| There are more than 75 million baby boomers | | | | effects of aging to your brain. Although |
| in the United States. And as the biggest | | | | these findings are relatively new, the link |
| portion of this generation approaches | | | | between food and the brain sounds promising. |
| retirement age, more and more of its members | | | | |
| are becoming concerned about memory problems, | | | | The Antioxidant Story |
| particularly Alzheimer's disease. If you | | | | |
| belong to the baby boomer generation, you | | | | The most prominent subject in the study about |
| should be concerned too; the common form of | | | | the connection between food and the brain is |
| Alzheimer's disease can afflict anyone who is | | | | the one about antioxidants. Basically |
| at least sixty years old. This disease can be | | | | antioxidants are organic substances that are |
| more sporadic rather than hereditary, which | | | | secreted by plants as a protection from |
| is why Alzheimer's has become the most common | | | | cellular destabilization caused by free |
| cause for dementia and other ailments | | | | radicals. Antioxidants have been also found |
| characterized by the decline in brain | | | | to effectively counter the oxidative |
| functioning. | | | | deterioration that happens in the brain as |
| | | | you age. |
| Causes Of Alzheimer's Disease | | | | |
| | | | Where do you find antioxidants? Well, if you |
| Doctors have been continually baffled by what | | | | take a look at fruits and vegetables that |
| causes Alzheimer's. But one thing is for | | | | have bright appetizing colors, you have found |
| sure, as people age, a waxy fibrous stuff | | | | your ticket away from Alzheimer's and other |
| called amyloid starts to accumulate in the | | | | brain malfunctions. The bright colors |
| brain. Amyloid plaque is responsible for the | | | | exhibited by certain fruits and vegetables |
| degeneration of various tissues in the body; | | | | are actually caused by antioxidants; |
| you can just imagine what this substance can | | | | theoretically, the brighter and richer the |
| do when it gathers in your brain. | | | | color of a fruit or vegetable, the higher |
| | | | concentration of antioxidant substances. |
| On top of this, as you count the years that | | | | |
| you have lived, millions of neurons found in | | | | If you eat fruits and vegetables that have |
| the brain simply stop to send and receive | | | | high levels of antioxidants, you absorb the |
| impulses which are the primary means of | | | | same substances that protect plants from |
| communication for your brain cells. The | | | | elements like pollution and extreme weather |
| overall effect is a total decline in your | | | | conditions. Antioxidants in your body will |
| brain's ability to organize and handle | | | | help you reverse most of the effects of |
| thoughts. The obvious solution is for your | | | | aging. From painful joints, to wrinkly skin, |
| brain to create new perfectly-functioning | | | | to ailing organs, up to a malfunctioning |
| cells. But before you can even say | | | | brain, antioxidants seem to be the real |
| replacement, your brain tells you that when | | | | fountain of youth. |
| you are sixty, it is already having a hard | | | | |
| time or no longer capable of creating new | | | | Generally speaking, foods rich in selenium, |
| cells. | | | | vitamins C and E, and beta-carotene are also |
| | | | rich in antioxidants. In the case of vitamins |
| Is It Really This Hopeless For Aging People? | | | | C and E, they boost your immune system in |
| | | | defending against any bacterial or viral |
| The good news is that, various studies and | | | | attack. Selenium on the other hand has been |
| researches about nutrition have been found to | | | | known to help fight oxidation in the cells. |
| directly affect the brain's functioning. With | | | | But the most famous of all antioxidants is |
| the right kind of diet, you can protect your | | | | beta-carotene which can protect you from the |
| brain from Alzheimer's and reverse the | | | | harshness of solar radiation. |