5 Ways To Build Memory

We all have times when we get up to grab something only to reach the specific room we are going to, and forget what we went into that room to get. There are some severe memory problems that can be diagnosed as a memory loss disease, but most of us just have regular forgetfulness from the hustle and bustle of our busy lives. Fortunately, you can learn ways to build your memory so that this forgetfulness will deteriorate over time. The five best ways that you can build your memory are:

1. Eating a proper diet - There are different foods that can actually help to build your memory. A few of these are onions, orange juice, green tea, walnuts, strawberries, black beans, pink salmon, blueberries, leafy greens, and milk. These foods have special nutrients in them that will help build your memory because they help to stimulate the brain.

2. Living a healthy lifestyle - Your lifestyle could have a lot to do with your memory loss. Stress and lack of sleep can often negatively affect the functioning of your brain. Getting the right amount of sleep, staying social, exercising on a regular basis, not smoking, and managing your stress, will positively affect your memory.

3. Learning clever tricks - There are little things that you can do in order to keep your memory function working. These include reflecting on the events of your day, relating to everything you touch or see, learning a new name by repeating it to yourself, and listening carefully.

4. Using the proper tools - There are tools on the market today you can use to help your memory. These tools can include mind mapping software, calendars, lists, and special "notes” programs that you can find through the Internet.

5. Involving yourself in brain exercises - The more your brain is stimulated, the better your memory will be. There are materials that can actually exercise your brain. They include crossword puzzles, reading books, using the hand that you often do not use, and taking different routes to the locations that you travel to. These exercises can help your thought retention become stronger every single day.

Healthy Diet Appears To Help Older Adults Live Longer

Supporting the idea that it is never too late to adopt a healthy diet, researchers in the US found that older adults who followed a predominantly healthy diet stood a better chance of living longer than counterparts whose diets were higher in fatty foods and alcohol or sweets. and desserts.

A report on how they came to this conclusion after studying the eating patterns of over 2,500 Americans aged between 70 and 79 over a ten year period, is due to appear in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Lead author Dr Amy L Anderson and senior author Dr Nadine R. Sahyoun, both from the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Maryland, told the press that their findings suggest older adults who follow current guidelines to keep to a diet comprising mostly vegetables, fruit, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, fish and poultry, are more likely to have a better "nutritional status", a higher quality of life and live longer than those whose diets are high in fat and sugar.

Anderson said there have been "surprisingly few" empirical studies of the links between dietary patterns and rates of death.

"Our study is the first to examine the dietary patterns of a relatively large and diverse US cohort of adults aged 70 and over, and explore associations of these dietary patterns with survival," she added, explaining that another unique feature of their research was that they also "evaluated participants' quality of life and their nutritional status through detailed biochemical measures".

Such studies are becoming increasingly valuable as the leading causes of death shift from infectious diseases to chronic diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease, both of which may be affected by diet. Plus there is the fact that estimates suggest the number of adults aged 65 and over worldwide in 2030 will be 973 million, which is more than double the 420 million figure from 2000.

• Healthy Foods (374 participants).
• High-Fat Dairy Foods (332).
• Meat, Fried Foods, and Alcohol (693).
• Breakfast Cereal (386).
• Refined Grains (458).
• Sweets and Desserts (339).

The Healthy Foods group consumed relatively greater amounts of low-fat dairy foods, fruit, whole grains, poultry, fish, and vegetables, and relatively lower amounts of meat, fried foods, sweets, high-calorie drinks, and added fat.

The High Fat Dairy Foods group consumed a relatively higher intake of ice cream, cheese, 2% milk and yogurt, whole milk and yogurt, and other similar foods, and a relatively lower intake of poultry, low-fat dairy products, rice, and pasta.

After taking into account effects due to gender, age, race, where the participant data was collected, education, exercise, smoking and total calorie intake, the researchers found that:

• The High-Fat Dairy Foods group had a 40% higher risk of mortality than the Healthy Foods group.
• The Sweets and Desserts group had a 37% higher risk of mortality than the Healthy Foods group.
• No significant differences in risk of mortality were seen between the Breakfast Cereal and the Healthy Foods groups and the Refined Grains and Health Foods groups.

Anderson said she and her colleagues concluded that:

"Because a substantial percentage of older adults in this study followed the Healthy Foods dietary pattern, adherence to such a diet appears a feasible and realistic recommendation for potentially improved survival and quality of life in the growing older adult population."