Posted on 09/15/2008 7:30:36 AM PDT by Reaganesque
MELBOURNE: Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain-with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.
Vegans and vegetarians are the most likely to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause anaemia and inflammation of the nervous system. Yeast extracts are one of the few vegetarian foods which provide good levels of the vitamin.
The link was discovered by Oxford University scientists who used memory tests, physical checks and brain scans to examine 107 people between the ages of 61 and 87.
When the volunteers were retested five years later the medics found those with the lowest levels of vitamin B12 were also the most likely to have brain shrinkage. It confirms earlier research showing a link between brain atrophy and low levels of B12.
Brain scans of more than 1,800 people found that people who downed 14 drinks or more a week had 1.6% more brain shrinkage than teetotallers. Women in their seventies were the most at risk.
Beer does less damage than wine according to a study in Alcohol and Alcoholism.
Researchers found that the hippocampus-the part of the brain that stores memories - was 10% smaller in beer drinkers than those who stuck to wine.
And being overweight or obese is linked to brain loss, Swedish researchers discovered. Scans of around 300 women found that those with brain shrink had an average body mass index of 27 And for every one point increase in their BMI the loss rose by 13 to 16%.
,,, with a spinich puree.
~~ sorry no. With a baked potato with lotsa butter and sour cream and a tossed green salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.
Shrinks the brain? Damn! Which one?
SEE I TOLD YOU!
Now you owe me an apology for all those hours spent alone at the table with broccoli or carrots on my plate. I was only trying to save my brain cells.
Don’t know if this makes any diff, but I live on a farm where cattle have calves. These little calves, while still suckling, seem to be inquistiive, alert, downright smart at times. But when they start to live on just grass they consume, with no protein from milk, they become docile, dull, and downright slow-witted. The stories I could relate, about curious calves and thier mischiefs ...
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