Go to Health: How to Preserve Your Brain, Muscles, and Bones



















Your Brain – Keep it sharp. Here are some of the proven ways to help memory and brain function:







Exercise at least 30 minutes every day. Upper body exercise counts if walking is hard for you. Play music to keep you going. Ride a stationary bike in front of your TV. Get an exercise pal or join a class. Exercise will help you grow new neurons and oxygenate your brain.







Vitamin B12 is important to prevent brain shrinkage in people over 60. It is found in animal foods. Vegans should always take a B12 supplement. Some older people don’t absorb it well from food. Get a B12 blood level from your doctor, and take B12 tablets sublingually if you are low.







Eat vegetables and fruits, legumes, fish and poultry. Limit fatty meat and foods containing sugar, to prevent obesity and keep your arteries clear. Avoid too much alcohol and addictive drugs, legal or illegal.







Olive oil should be your major fat source. A compound in extra virgin olive oil called oleocanthal may help prevent Alzheimer’s. See the 6/5/13 column at sadjascolumns for details.







Get enough sleep: 7-8 hours, so that you wake refreshed. Sleep is essential for good brain functioning.







Learn something new: a new language, a new skill, a musical instrument, drumming, a dance routine. According to a 2009 Gallup Poll, 85% of Americans who don’t play a musical instrument wish that they could. You can! You will forge new pathways in your brain.







Don’t smoke - smoking will decrease the blood supply to your brain.



















Your Muscles: . As we get older, our muscles grow weaker, and it’s important to work on staying as strong as possible. You don’t have to join a gym to keep your muscles strong, but if you do, enjoy your workouts. Walk daily, run in place, bike, dance, skip rope, garden, lift weights at home. Light weights are fine for beginners and many women. Resistance bands are useful. Invest in a few sessions with a personal trainer if you have never tried strength training. Take a class in yoga, Pilates, or dance. We have great classes in Bolinas. Use a standing desk so you don’t sit too much.







Vitamin D is important for muscle strength and to prevent falls and fractures. Many people benefit from taking 1000 IU daily as a supplement. Talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner about this. Keep your blood level of Vitamin D3 at 30 ng/ml or higher.







Don’t smoke - smoking will reduce the blood supply to your muscles and harm your lungs.



















Your Bones: Osteoporosis is common in women after menopause – it is defined as bones that are porous, brittle and subject to fracture. It can also occur in men as they age. Your doctor can arrange a test called DEXA, or bone densitometry, that can diagnose osteoporosis. There are various medicines that help with this problem. Whether or not you take a medicine, you should definitely eat a diet with adequate calcium, possibly take supplementary calcium (to be discussed with your doctor) and take Vitamin D as noted above. Good foods high in calcium include non-fat or low fat yogurt, calcium fortified soy milk, kale, collards, watercress, arugula, broccoli, okra, beans, almonds, sardines with their bones, and many others. Make bone soup, by adding vinegar to a bone broth to help release the calcium. Aim for a diet high in green vegetables, nuts and seeds. There is preliminary evidence that using olive oil as your main fat will help to preserve bone strength.







Exercise, especially walking, running, dancing and resistance exercises help keep bones strong. When your muscles contract, your bones react.







Don’t smoke – smoking will weaken your bones.







Here’s an exciting new development: UCSF now has a service for Skeletal Health in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, developed and staffed by Aenor Sawyer, MD, who is a Bolinas resident whenever she can break loose from work. Those of you who know Aenor are aware that she is as compassionate as she is expert, and the opportunity to visit her new service is truly a blessing.







Sadja Greenwood, MD. MPH

Olive Oil - What are its advantages?

New studies show some surprising benefits for olive oil, including a possible protective effect on bone. Spanish research, to be published in the October issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, shows that consumption of a Mediterranean diet enriched with olive oil is associated with increased serum osteocalcin and other bone formation markers. Osteocalcin is produced by bone cells called osteoblasts, and is used as a marker for bone formation. Prior to this study, it had been noted that the incidence of osteoporosis in Europe was lower in the Mediterranean basin. All subjects in this study were instructed to eat a Mediterranean diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, lean protein from fish, poultry, and beans, and whole grains instead of white flour bread and pasta. Olive oil was their added fat.

Another Spanish study in 2010 showed that the phenolic compounds in extra virgin olive oil change how genes function. Phenols are chemical compounds found in plants that have many unique properties. In conjunction with a Mediterranean diet, genes related to atherosclerosis were down regulated, and there was a positive impact on oxidation of fats and DNA, insulin resistance, inflammation, carcinogenesis and tumor suppression. Atherosclerosis is a disorder that occurs when fat, cholesterol and other substances build up in the walls of arteries and form hard structures called plaques. This diminishes blood flow and can lead to heart attack and stroke.

Breast cancer risk may also be modified by virgin olive oil. Spanish scientists at the University of Barcelona decoded the signals within breast tumor cells activated by olive oil, concluding that benefits include decrease in activity of an oncogene, and stimulation of tumor cell death. An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer, if activated by mutations in another gene or certain environmental factors. Olive oil also showed ability to prevent DNA damage. Corn oil and some other vegetable oils high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, can increase the aggressiveness of cancers.

Virgin olive oil is oil produced by crushing olives mechanically, with no chemical treatment. It has an acidity of less than 1.5%. Extra virgin olive oil comes from virgin olive oil and is lower in acidity (less than 0.8%) and is judged to have the best taste. Virgin olive oils contain the highest levels of phenolic compounds and anti-oxidants that have been linked with better health.

Using olive oil or canola oil on your salads will give you the best absorption of carotenes from colorful vegetables, according to a new study from Purdue University. Low fat and non-fat salad dressings resulted in minimal carotene absorption. Carotenes are pigments that occur in vegetables and fruits and have multiple healthy properties. Avocado is another healthy fat that enhances carotene absorption. If you do use canola oil, make sure that it is organic. Otherwise you will be using genetically modified canola that may be high in pesticides and herbicides, as ‘superweeds’ and resistant insects have evolved to make the application of Roundup less effective. More spraying is necessary.

Your vote in support of Proposition 37 in November will help to ensure that genetically modified food products are labeled in California. This is a huge issue for food companies, who have raised millions against the proposition. Stay tuned, and read the arguments on your ballot carefully.

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH back issues on this blog