HEALTH & WELLNESS

Simple nutrition choices lead to sharp mind, healthy body

BY NANETTE HEBDIGE

Our brain is major. It’s the voice orchestrating our organs to keep performing as it maintains all our senses operating at full speed.

That’s why feeding it, not just with engaging and effective tasks, keeps it active and functional but it’s fundamental to also add brain food and supplements.

Consuming certain foods play an integral part in brain health to maintain our memory, cognitive functions and our concentration sharp and dynamic.

According to the Health Harvard Journal, health.harvard.edu/ healthbeat/foods-linked-to-betterbrainpower, these nourishing foods keep the gray matter healthy and fully engaged.

Fatty fish

Considering our brain is made of mostly fat, it makes sense that fatty fish is a frontrunner. Omega3’s — EPA and DHA which are considered the good fats — found in salmon, albacore tuna, anchovies and swordfish could slow mental decline and ward off Alzheimer’s. So have some sardines on toast for lunch.

Coffee/tea

Seriously. A cup of Joe or green matcha tea contains caffeine, antioxidants and it provides increased alertness. It’s a mood enhancer and improves concentration. Matcha has even been found to fight cancer!

Berries, mostly blueberries

Game changers in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, which can deter your brain from aging

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A matcha green vegan smoothie.

and improve cognitive memory, attentiveness and fight depression.

Turmeric — What’s the big Buzz?

Yes, that yellow powder we add to curry (active compound curcumin). Four things to take away: improves heart health, may benefit memory, eases depression and helps brain cell development.

Dark chocolate

Major contender — not only is it yummy and makes you happy, but it’s also packed with antioxidants, caffeine and flavonoids (plant compounds), all brain boosting composites. Flavonoids engage with the brain sector dealing

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Consuming certain foods play an integral part in brain health

with mental decline, memory, and learning. faseb.onlinelibrary. wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1096/ fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.878.10

Broccoli/green leafy veggies

Superpower hero in brain food. Packed with vitamin K, lutein and beta carotene, which helps with cognitive decline.

Oranges

Eat an orange a day and you have all the vitamin C your body needs.

Good ol’ eggs

They are packed with choline and B vitamins that your body morphs into chemicals, which affect your memory and moods.

Beans – The brain-gut connection

Don’t just think TexMex food. Most beans are packed with folate that fights memory loss and forgetfulness. The brain loves glucose, which beans have plenty of. Add their fiber to gut health and it’s the complete package.

The foods we consume play an integral part on your alertness, memory and cognitive functions and one key factor is that they could also help fight Alzheimer’s and dementia. So, start adding some of these to your daily dietary regime. SL

Wearable EKG monitors can be a lifesaver if used correctly

BY BRENDA EGGERT BRADER

The portable EKG monitor is a wireless device that records the electrical activity of your heart and can send important data to your smartphone.

Some monitors, when placed in a pocket, can skip the smartphone and record in the unit itself.

Regardless of your choice of monitor, it can determine if your heart is functioning normally and can detect the most common arrhythmias (including AFib) in just 30 seconds. That data can then be shared with your doctor remotely or stored for the next doctor visit. There are several devices on the market.

“Patients bring in the information,” said Dr. Porur Somasundaram, a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist at Steward Heart Rhythm Associates. “I encourage patients to do this and bring information in. All have electrical activity that results in mechanical activity that is the pulse. It checks actual electrical activity and what you see is the pulsations. Once they bring the phone with them, I can scan them rather quickly and can see what is there.”

Somasundaram said the units are reasonably accurate, but only as good as the patient uses it. “It is like a blood pressure device. If you have blood pressure issues and take a reading once every six months it’s OK. But, if taken daily, you have a trend of what is going on. So, do it once a week or once a day and we will know better what’s going on. The more information you have the more valuable or powerful it is. I give patients a brochure to see what they are buying. I don’t sell or push anyone, just suggest,” Somasundaram said.

“I would say there are a fair amount of people that use the heart monitor, about 30 to 35 percent. The idea is for the older people to use it, unfortunately it is used more by the younger people, under age 50. The disease is higher in older people (older than 75) so that is the population that needs to use monitors.

“It is not necessary to have a smartphone. Wearable monitors are becoming important for heart management of patients,” Somasundaram said. “A Swedish study of these found they could prevent future strokes.”

It is especially a valuable item for those with heart disease. Costs for the monitors vary from less than $100 to more than $500. SL

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Dr. Porur Somasundaram discusses heart monitors with a patient.