WELLNESS TIP: Lower Your Risk of Alzheimer’s Diseases. Nourish Brain. Eat Nuts, Greens, Fruits and Proteins

Alzheimer’s disease may not be just for grandparents to worry about: Groundbreaking new research from Northwestern University has found that amyloid protein — a hallmark of the devastating disease — starts accumulating in brain neurons of people as young as 20 years old. Scientists believe this is the first time that such changes have been noted in human brains so young. In the study, lead researcher Changiz Geula and his team from the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and team analyzed neurons from the brains of 13 “normal” young people ages 20 to 66; 16 people ages 70 to 99 without dementia; and 21 people with Alzheimer’s, ages 60 to 95.

WELLNESS TIP: Mediterranean Diet is Good for your Heart. Eat Fruits, Veggies and Whole Grains

Researchers gathered data from 2,500 Greek adults age 18 and 89 from 2001 to 2012. Participants also provided a wealth of information on their lifestyle, medical history and dietary habits before the study began, five years into the research and again at the end of the study. Participants’ adherence to the Med diet was scored on a 1 to 55 scale. Taking into account other factors that would affect risk, those who earned marks in the top third had a 47 percent lower chance of getting heart disease over the 10-year period compared to those who fell in the bottom third. Each one-point increase or decrease in the adherence score resulted in a roughly three percent fluctuation in heart disease risk.

WELLNESS TIP: Include Olive Oil and Red WIne in your Diet to Protect your Heart

“Healthy fats like olive oil and avocado are staples, choosing these over butter and margarine,” “Modest dairy intake daily is also acceptable, like an ounce of cheese or a cup of Greek yogurt, as well as a glass of red wine a day.”