A couple of years ago, I attended a seminar at OHSU on sleep and the brain. Now, perhaps this doesn't intrigue you, but what the lecturer had to say did surprise me.
First, he stated that having a cup of coffee in the morning, when you first wake up, was a wonderful stimulant to the brain - and, he said that having a donut along with that coffee did wonderful things to get your brain working. The third component, which many took issue with, was that a cigarette (only one, mind you) along with this 'breakfast' would also provide more stimulation, and help your brain begin the day in a most productive manner.
"Well," you say, "What has that to do with Dementia?!"
Well, after reading many blog posts, and from information I decided to look up, I found that coffee actually helps dementia patients function better, cognitively.
"Uh huh," you snort, "Riiiiiight!"
Well, let's take a gander at a report from the National Center for Biomedical Information. The study looked at mice, and realized there were significant positive effects from the consumption of caffeine. As a matter of fact, a daily dose of 5 cups of coffee, they state, could prevent or help treat AD patients! Isn't that interesting?
As a note, I know Mom has fewer than 3 cups per day. She just doesn't want any more - however, on Sundays, she gets another two, but I'm guessing at the 3 earlier, as I do not have breakfast with her. She does have a spark, though, right after breakfast - perhaps that's the presentation mode, and the fact she's excited she gets out to do something different!
"So?" you remark, "That is interesting, but you can't just force-feed people coffee."
That's true. But the studies on caffeine are actually interesting, when they also bring in diabetes, cholesterol, and other factors. But today, we're just going to worry about the dementia and what they're finding in some areas.
"What about tea?"
They aren't so sure about tea. Even though I've read that tea has more caffeine, there doesn't seem to be a correlation there. There is more to coffee than just the caffeine.
But Chocolate, now, they're finding that the caffeine and anti-oxidants in chocolate also demonstrate some good effects! In a Harvard study, it was found that the anti-oxidants from drinking 2 cups (no more) a day, of dark cocoa, helped improve memory and cognition! But be careful, as drinking too much could impair the brain from too many calories!
"So, you're saying I should drink 5 cups of coffee a day, and add in 2 cups of dark hot cocoa, to help keep my mind sharp?"
I'm not telling you to do anything of the sort! You're jumping the gun here - although I understand why. I'm simply relating some of the information that you might find intriguing - so that, perhaps, someday down the road of life, you might want to investigate a little and see if these help your head function a bit better.
<sigh> "Oh...I was hoping I could use you as an excuse."
Nope!
BUT - here's something that may shock you! Dare I say it?! Marijuana! Cannabis!
"DUDE!"
Stop Drooling! And stop making those crazy eyes!
"Are you going to tell me smoking a doobie can do something for me?"
Um, well......
Going back to the lecturer at the Brain Seminar, he did say that they found that one puff of a marijuana cigarette actually helped cognition levels in people who were demonstrating symptoms of dementia!
"So you're going to get your mom high? This I've got to see!"
NO! Now stop that!
I did a little digging. and to keep this post brief, I will bring up an Australian study that dealt with mice and cannibidiol.
"What's that?"
It's one of the active ingredients of marijuana. It's an anti-oxidant and an anti-inflammatory that showed remarkable results when injected into the mice who were showing preliminary AD symptoms. But the study is still ongoing and the results aren't definite at this time.
"You can inject weed?"
No, you goose! Cannibidiol is one of the active ingredients and is not associated with THC, which provides the psychotropic effects of marijuana. I'll keep my eye on this study, and others, and see what they find, though, for you.
"Duuuuuude! You're taking the fun out of it!"
Good.
Now, most of the above studies are illustrative of what I've read of late. I cannot guarantee any of these to be a cure, but it sure is interesting, isn't it?
First, he stated that having a cup of coffee in the morning, when you first wake up, was a wonderful stimulant to the brain - and, he said that having a donut along with that coffee did wonderful things to get your brain working. The third component, which many took issue with, was that a cigarette (only one, mind you) along with this 'breakfast' would also provide more stimulation, and help your brain begin the day in a most productive manner.
"Well," you say, "What has that to do with Dementia?!"
Well, after reading many blog posts, and from information I decided to look up, I found that coffee actually helps dementia patients function better, cognitively.
"Uh huh," you snort, "Riiiiiight!"
Well, let's take a gander at a report from the National Center for Biomedical Information. The study looked at mice, and realized there were significant positive effects from the consumption of caffeine. As a matter of fact, a daily dose of 5 cups of coffee, they state, could prevent or help treat AD patients! Isn't that interesting?
As a note, I know Mom has fewer than 3 cups per day. She just doesn't want any more - however, on Sundays, she gets another two, but I'm guessing at the 3 earlier, as I do not have breakfast with her. She does have a spark, though, right after breakfast - perhaps that's the presentation mode, and the fact she's excited she gets out to do something different!
"So?" you remark, "That is interesting, but you can't just force-feed people coffee."
That's true. But the studies on caffeine are actually interesting, when they also bring in diabetes, cholesterol, and other factors. But today, we're just going to worry about the dementia and what they're finding in some areas.
"What about tea?"
They aren't so sure about tea. Even though I've read that tea has more caffeine, there doesn't seem to be a correlation there. There is more to coffee than just the caffeine.
But Chocolate, now, they're finding that the caffeine and anti-oxidants in chocolate also demonstrate some good effects! In a Harvard study, it was found that the anti-oxidants from drinking 2 cups (no more) a day, of dark cocoa, helped improve memory and cognition! But be careful, as drinking too much could impair the brain from too many calories!
"So, you're saying I should drink 5 cups of coffee a day, and add in 2 cups of dark hot cocoa, to help keep my mind sharp?"
I'm not telling you to do anything of the sort! You're jumping the gun here - although I understand why. I'm simply relating some of the information that you might find intriguing - so that, perhaps, someday down the road of life, you might want to investigate a little and see if these help your head function a bit better.
<sigh> "Oh...I was hoping I could use you as an excuse."
Nope!
BUT - here's something that may shock you! Dare I say it?! Marijuana! Cannabis!
"DUDE!"
Stop Drooling! And stop making those crazy eyes!
"Are you going to tell me smoking a doobie can do something for me?"
Um, well......
Going back to the lecturer at the Brain Seminar, he did say that they found that one puff of a marijuana cigarette actually helped cognition levels in people who were demonstrating symptoms of dementia!
"So you're going to get your mom high? This I've got to see!"
NO! Now stop that!
I did a little digging. and to keep this post brief, I will bring up an Australian study that dealt with mice and cannibidiol.
"What's that?"
It's one of the active ingredients of marijuana. It's an anti-oxidant and an anti-inflammatory that showed remarkable results when injected into the mice who were showing preliminary AD symptoms. But the study is still ongoing and the results aren't definite at this time.
"You can inject weed?"
No, you goose! Cannibidiol is one of the active ingredients and is not associated with THC, which provides the psychotropic effects of marijuana. I'll keep my eye on this study, and others, and see what they find, though, for you.
"Duuuuuude! You're taking the fun out of it!"
Good.
Now, most of the above studies are illustrative of what I've read of late. I cannot guarantee any of these to be a cure, but it sure is interesting, isn't it?
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