There’s a recent article in Syntagma that takes a look at an unusual feature of the waning elderly mind. Here’s a short extract:

“When we are new to this world, we often use our parents’ minds to make sense of what is happening around us. We don’t know we are doing it because we have no experience of anything else, but we absorb attitudes and opinions that we couldn’t possibly attain for ourselves. What, then, is more natural than the reverse process occurring in later life?”

Link to article: Syntagma

Many older people are put onto a low salt diet because of chronic or acute medical conditions, like high blood pressure and kidney disease.

Others choose low salt regimes to improve mental function which is responsive to salt intake. It’s known that in normal circumstances of climate and activity people need only half a gram of salt a day, way below the official guidelines of 6 – 7 grams.

If you ask them which foods they miss most, they will likely say “cheese”. Its particular flavor and texture can be quite addictive.

However, cheese is very high in salt.

There are exceptions. Some soft versions, like cream cheeses — usually not proprietary brands — can be salt-free. The problem is they don’t really taste or feel like cheese at all.

One solution is Swiss Emmental which is low in salt, but tastes very much like cheese. The Tesco brand contains only 0.2 grams per 30-gram typical serving. Others may vary, so check the labeling.

Bear in mind also that a value for sodium needs to be multiplied by 2.5 to get the full salt content.

Cheese needn’t be a no-go area for low salt dieters.

How to Boost Your Immune System — Part 3

Vitamin C is a well known dietary aid to improved immune system performance. Studies confirm this bit of folk medicine. The real debate is whether supplements really do help, or if natural foods are the only way.

Vitamin C is also vital for the body to make collagen, a key protein in skin and connective tissue which is said to improve appearance with age.

For most elderly people, vitamin C supplements are recommended, especially through the winter when local fruits may not be available.

The ideal supplements also contain substances call bioflavanoids, antioxidants derived from the pith of citrus fruits. These have been shown to increase the effectiveness of supplementary vitamin C.

A recent study at Tel Aviv University in Israel, tested 60 volunteers using a brain exercising computer program, MindFit, for 30 minutes, three times a week, and compared them with another 60 playing sophisticated computer games.

The results showed that although all benefited from playing on the computer, those on MindFit had better improvement in short-term learning, visual and spatial learning and focused attention.

These findings are especially relevant to those of a certain age and show that exercise can stave off the reduction of mental faculties. It seems that very few golden agers realize that giving the brain a workout is just as important as physical exercise.

Susan Greenfield, a neurologist and Director of the Royal Institution, is supporting the use of computer brain games to tackle mental decline.

She believes that with no cure for Alzheimer’s disease on the horizon, these exercises are a good way of staving off dementia and keeping the mind alert.

Baronness Greenfield will launch MindFit in the House of Lords in October. She says, “There is now good scientific evidence to show that exercising the brain can slow, delay and protect against age related decline”.

Nintendo, the computer console company, is behind another product, the Brain Training computer game. The Brain-Master keeps the mind agile by testing logical analysis, memory retention, coordination and concentration.

The developer of the software, Professor Ryuta Hawashima of Japan’s Tohonu University, said the games increase the delivery of oxygen, blood and amino acids to the brain, leading to the creation of connections between brain cells.

MindFit is a new rival, developed in Israel and already available in the U.S. Baroness Greenfield is involved with the company producing the software and her name will be used to promote it in Britain, where it will cost £70 ($140).

The software claims to improve short-term memory by 18 percent, eye-hand co-ordination by 16.5 percent, memory recall by 14 percent and reaction time by 12.5 percent.