News from the World of Medicine: Foods that Fight Dementia, Why Stress Relief Is the Best Foreplay and More

The latest in medical research and health news you need to know

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The latest in medical research and health news you need to know

Foods that Fight Dementia

Foods that have been documented to be good for the heart are good for the brain too. Researchers from Harvard University and various institutions in China worked together to examine data from more than 10,000 people age 55 and over who were tracked for five years. They found that the people who ate three or more servings of vegetables and two or more servings of fruit each day performed best on brain tests and maintained those ­results over time. Cruciferous vegetables (think Brussels sprouts, cauliflower), green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach), and red and yellow vege­tables (beets, squash) were most protective. In a separate study, researchers found that Americans with a higher intake of olive oil had a lower risk of dementia-­related death.

Two Secrets to Good Skin

South Korea is a country obsessed with skin care, so when it does a study on how much water to drink for healthy-looking skin, people listen. Researchers in Busan, South Korea, looked at 43 women in their 20s, 30s and 40s. The women were divided into groups depending on how much water they consumed each day, and how many times a day they applied moisturizer. After four weeks, the researchers measured the skin surface hydration on various parts of the body. The results, ­published in Annals of Dermatology, were that higher water intake led to moister skin. But water alone wasn’t enough to produce major changes in skin health and appearance; the women needed to supplement their water drinking with a regular moisturizer regimen. 

Walk to Boost Bones

The longer you walk, the stronger your bones will be. That’s the conclusion of a study published in Osteoporosis International that looked at data from ­almost 25,000 older adults’ outdoor walking habits. After three years, res...

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