types of foods you are to be eating as a person that is above 40 are those that will not put too much glucose into your system within a short period of time. You should not overeat so that the food does not get converted into fat in your body and of course you become obese.

“At an older age, ensuring you have a balanced meal is not too critical. What is important is that you are eating fruits and vegetables as much as you can to ensure you have enough vitamins and micronutrients. You really do not need much of the other food items at that age.

A spokesman for the British Dietetic Association said that people, particularly those already at normal or low weight, should be extremely careful about attempting such a diet. According to him, “There is other evidence that, far from enhancing memory, dieting or removing meals can interfere with memory and brain function. A drop of 30 per cent in calories is a significant one for someone who is not overweight, and should not be undertaken lightly. It could even be dangerous if the person is already underweight.”

Columbia University researcher, Lance Davidson, said the findings underscored a key principle of weight control. “Because the body’s energy requirements progressively decline with age, energy intake must mirror that decrease or weight gain occuring.”

According to Dr. Davidson, that women practice eating restraint to avoid the significant weight gain commonly observed in middle age is an important health message given that healthful eating equals better health.

Meanwhile how elderly people can keep their brain functioning at its highest level given by several experts are the following:

•Physical exercise: It does not just help to maintain a good weight; it also produces beneficial changes in your brain, including encouraging the growth of new brain cells.

•Challenge your mind: It is thought that some of the forgetfulness and loss of mental acuity that comes along with ageing is caused, at least in part, by non-use.

• Eat healthy meals and snacks: The best foods for brain include fruits, vegetables and oily fish

•Listen to music: People who listened to music while they exercised performed more than twice as well on a verbal fluency test than people who listened to no music.

•Sleep enough: During sleep, your mental energy is restored so as to effectively carry through important skills like planning, problem solving, learning, concentration, memory and alertness.

•Meditate: Meditation has been found to produce both short-term and permanent changes in the brain. It increases brain size and may help slow down some aspects of cognitive ageing.