Vital Role of Nutrition

1738 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Conclusion on alzheimers disease treatments

Nutrition is essential to healthy aging; it has been shown to play a vital role in the development of dementia, memory loss, vitamin deficiencies and stroke. An estimated 10%–30% of people over the age of 65 suffer from Vitamin B12 deficiency most commonly caused by malabsorption. It is advised that people over 70 years of age obtain 2.4 μg/day of Vitamin B12. People suffering from inadequate Vitamin B12 levels can experience fatigue, weight loss, weakness, depression, memory impairment, heart attack and stroke. Elderly patients should be monitored for serum levels <450 ng/L. Adequate supplementation of Vitamin B12 will reduce depression, fatigue, homocysteine concentrations, brain atrophy. In the aging population an increased nutritional supplement of >500 μg/day of Vitamin B12 will not only prevent but also promote recovery from strokes while reducing cognitive decline.

While aging is a natural progression of life, healthy aging is of the upmost importance to ensure the quality of life of elderly people. Often aging can be accompanied by memory loss or confusion. In the past few decades the study of age related cognitive decline has come to the forefront of the scientific community. Considerable research has been done to help identify etiology, prevention and treatment. As the mean age of Canadians increases there is a push to help combat cognitive decline in order to ease the burden on not only the medical community but families as well. Cognitive degeneration in the form of long term memory loss can have many root causes most notably Alzheimer's, dementia and strokes. This deterioration prevents people from performing their daily activities and retaining their independence.

Nutrition has been shown to play a vital role...

... middle of paper ...

...P., Johnston, C., et al. 2010. Homocysteine-Lowering by B Vitamins Slows the Rate of Accelerated Brain Atrophy in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Plos one 5 (9): 1-11.

Saposnik, G., Ray, J., Sheridan, P., McQueen, M., & Lonn, E. 2009. Homocysteine-Lowering Therapy and Stroke Risk, Severity, and Disability Additional Findings From the HOPE 2 Trial. Stroke, 40(4), 1365-1372.

Tangney, C., Aggarwal, N., Morris, M., et al. 2011. Vitamin B12, cognition, and brain MRI measures: A cross-sectional examination. Neurology 77(13):1276-1282.

Walker, J., Batterham, P., Christensen, H., et al. 2012. Oral folic acid and vitamin B-12 supplementation to prevent cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults with depressive symptoms-the Beyond Ageing Project: a randomized controlled trial. The American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition 95(1):194-203.

Show More
Related

  • Vitamin B12 Deficiency Essay

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    Vitamin B12 deficiency limits selenium methylation and excretion resulting in higher tissue selenium levels and subsequent toxicity. It occurs in people whose digestive systems do not adequately absorb the vitamin from the foods they eat. Vegetarians who eat eggs and milk products are the most at risk because, on average, they consume less than half the adult vitamin B12 Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) while strict vegans (who don't eat any animal products, including meat, eggs, or milk) are at an even greater risk. Vitamin B12 is important since it works with the vitamin folate to make the body’s genetic material and help keep levels of the amino acid homocysteine in check which helps to decrease heart disease risk. It is also essential in the production of red blood cells which carry oxygen through the blood to the body’s tissues. Life Extension gives offers some of selenium supplements. Babies who are born of parents with low selenium and vitamin B12 rich foods are at risk of anaemia.

    Read More

  • The Role of Genetics In Alzheimer’s Disease

    3344 Words  | 7 Pages

    Memory plays a significant role in the everyday lives of people of all ages. It allows them to recall information and remember skills that were learned in the past. Memory also organizes past information to help people make current and future decisions. However, imagine forgetting the names of close family members or not having the ability to find your keys every time you want to leave the house. These are some of the struggles that people with Alzheimer’s disease face daily. Alzheimer’s disease was first identified by German neurologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906, and was discovered to have an overpowering effect on explicit memory loss (Gruetzner, 1988). There are two types of Alzheimer’s disease – early onset and late onset. Early onset occurs in patients who are diagnosed before the age of 65 whereas late onset occurs in patients who are diagnosed after the age of 65. In the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, short-term memory is often lost. As Alzheimer’s disease progresses, problems with long-term memory begin to develop, in addition to short-term memory impairments. Although a lot is known about the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, the cause has not been conclusively identified. However, as research continues, new theories about the cause of Alzheimer’s disease are being proposed. This has led to a controversy over whether Alzheimer’s disease is caused by genetics or environmental influences (Gruetzner, 1988).

    Read More

  • Alzheimers Disease

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...t one has it. Many scientists hypothesize that there is an inflammatory response in the brain when there is an extensive B-42 amassing. To slow or stop this, scientists theorize that the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, could delay the swelling in the brain. Also, as scientists have known that taking a multi-vitamin tablet each day is good for you, there has been recent research demonstrating that the use of antioxidants may protect neurons, not just the immune system and keeping the body healthy by providing vitamins and minerals. These special supplements protect the neurons from the effects of the accruing B-Amyloid that would likely cause the plaque that causes AD.

    Read More

  • Competitive Analysis: Monster Beverage Corporation

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vitamin B-12 is essential for energy production as well as influencing the way your body uses carbohydrates.

    Read More

  • Anterograde Amnesia

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kumar, S., Rao, S. L., Sunny, B., & Gangadhar, B. N. (2007) Widespread cognitive impairment

    Read More

  • Alzheimer's Disease Essay

    1582 Words  | 4 Pages

    The research into the effect Vitamin A has on Alzheimer’s disease needs to be furthered. One avenue to further it would be examining retinoic acids in vivo. This would allow the retinoid mechanisms of action and their receptors in Alzheimer’s disease to be better understood. Another method to further research would be to study the affect retinoic acid has on amyloid β in Alzheimer’s disease using different techniques, such as histopathological observation.

    Read More

  • Dementia is the Leading Cause of Alzheimer’s Disease

    1551 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dementia is the progressive deterioration and impairment of memory, reasoning, and other cognitive functions occurring as the result of a disease or condition. Dementia can affect the person’s ability to carry out daily activities. For example, the person may forget where they live or they might think they have already done their activities but never did. Dementia can also cause the elderly to become incontinent and can’t control their urinary system. Many people get confused that dementia is a disease. Dementia is not a disease. However, it can lead to a disease or condition. Dementia is more common in the elderly population. It’s normal for people to forget things, but to a certain extent it becomes a critical issue. Depression also plays a role in the affects of dementia. Studies have been made to believe that the biological mechanisms for depression relating to dementia is, “interactions with vascular diseases, changes in glucocorticoid steroid levels that can result in hippocampal atrophy, accumulation of amyloid-[beta] plaques, inflammatory processes, and lack of nerve growth factors” (Heser et al., 2013). Dementia is caused because of plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. This can also be known as Alzheimer’s Disease. Dementia is the leading cause for Alzheimer’s Disease in the elderly. For all dementia cases, 60 to 80 percent of people with dementia will have Alzheimer’s Disease. The disease has 3 different stages, the early stage, the middle stage, and the late stage. Each of those stages has a variety of symptoms that affects the memory impairment of the person (Wieregna, Bondi, 2011). Also relating to dementia is Parkinson’s Disease and Huntington Disease. These diseases can result in impairment, which can cause challeng...

    Read More

  • Nutrition And Nutrition

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    Education plays a dominant role in the lives of students all over the United States. Since most students spend roughly eight to twelve hours in school, it is important to make sure that they are provided with a healthy and nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack.

    Read More

  • A Stroke’s Effect on Memory

    1982 Words  | 4 Pages

    Stroke is a serious medical condition that affects people of all ages specifically older adults. People suffer from a stroke when there is decreased blood flow to the brain. Blood supply decreases due to a blockage or a rupture of a blood vessel which then leads to brain tissues dying. The two types of stroke are ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. An ischemic stroke is caused by a blood clot blocking the artery that brings oxygenated blood to the brain. On the other hand, a hemorrhagic stroke is when an artery in the brain leaks or ruptures (“About Stroke,” 2013). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of adult disability” (“About Stroke,” 2013). Stroke causes a number of disabilities and also leads to decreased mobility in over half of the victims that are 65 and older. The CDC lists several risk factors of stroke such as heredity, age, gender and ethnicity as well as medical conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and excessive weight gain that in...

    Read More

  • Vitamin B12 Deficiency Essay

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in the United States and often responsible for anemia and neurologic symptoms, particularly in the elderly.

    Read More

  • Essay On Dementia

    1784 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many countries globally are faced with unprecedented demographic changes from high mortality and fertility to low mortality and fertility, giving rise to an ageing population. Population ageing is profound and enduring, and has major consequences and implications for all facets of human life. With a larger proportion of older people, one of the major concerns is health care. The health of older persons generally declines with age and some illness are more likely to be associated with older people. One of such illness is dementia. As the life expectancies of the general population have dramatically increased since the turn of the century, more and more people are at risk of developing dementia (National Institute of Aging, 2000).

    Read More

  • Essay On Dementia

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    This paper is on dementia, a late-life disorder, as it pertains to the geriatric population. “It is estimated that 24.3 million people around the world have dementia and that, with an estimated 4.6 million new cases every year, we can expect about 43 million people and their families to have to handle the challenge of dementia by 2020.” (McNamera, 2011) I will cover three relevant points concerning this disorder that cause changes in the brain.

    Read More

  • Nutrition and Cognitive Health

    1742 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kamphuis, P. H., & Scheltens, P. (2010). Can nutrients prevent or delay onset of alzheimer's disease?. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 20(3), 765-775. doi:10.3233/JAD-2010-091558

    Read More

  • Nutrition Importance

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    As they always say HEALTH IS WEALTH! Your food selection today, makes you enjoy for the moment and affects your health tomorrow and in the future!

    Read More

  • Food and Nutrition

    1454 Words  | 3 Pages

    Proper nutrition is one of the most essential elements to being healthy and living a long life. People deal with food every day, and food has been a part of life since the beginning of civilization. What we eat becomes our diet, and our diet plays a major role in deciding how healthy we are and how well our body functions. Without proper diet, our body cannot carry out the functions it needs to perform. Most people have some common knowledge on what is good and what is bad for the human body to consume. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains are some common items people think of when they think of healthy foods. However, it is not enough just to know what foods are good for your body, it is also important to understand why certain foods are good for you and what they do to help the body function.

    Read More

More about Vital Role of Nutrition

Open Document