*DEMENTIA - HOW TO AVOID IT

To help ward off dementia, train your brain: *The minute you said you are
retired, Dementia starts!!

Timing is everything, comedians say. It's also important when it comes to
taking care of your brain. Yet most of us start worrying about dementia
after retirement - and that may be too little, too late. Experts say that
if you really want to ward off dementia, you need to start taking care of
your brain in your 30s and or even earlier.

"More and more research is suggesting that lifestyle is very important to
your brain's health," says Dr Paul Nussbaum, a neuropsychologist and an
adjunct associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of
Medicine "If you want to live a long, healthy life, then many of us need to
start as early as we can.

"So what can you do to beef up your brain ? and possibly ward off
dementia?"

Dr Nussbaum, who recently gave a speech on the topic for the Winter Park
(Fla.) Health Foundation, offers

20 tips that may help

1.*Join clubs or organizations that need volunteers*.
If you start volunteering now, you won't feel lost and unneeded after you
retire.

2.*Develop a hobby or two*.
Hobbies help you develop a robust brain because you're trying something new
and complex.

3.*Practice writing with your non-dominant hand several minutes every day*.
This will exercise the opposite side of your brain and fire up those
neurons.

4.*Take dance lessons*.
In a study of nearly 500 people, dancing was the only regular physical
activity associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of
dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. The people who danced three or
four times a week showed 76% less incidence of dementia than those who
danced only once a week or not at all.

5.*Need a hobby? *Start gardening*.
Researchers in New Zealand found that, of 1,000 people, those who gardened
regularly were less likely to suffer from dementia. Not only does gardening
reduce stress, but gardeners use their brains to plan garden they use
visual and spatial reasoning to lay out a garden.

6.*Buy a pedometer and walk 10,000 steps a day*.
Walking daily can reduce the risk of dementia because cardio vascular
health is important to maintain blood flow to the brain.

7.*Read and write daily*.
Reading stimulates a wide variety of brain areas that process and store
information. Likewise, writing (not copying) stimulates many areas of the
brain as well.

8.*Start knitting*.
Using both hands works both sides of your brain. And it's a stress
reducer...

9.*Learn a new language*.
Whether it's a foreign language or sign language, you are working your
brain by making it go back and forth between one language and the other. A
researcher in England found that being bilingual seemed to delay symptoms
of Alzheimer's disease for four years. (And some research suggests that
the earlier a child learns sign language, the higher his IQ - and people
with high IQs are less likely to have dementia. So start them early.)

10.*Play board games such as Scrabble and Monopoly*.
Not only are you taxing your brain, you're socializing too. (Playing solo
games, such as solitaire or online computer brain games can be helpful, but
Dr Nussbaum prefers games that encourage you to socialize too.) *MAHJONG IS
GOOD!* besides which there is the incentive of $$$.

11.*Take classes throughout your lifetime*.
Learning produces structural and chemical changes in the brain, and
education appears to help people live longer. Brain researchers have found
that people with advanced degrees live longer - and if they do have
Alzheimer's, it often becomes apparent only in the very later stages of the
disease.

12.*Listen to classical music*.
A growing volume of research suggests that music may hardwire the brain,
building links between the two hemispheres. Any kind of music may work,
but there's some research that shows positive effects for classical music,
though researchers don't understand why.

13.*Learn a musical instrument*.
It may be harder than it was when you were a kid, but you'll be developing
a dormant part of your brain.

14.*Travel.*
When you travel (whether it's to a distant vacation spot or on a different
route across town), you're forcing your brain to navigate a new and complex
environment. A study of London taxi drivers found experienced drivers had
larger brains because they have to store lots of information about
locations and how to navigate there.

15.*Pray*.
Daily prayer appears to help your immune system. And people who attend a
formal worship service regularly live longer and report happier, healthier
lives...

16. *Learn to meditate*.
It's important for your brain that you learn to shut out the stresses of
everyday life.

17.*Get enough sleep*.
Studies have shown a link between interrupted sleep and dementia.

18.*Eat more foods containing omega-3 fatty acids*.
Salmon, sardines, tuna, ocean trout, mackerel or herring, plus walnuts
(higher in omega 3s than salmon) and flaxseed. Flaxseed oil, cod liver oil
and walnut oil are good sources too.

19.*Eat more fruits and vegetables*.
Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables mop up some of the damage caused by
free radicals, one of the leading killers of brain cells.

20.*Eat at least one meal a day with family and friends*.
You'll slow down, socialize, and research shows you'll eat healthier food
than if you ate alone or on the go.

21.*In addition, I think receiving and distributing e-mails every day helps
the brain function and exercise !!*

Provided by Ruby Chua