Lifestyle, not age, rules cognitive function...

haidut

Member
Forum Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Messages
19,798
Location
USA / Europe
...whether you are 18 or 80. Yes, I know it is hard to believe this statement but that is the conclusion of the study after examining the link between lifestyle (and environment) and cognitive function in a group of people with ages spanning the 18-89 years interval. The conclusion of the study was that an 80-year old one can be just as sharp as a person decades younger provided the "oldie" has at least a high school education, does not smoke, does not abuse drugs, does not have traumatic brain injury (TBI) or diabetes/depression. So, very little about cognitive function seems to be linked to genes or age, rather than to making health-promoting choices. Here is another choice the article did not mention but is probably much more important than the ones it did mention - avoiding professional medicine. Unbeknownst to most people, iatrogenic reasons are the THIRD leading cause of death in Western countries!

So, just avoiding going to the doctor (unless it is an emergency) would add more years to your life than eliminating completely stroke (cerebrovascular diseases), Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, infectious disease, kidney disease ...COMBINED! Yeah, I think 'nuff said:):

The adverse effect of modifiable dementia risk factors on cognition amplifies across the adult lifespan - PubMed
Baycrest study reveals whether you’re 18 or 80, lifestyle may be more important than age in determining dementia risk

"...Individuals with no dementia risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes or hearing loss, have similar brain health as people who are 10 to 20 years younger than them, according to a new Baycrest study. The study found that a single dementia risk factor could reduce cognition by the equivalent of up to three years of aging. “Our results suggest lifestyle factors may be more important than age in determining someone’s level of cognitive functioning. This is great news, since there’s a lot you can do to modify these factors, such as managing diabetes, addressing hearing loss, and getting the support you need to quit smoking,” says Dr. Annalise LaPlume, Postdoctoral Fellow at Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute (RRI) and the study’s lead author."
 
Last edited:
OP
haidut

haidut

Member
Forum Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Messages
19,798
Location
USA / Europe
Joined
Mar 10, 2021
Messages
21,494
Thanks. I updated the post with some links on the iatrogenic issue.
I know when my dad, who has Alzheimer’s, stays with me for weeks at a time and eats my better diet, he becomes very normal. My friends don’t see any signs of Alzheimer’s, but when he goes back to his friends and lifestyle they don’t believe what we see. He eats a lot of dollar store cheap milk and food and a lot of bar fried foods.

I like what the study says here, proving my point…..

“Our results suggest lifestyle factors may be more important than age in determining someone’s level of cognitive functioning. This is great news, since there’s a lot you can do to modify these factors, such as managing diabetes, addressing hearing loss, and getting the support you need to quit smoking,” says Dr. Annalise LaPlume, Postdoctoral Fellow at Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute (RRI) and the study’s lead author.

The study is one of the first to look at lifestyle risk factors for dementia across the entire lifespan.”
 

animalcule

Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2019
Messages
360
Thanks for the links!
My recent run in w/the medical community: I had/have a serious dermatitis-like condition around my eyes - swollen eyelids, burn-like rash around both eyes, itching, skin peeling. I tried topical coconut oil, castor oil, manuka honey, and even an old ophthalmic hydrocortisone ointment (it helped initially, but the rash was way worse whenever I stopped using it). I finally make an appointment to see an eye doctor, but in the meantime take advice to put vaseline on it, and take Benadryl. I also take zinc and high dose vitamin C. The eyes immediately start clearing up. But I still saw the eye doctor, and guess what she prescribed? ... Topical coconut oil, castor oil, manuka honey, and an ophthalmic steroid ointment (plus an eyelid wash)... :/

Me: I already tried coconut oil, castor oil, and manuka honey. The first two did nothing, and the manuka honey made it worse.
Doctor: Well then you're allergic to manuka honey.
Me: I also tried an ophthalmic steroid ointment, but as soon as I stopped using it, the rash came back MUCH worse. Do I need to taper the ointment use as I come off of it? To avoid another "rebound" of this condition?
Doctor: No need to taper, these ophthalmic ointments contain such a low dose of steroids that tapering is unnecessary.
Me: .... Ok... well, what has seemed to work best at clearing this up has been Benadryl. I'm assuming I should keep taking that?
Doctor: Only if you want to. [ie, it's not necessary, my treatment will cure this.]
Me: .... Ok, thanks.

So... yea. I probably could have avoided that visit (and my follow up visit) altogether, and been in pretty much the same spot I am now.
 
Joined
Mar 10, 2021
Messages
21,494
Thanks for the links!
My recent run in w/the medical community: I had/have a serious dermatitis-like condition around my eyes - swollen eyelids, burn-like rash around both eyes, itching, skin peeling. I tried topical coconut oil, castor oil, manuka honey, and even an old ophthalmic hydrocortisone ointment (it helped initially, but the rash was way worse whenever I stopped using it). I finally make an appointment to see an eye doctor, but in the meantime take advice to put vaseline on it, and take Benadryl. I also take zinc and high dose vitamin C. The eyes immediately start clearing up. But I still saw the eye doctor, and guess what she prescribed? ... Topical coconut oil, castor oil, manuka honey, and an ophthalmic steroid ointment (plus an eyelid wash)... :/

Me: I already tried coconut oil, castor oil, and manuka honey. The first two did nothing, and the manuka honey made it worse.
Doctor: Well then you're allergic to manuka honey.
Me: I also tried an ophthalmic steroid ointment, but as soon as I stopped using it, the rash came back MUCH worse. Do I need to taper the ointment use as I come off of it? To avoid another "rebound" of this condition?
Doctor: No need to taper, these ophthalmic ointments contain such a low dose of steroids that tapering is unnecessary.
Me: .... Ok... well, what has seemed to work best at clearing this up has been Benadryl. I'm assuming I should keep taking that?
Doctor: Only if you want to. [ie, it's not necessary, my treatment will cure this.]
Me: .... Ok, thanks.

So... yea. I probably could have avoided that visit (and my follow up visit) altogether, and been in pretty much the same spot I am now.
When did this all all start? Have you bought new prescription glasses or sunglasses?
 

animalcule

Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2019
Messages
360
When did this all all start? Have you bought new prescription glasses or sunglasses?
I've had little patches on and off for a couple of years that eventually go away. But I think what really set it off this time was repainting my bedroom -- I must be allergic to something in the paint. And then I used the steroid ointment (before I realized it was an allergic reactions), which definitely *can* cause a rebound effect, and that make it much worse.

Edit: is there something in the materials in certain glasses that can cause reactions like this?
 
Joined
Mar 10, 2021
Messages
21,494
I've had little patches on and off for a couple of years that eventually go away. But I think what really set it off this time was repainting my bedroom -- I must be allergic to something in the paint. And then I used the steroid ointment (before I realized it was an allergic reactions), which definitely *can* cause a rebound effect, and that make it much worse.

Edit: is there something in the materials in certain glasses that can cause reactions like this?

Yes! Because it is just around your eyes it is a big possibility it can be eye glasses...

“A frame that contains nickel, palladium, or titanium can cause an allergic reaction. Some people's skin reacts to a plasticizer, UV stabilizer, or varnish used to make the glasses. If you can, wear contact lenses instead of glasses for a while. If the rash clears, it may be time to switch frames.”


 
Joined
Mar 10, 2021
Messages
21,494
Edit: is there something in the materials in certain glasses that can cause reactions like this?

Here is a post I created telling of some of my experience with rashes from furniture. I have also had problems with chemicals in clothing that I sleeping in, and when I get hit them it really activates the chemicals. So I only sleep in 100% cotton now.

 
OP
haidut

haidut

Member
Forum Supporter
Joined
Mar 18, 2013
Messages
19,798
Location
USA / Europe
hydrocortisone ointment (it helped initially, but the rash was way worse whenever I stopped using it).

Very common for pretty much all gluccorticoid drugs/treatments. Here is one reason why.

Good call on the Benadryl. Also, topical pregnenolone and/or progesterone can replace the corticoid ointment and should not result in rebound inflammation even if you stop using them.
 

Rafe

Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2016
Messages
737
Staying away from medical treatments improved my health & outlook as much as any other peat-inspired thing.

It’s only when I could live without it that I saw how dependent I had thought I was on it. Sure, pain would require special treatment. But outside of extremes where a person is so broken that surgery is a relative improvement, keeping out of the doctors’ offices works.

It was also the single hardest thing to commit to. At first.
 
Joined
Mar 10, 2021
Messages
21,494
Staying away from medical treatments improved my health & outlook as much as any other peat-inspired thing.

It’s only when I could live without it that I saw how dependent I had thought I was on it. Sure, pain would require special treatment. But outside of extremes where a person is so broken that surgery is a relative improvement, keeping out of the doctors’ offices works.

It was also the single hardest thing to commit to. At first.
Good for you Rafe!
 

Regina

Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2016
Messages
6,511
Location
Chicago
Staying away from medical treatments improved my health & outlook as much as any other peat-inspired thing.

It’s only when I could live without it that I saw how dependent I had thought I was on it. Sure, pain would require special treatment. But outside of extremes where a person is so broken that surgery is a relative improvement, keeping out of the doctors’ offices works.

It was also the single hardest thing to commit to. At first.
That's great that you found that freedom.
 

Lilac

Member
Joined
May 6, 2014
Messages
636
Eyeglass frames might have acrylics in them. My mother had always been allergic to nail polish (acrylics often an ingredient). She once bought a pair of drugstore sunglasses that made ringlike welts where they touched. Once she bought sandals that did the same to her feet.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom