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An apple a day
Diet more powerful than drugs for anti-ageing .
A
nutritious diet could be more effective than drugs in preventing stroke , diabetes and heart disease , a new University of Sydney study has found .
The research , published in Cell Metabolism , tested different combinations of three anti-ageing drugs with various mixtures of fats , protein and carbohydrates on young mice .
It was discovered that the amount of protein in the diet , the ratio of fat and carbohydrates to protein , had significant
impacts on key elements of metabolic physiology .
By comparison , the drugs had a much weaker effect .
“ The long and short of it was if you ’ re a mouse , you ’ re going to get a better bang for your buck in terms of improving your metabolic health and your ageing by manipulating your diet than you are by taking these three drugs ,” said lead author Professor Stephen Simpson .
Interestingly , the effects of the drugs on what the scientists considered to be the key measures of healthy ageing were not nearly as potent as they thought they might have been previously .
Given that humans share the same nutrient signalling pathways as mice , Simpson said , people should focus on incorporating a mix of nutrients in their diet to improve metabolic health .
“ Our diet is a complex mixture of many different micro and macronutrients and other constituents , which together influence our appetite systems and in turn , influence our metabolism ,” he told Campus Review .
“ This determines our health , our propensity to get various diseases , and how well and quickly we age .”
Over recent decades , scientists have been trying to understand more about how mixtures of nutrients interact with the biological process of ageing .
“ It ’ s very clear that as you go from your middle age to your early later years , in your 60s and then into your later years , 70s , 80s and beyond , the optimal macronutrient shifts ,” said Simpson .
“ At any age , if you could track those nutritional optima , I think you would have a far greater impact on healthy ageing , especially of course when coupled with physical activity and healthy sleep ,” he said . ■
Your caffeine habit could be keeping your brain young and healthy .
A long black or three a day could be a helpful way to stave off Alzheimer ’ s disease , according to a new long-term study . Researchers from Edith Cowan
University investigated whether coffee
Beans good for brains
intake affected the cognitive decline of more than 200 people over a decade .
They found that those who drank more coffee performed better in a number of cognitive tests .
“ We found participants with no memory impairments and with higher coffee consumption at the start of the study had lower risk of transitioning to mild cognitive impairment — which often precedes Alzheimer ’ s disease — or developing
Alzheimer ’ s disease over the course of the study ,” said lead investigator Dr Samantha Gardener .
Gardener and her team found that more cups produced positive results in certain areas of cognitive function , specifically executive function which includes planning , self-control and attention .
Although the research did not find out what a healthy maximum cups per day might be , it does suggest that increasing that one-cup-per day habit to two-aday could be incredibly beneficial to brain health .
“ If the average cup of coffee made at home is 240g , increasing to two cups a day could potentially lower cognitive decline by eight per cent after 18 months ,” Dr Gardener said .
Gardener said although further research was needed , the study was encouraging as it indicated drinking coffee could be an easy way to help delay the onset of Alzheimer ’ s disease .
“ It ’ s a simple thing that people can change ,” she said .
“ It could be particularly useful for people who are at risk of cognitive decline but haven ’ t developed any symptoms .” ■
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