The Recipe Doctor
From low-fat recipes to recipes designed for persons with diabetes, Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, shares recipes and advice to create healthy meals that are guaranteed to please. [Editor's note: Elaine no longer contributes to Silver Planet, but we have made her archived blog entries available as a service to our readers.]
Be Fit for Your Mind
Here’s yet another benefit to staying fit as we grow older: New study findings suggest that older women who are physically fit have better cognitive function.
Study coauthor Marc Poulin, PhD, a senior scholar with the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research believes this study proves for the first time that people who are fit have better blood flow to the brain, and better blood flow results in improved mental function.
The researchers studied a group of women (average age, 65) and found those who were more active (compared to those who were inactive) had
- 10% lower resting and exercising arterial blood pressure,
- 5% higher vascular responses in the brain during submaximal exercise and when the levels of carbon dioxide in the blood were elevated, and
- 10% higher cognitive function scores.
So next time you take your dog for a walk or meet a friend at the gym, keep in mind that everything you do to stay fit is also helping to keep you mentally sharp as you age.
Source: Brown AD, McMorris CA, Longman RS, et al. Effects of cardiorespiratory fitness and cerebral blood flow on cognitive outcomes in older women. Neurobiology of Aging. December 26, 2008. [Epub ahead of print.]
By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD
The Recipe Doctor Blog
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