Derval O'Rourke: Brain health and reducing the risk of dementia

Plus: a handy, healthy lentil & cod dahl recipe for your tummy and your brain

"Our brain is like a muscle, the more we work it out, the stronger it becomes"

Have you ever considered the health of your brain? 

I first met Leonie Grant (pharmacist from Grant’s Pharmacy) in a women in business networking group, we hit it off immediately. Recently we chatted about brain health and Leonie shared some thoughts on this for my column. There is also a show-stopping fish recipe that will feed your tummy and your brain!

Dementia cases are on the rise and Leonie has shared the signs, symptoms and how we can reduce the risks of developing dementia.

Leonie explains: “In our pharmacies, we talk to people every day who are worried about their brain health. There are millions of families worldwide dealing with dementia themselves or supporting a loved one who has the disease.”

What is Dementia?

Dementia is an umbrella term for describing the signs and symptoms of a decrease in brain health. Eventually, this begins to affect daily life and the person suffering from the disease requires a lot of support.

Dementia is when the cells in your brain slowly and progressively deteriorate and things you could always do, slowly disappear.

Although there are very few cures for the condition of dementia (some drugs help with memory loss but don’t cure the disease itself), there are steps we can take to help reduce the risk. Currently, 50m people suffer from dementia worldwide and this is expected to treble by 2050.

What are the signs and symptoms?

Symptoms can vary depending on the particular type of Dementia and how long the person has suffered with it. Some of the main symptoms can be:

• Loss of Function (walking, talking)
• Memory Loss
• Confusion
• Appetite
• Changes in personality
• Hearing problems

There are two main factors that are out of our control, our age and our genetic history. However, there are quite a few steps we can take to increase our brain health and reduce the likelihood of suffering from dementia.

Here are 6 top tips for increasing our brain health:

1. Diet: Great “brain food”, dark coloured blueberries, red cabbage, red grapes, tomatoes, carrots – all contain anthocyanins – antioxidants will mop up the bad fellas that would otherwise cause a deterioration in brain health.

2. Vitamin E: Nuts and seeds – take naturally not just in a supplement. There are 8 different types of Vitamin E – so not every supplement will have all the different types.

3. Turmeric: a great supplement.

4. Sleep: A good sleep routine is vital to rest the brain from a busy day and recharge.

5. Weight: A healthy level is an important one. Something as small as a walk every day encourages blood flow, helps with cognitive activity and fresh air into the lungs.

6. Vitamin D: Get it naturally from things such as oily fish and lots of sunshine.

Risk Factors:

There are a few risk factors that can increase the risk of dementia; addressing them can greatly reduce this risk.

• Diabetes: If you have diabetes, it is important to make sure it is being managed correctly. Make sure you are checking in with your doctor regularly.
• Depression: If you are suffering from depression, please reach out to your pharmacist or G.P who can start you on a plan to manage your mental health.
• Alcohol: Consuming too much alcohol affects your cardiovascular system (how your blood is distributed around your body) – If you have high blood pressure or cholesterol you really need to keep this to a minimum.
• Smoking: We all know the risks of smoking. In the case of dementia, it restricts the flow of blood in the body. Smokers are at a higher risk of dementia because of this.

Our brain is like a muscle, the more we work it out, the stronger it becomes. Doing things like puzzles, sudoku, learning a new language and even meeting new people are all great ways of working out our brains.

Lentil & Cod Dahl

A handy dahl for any household - and a good way to use spare ingredients!

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 45 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Indian

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coconut oil

• 1 onion, finely sliced

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• ½ red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

• a thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• ½ tsp dried cumin

• ½ tsp medium curry powder

• 125g puy (dark green) lentils

• 1 tbsp tomato purée

• 400ml water

• salt and pepper

• 2 x 180g cod fillets, skinned and pin boned

• 2 tbsp Greek or natural yoghurt, to garnish

• chopped fresh coriander, to garnish

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.

2. Heat the coconut oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes, until softened.

3. Add the garlic, chilli, ginger and spices and cook for 1 minute, stirring all the time. Stir in the lentils, tomato purée and water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 35 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, season the cod fillets, wrap them in foil and place them on an ovenproof dish. Bake for about 25 minutes.

5. When the dahl is cooked, check the seasoning and ladle it into warmed serving bowls. Place the cooked cod on top and garnish with the Greek yoghurt and coriander.