Could a healthy food preserve our memory and, even, to help us to warn the craziness or Alzheimer’s illness?
It is the hope that of the Quebecers and French researchers who were united to Quebec sowed, May 22 and 23, in the setting of a symposium titled Nutrition and functions cérébrales1.
"The slowing of the cognitive working with age is a major challenge of public health, because of the ageing of the population and the extension of the life expectancy", explain researcher Stephen Cunnane of the University of Sherbrooke.
These two demographic factors entail an increase of the number of people suffering of Alzheimer’s illness besides. This one touches 300 000 Canadians, of which a person out of four at the Mossi of 85 years.
The track of the antioxidants: the vitamin HAS
No means currently exist to warn Alzheimer’s illness. But some researchers believe that some nutrients could play a protective role against this illness.
According to the Dr. Pascale Barberger-Cake, of the University of Bordeaux, the system of antioxidant defense of the brain becomes less and less efficient while aging. From where the interest of the researchers to follow the track of the food rich in antioxidants. "Some studies already showed that the people who consume the fruits and vegetables in sufficient quantities run 30% less risk to suffer from craziness," she / it underlines.
The vitamin TO is one of the nutrients that keeps the attention of the researchers. This antioxidant, that one recovers among others in the giblets, would be promising.
"While aging, our brain transforms the vitamin less well TO, what alters the plasticity of the synapses and provoke deficits of memory", explain the professor Véronique Pallet, of the University of Bordeaux.
In other words, the capacity of the brain to encourage the connections between the neurons would be lessened while aging. "Less has connections, the memory is less effective," Dr. underline the Pallet.
He / it is too early to affirm that a sufficient contribution in vitamin TO would permit to warn Alzheimer’s illness at the human. But one succeeded in warning the cognitive decline among aged mice while giving them a supplement of A. vitamin
However, the vitamin TO has need of a precious ally to act: the omega 3. "A regime unbalanced in omega 3 disrupts the action of the vitamin HAS in the brain, from where the importance to have a sufficient contribution in essential fatty acids", specify Véronique Pallet.
The food, the secret of the mental well-being?
For the specialist in neuroscience Sophie Layé, more and more research have the tendency to show that the omega 3 would be a pledge of well-being on a mental level. "We believe that the omega 3 permits to limit the development of behavioral unrests, constitute a shape of promotion of the well-being," she / it advances.
His / her / its research indicate that a balanced diet – containing sufficiently of omega 3. would offer a protection against the anxiety, that becomes more pronounced with age. "However, the anxiety increases the oxidative stress in the brain, freeing the free radicals that alter the good working of the brain and the memory."
But the attention must not be about some vitamins or nutrients strictly, the researchers warned. "Only one good habit is not sufficient, concludes the Dr. Pascale Barberger-Cake. It is necessary to associate different food sources of antioxidants and omega 3, while preferring to the food supplements.
convert this post to pdf.