HOW TO PREVENT DEMENTIA AND OTHER COGNITIVE DISORDERS

I understand why the younger family members of an aging parent get scared when daddy or mummy show signs of cognitive decline, such as forgetting to flush the toilet after easing themselves. Another sign of dementia, whose primary manifestation is forgetfulness, is when an aging parent forgets to lock the front or side door after spending some time on the balcony taking fresh air or reading the newspapers brought home from the office by a younger family member. Some aging parents don’t even remember they have used the toilet and may as well claim they’ve not been there at all. Yes, these younger family members remember their uncle that died the other day because he forgot to take his BP medication, or their colleague’s mum who overdosed on her own medication because she did not remember taking it some hours ago.

The stories of elderly people dying unnecessarily and unexpectedly for various reasons related to cognitive decline is legion. Consequently, cognitive decline, such as the one under discussion calls for serious consideration in order to find preventive measures to avoid serious consequences occurring.

It is not enough for some families to hire home nurses and house helps to help their elderly family members, especially when daddy or mummy can no more take proper care of themselves, because they easily forget things. Though it is a good idea to employ house helpers because of aging parents, things don’t usually work out as expected. There have been cases where daddy or mummy didn’t like being restricted by house-helpers from doing what they thought they could do. Such home employees hired to protect daddy or mummy have been fired by them because of the way such house-helpers treat them as invalids. This has sometimes resulted in many unrecorded fatalities which occurred as a result. Daddy or Mummy had shouted on the nurse or house-help to never enter his or her room again to check on them as if they were disabled. The next you hear in the evening is that daddy or mummy had fallen from the balcony because nobody was around to help them when necessary.

No, getting older shouldn’t be scary to the younger generation and the elderly. In fact, it’s a glorious thing and very dignifying. However, certain knowledge is required for the elderly to grow older gracefully, while the younger generation should enjoy their elderly and wiser parents. I personally love to play with my grandchildren, who expect me to be able to do hide-and-seek with them and play soccer and other games with them. After all, its part of training children in the way they should go.

Dementia is a cognitive disorder that has recently assumed a frightening dimension in our society. Before now, many people who suffer this cognitive disorder are confined to a room and guarded and cared for until they pass on. In fact, when a man or a woman begins to manifest the symptoms of this cognitive disorder, some families choose to keep them away from relations, friends and neighbours. Some families get embarrassed that their aging dad or mum wanders off to somewhere they didn’t plan going. They just forgot what it was they were going to get. These aging people need help to reverse the cases they suffer from instead of being hidden from the society and allowed to die hidden in their rooms.

When dementia and other related cognitive disorders, such Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases are detected earlier, they can be reversed. I believe this issue should become priority for our public health practitioners to enlighten as many people as possible, on the possibility of elderly people developing one or more of these cognitive disorders as they grow older. Again, self-care is the way out. For instance, I had become apprehensive once I caught myself entering the room and forgetting what I had entered the room to fetch. And because I had known that forgetting things easily shouldn’t be glossed over, I quickly mounted a guard against my memory. Soon enough, I convinced myself that I needed to research and know the way out of the looming disaster. I didn’t even mention it to my children who will be reading this with you.

So, what did I do? Well, lifestyle change is nature’s way to take care of our health. Like many other issues, such as the natural care for the eyes, cognitive decline is principally a brain health issue. Brain and memory issues are related, and can be easily tackled through diet. When I had caught myself forgetting what I went into a room to get, twice or more times, I started eating certain fruits and vegetables, which are rich in polyphenols, which is a substance found in fruits and vegetables known to boost brain health and improve memory. These are mostly plant-based foods – vegetables and fruits, including nuts and seeds, known to reduce the risk of developing such cognitive disorders as stated above.

Science recommends that when you hit the age of 40, especially when you reach the age of 50+, you should increase your intake or consumption of the following plant-based foods packed with metabolites, which would improve both your brain and gut health. Yes, your gut or your digestive system, has a connection that ensures that your brain and memory function well. Your gut is known as your second brain. And that’s how we got the expression “gut feeling.”

?Here are some scientifically proven foods that could help your brain health, reverse cognitive disorders and boost your memory.

?Cocoa products (like our Ile Oluji Cocoa Powder)

Dark chocolate

Apples

Ginger

Mushrooms

African pear [which becomes black when ripe] (Dacryodes edulis) (safou, atanga, ube)

Blue berries (in fact all berries)

Pomegranates

Eggs (Please consume in moderation, all things being equal)

Oranges (including tangerines)

Green Tea (Please drink in moderation)

Red Wine (Not the types we have here that are not better than coloured water)

Coffee (Be selective in this)

Avocado

Walnut

Natural Alkaline Mineral Water

Beans.

Plus many other local fruits and vegetables available in our local markets.

These are foods of the elderly, which, when combined with regular exercises, like brisk walks, would improve their cognitive health. In addition, it is strongly recommended that the elderly should not be given processed foods and foods that have artificial additives, sweeteners and foods with high carb contents, as these contribute negatively to their brain health.

The greatest help our younger generation should give their elderly ones is to determine what aids them to age gracefully, which includes giving them foods that boost their brain health and memory. Hiding your parents because they have one cognitive disorder or another type of age-related diseases, and thus wasting their remaining years, is a disservice to them for all they have done to raise you.

Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year ahead!

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