Soup is an ideal meal for older adults due to the fact that it’s both filling, easy to digest and often times highly nutritious. While it may seem to be a seasonal option more than a regular part of someone’s diet, many soups are essentially a concentrated bowl of nutrients necessary to health and longevity. It’s also a convenient meal for caregivers to provide as it merely requires heating up and can be made in advance rather requiring extensive cooking. With this in mind, here are 7 soup recipes that are ideal for the diets of older adults. 1. Tuscan Bean A hearty soup filled with healthy in ..read more

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) affect roughly 2.5 million Americans each year, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With a condition such as TBI being so prevalent, scientific studies examining how to treat it have proliferated. As the medical community has come to better understand traumatic brain injuries, treatment processes have been streamlined. Medications and therapies have emerged to help patients recover more quickly and experience fewer long-term effects. A traumatic brain injury is considered any severe, sudden trauma that causes damage to ..read more

Researchers once believed that the creation of new brain cells only happened in young people. But recent studies show that this process, called neurogenesis, continues even as people age. That’s important news for older people because it indicates they have a better chance of slowing down age-related cognitive decline. As detailed by Scientific American, neuroscientists have long debated whether aging brains continue to create new cells in the hippocampus, an area of the brain connected with learning, memory and mood regulation. It’s also an area of the brain most impacted by Alzheimer’s disea ..read more

Experiencing stress can lead to many different short-term impacts on brain function, including confused thinking, poor judgement and forgetting even the most routine tasks or familiar objects. But research has shown stress also has long-term impacts on brain function as we age, including interference with cognition, attention and memory. Stress also is associated with inflammation, which can contribute to cardiovascular issues and impact heart health, which is why it’s important for people to find ways to reduce stress and keep blood pressure down. But studies over the past decade have shown t ..read more

Everyone experiences stress. It’s a fact of life that’s impossible to escape. But while we can’t eliminate stress, it’s important to find ways to better manage it and reduce its impact on our health, including brain function.  Experts associate high levels of stress with a host of health issues, ranging from headaches and insomnia to outbursts of anger, drug and alcohol misuse and social withdrawal. It also can cause higher blood pressure, which can lead to cardiovascular disease and impaired brain function. High stress impacts age-related cognitive decline, as well. In a study published ..read more

A new study has identified harmful bacteria in the gut that researchers believe plays a significant role in the development of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurodegenerative diseases. They’ve also identified another type of bacteria that may help counteract this effect. The new findings expand on previous research that has found an association between our mental health, cognitive function and changes in the gut microbiome. It also provides another reason for people to pay attention to the connection between their brain and gut – it can impact everything from mental health and neurodegen ..read more

Written by Efrat Sasson PhD. Neuroimaging Scientist, Sagol Center for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Center The brain is a fascinating organ, and its complexity is gradually being revealed by scientists. Since longevity is a popular topic in modern society due to increasing life spans, aging of the brain is being carefully investigated by scientists. The aging brain undergoes a vast amount of changes that influence everyday life and increase risk factors for many neurodegenerative diseases. One of the brain tissues which draws a lot of attention in the medical community is white matter. The brain i ..read more

In the old joke, one senior golfer asks another if he can see where his ball landed. ‘Yes’, replies the other, ‘but I can’t remember’. In fact, this picture couldn’t be further from the truth. Multiple studies have shown how playing golf helps keep the body well-functioning and, less obviously, improves cognitive function in aging people. In one paper published by Oxford University, the authors note that their results “provide evidence that golf, as a cognitively-challenging physical activity, may improve physical and cognitive function, leading to attenuated risk for poor health outcomes, mai ..read more

Inflammatory responses are the body’s way of dealing with threats, but when inflammation becomes a constant, it is detrimental to health. But thanks to new research, scientists now believe they may have found a way to flip what they’re calling an inflammatory “off switch.” Chronic inflammation plays a part in the development of conditions such as diabetes, cancers, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and can play a significant role in other negative health outcomes. The research, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, provides yet another avenue for scientists to develop treatments that could lead ..read more

A host of studies have found that playing video games in moderation may actually help improve certain areas of cognitive function and mental health. That’s a far cry from the days when people demonized video games as the harbinger of poor health, under achievement and even violent behavior. New research has shown video games can improve emotional wellbeing, cognitive function and even physical health (if you play the right games). In some cases, video games can improve people’s basic psychological needs for competence, relatedness and autonomy. Should older people care about those findings? Ye ..read more