The Costco Connection - December 2017

ANEURYSM AWARENESS

BY ILENE RAYMOND RUSH

PROTECTING BRAIN health as you age may be as simple as lifting your fork, says Martha Clare Morris, the creator of the MIND Diet and author of Diet for the MIND (Little, Brown and Company, December 2017; not available at Costco).

MIND stands for Mediterranean
Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay,
and it is a hybrid of the popular Mediter-
ranean and DASH (Dietary Approaches to
Stop Hypertension) diets. Those diets
specifically target prevention of cardio-
vascular disease, diabetes and hyperten-
sion. But Morris, professor and director
of the MIND Center for Brain Health at
Rush University in Chicago, wanted to
“tailor a diet to nutrients in foods that have
been related to better brain health related
to aging.”
Brain-healthy foods in the diet include
leafy greens and vegetables, whole grains,
vegetable oils, berries, nuts, seafood, poul-
try, and beans and other legumes.

According to Morris, the plan targets nutrients that have been scientifically shown to improve brain health and/or boost cardiovascular health, since a healthy heart is often key to a healthy brain. The diet also claims to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, which may trigger and speed up the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Morris based the diet on her 2015
study that tracked the eating patterns of
923 seniors. The longer participants fol-
lowed the MIND diet, the less risk they
appeared to have of developing Alzheimer’s
disease. Results showed that the diet low-
ered Alzheimer’s risk by about 35 percent
for those who made modest dietary
changes and up to 53 percent for those who
adhered to the diet rigorously.

“The majority of foods in the MIND
diet are plant-based foods that give us vita-
mins, minerals, brain-healthy omega-3s,
antioxidants and phytonutrients,” says
Kate Patton, a registered dietitian at the
Cleveland Clinic and a Costco member.
“The more you consume these foods, the
more health benefits they have, especially
when compared with animal foods that are
associated with risk factors like inflamma-
tion and high blood cholesterol levels,
which research shows have a negative
effect on brain health.”
“What we know is that certain foods
are beneficial, whether you’re talking about
the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet, the
MIND diet or the Nordic diet,” says Heather
Snyder, the senior director of medical and
scientific operations for the Alzheimer’s
Association. “It’s really the idea that eating
things that are low in saturated fat and
high in antioxidants are going to be the
most beneficial. The MIND diet does that
and is a balanced diet that includes all nec-
essary nutrients.

“Eating a nutritious diet, staying phys-
ically active, keeping our brains active and
staying socially active are all important,”
she adds. “Putting all that together is going
to be the most beneficial of all.”
While none of the researchers found
any risks in switching to the MIND diet,
Snyder suggests that “any time you are
making a drastic change to your diet or
physical activity, you should talk to your
health care provider.” C

Ilene Raymond Rush writes regularly about health and science issues.

MIND your health

AN ANEURYSM is a bulge in a weakened artery wall, and most commonly occurs in the abdomen and the brain. Aneurysm is called a “silent killer” because often there are no symptoms until it ruptures.

That results in internal bleeding or possibly a stroke, and could prove fatal.

Treatment varies depending on the location, size and condition of the aneurysm, and ranges from simple monitoring to surgical repair in more severe cases.

Common risk factors

• Smoking.

• High blood pressure.

• Gender: Women have an increased risk of a brain aneurysm, and men of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

• Age: Higher risk for those over 40 of a brain aneurysm, and for those 60 and older of an abdominal aneurysm.

Aortic aneurysms

The aorta, the main artery in the body, runs from the heart into the abdomen, where it branches into smaller arteries.

About 15,000 people die each year in the U.S. from aortic aneurysms. About 75 percent of aortic aneurysms occur in the abdomen and 25 percent in the thorax (chest). This is the third-leading cause of sudden death in men over 60.

Cerebral aneurysms

Aneurysms that affect arteries supplying blood to the brain are called cerebral or intracranial aneurysms.

Stroke can be caused by a ruptured brain aneurysm. About one in 50 people in the U.S. have an unruptured brain aneurysm, according to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. Each year nearly 30,000 people experience a brain aneurysm rupture: 40 percent of those are fatal, and about 66 percent of survivors suffer from a permanent neurological deficiency.

Peripheral aneurysms

An aneurysm can occur in any peripheral artery. Frequent peripheral aneurysms occur in the popliteal artery behind the knee, the splenic artery near the spleen and the mesenteric artery near the intestines.