研究表明，保持心臟健康可以防止大腦老化

研究表明，保持心臟健康可以防止大腦老化

If you want to keep your brain sharp and focused as you age, it's important to keep your heart healthy.

如果你想隨著年齡的增長保持頭腦敏銳和注意力集中，保持心臟健康是很重要的。

People with more risk factors for heart disease — such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity — experienced more cognitive decline than people with healthier hearts, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

周一發(fā)表在《美國心臟病學(xué)會雜志》上的一項(xiàng)研究表明，有更多心臟病風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素的人，如高血壓、高膽固醇、糖尿病和肥胖，比心臟健康的人更容易出現(xiàn)認(rèn)知能力下降。

"There are many specific cardiovascular risk factors, and each can either individually, or in combination, push the fast-forward button towards different aspects of cognitive decline," said Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian.

“有很多特定的心血管風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素，每一個(gè)因素都可以單獨(dú)或聯(lián)合作用，從不同方面快速推進(jìn)認(rèn)知能力下降，”威爾康奈爾醫(yī)學(xué)院和紐約長老會醫(yī)院阿爾茨海默氏癥預(yù)防診所主任理查德·艾薩克森博士說。

"This study focused on individual areas of cognition, such as memory and processing speed, and helps to clarify complex interrelationships between heart and brain health," said Isaacson, who was not involved in the study.

艾薩克森說：“這項(xiàng)研究側(cè)重于認(rèn)知的各個(gè)領(lǐng)域，如記憶和處理速度，有助于闡明心臟和大腦健康之間復(fù)雜的相互關(guān)系。” 他沒有參與這項(xiàng)研究。

The study followed over 1,500 dementia-free people with an average age of 79.5 for 21 years and found those at highest risk for poor heart health had faster declines in memory and the ability to compare letters, numbers, objects, pictures or patterns.

這項(xiàng)研究對1500多名平均年齡為79.5歲的無癡呆者進(jìn)行了21年的跟蹤調(diào)查，發(fā)現(xiàn)那些心臟健康狀況最差的人記憶力下降更快，比較字母、數(shù)字、物體、圖片或圖案的能力下降更快。

Some of those people also underwent brain scans, which found shrinkage of the brain's memory center, the hippocampus, and an increase of white spots in the brain associated with declines in functionality.

其中一些人還接受了腦部掃描，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)大腦記憶中心海馬體萎縮，大腦白點(diǎn)增多，這與功能減退有關(guān)。

"High blood pressure and diabetes can accelerate shrinkage of the brain. High cholesterol can increase the bad protein that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's.

“高血壓和糖尿病會加速大腦的收縮。”高膽固醇會增加在阿爾茨海默氏癥患者大腦中積累的不良蛋白質(zhì)。

How to lessen your chances of dementia

如何降低患癡呆癥的幾率

For those of us who want to improve our chances for a healthy brain in older age, "making active lifestyle changes and seeing a doctor who can help control modifiable risk factors -- such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and tobacco use," said Isaacson, "is our best bet to maintain optimal brain function."

艾薩克森說，對于我們中那些希望在老年期提高大腦健康機(jī)會的人來說，“積極改變生活方式，尋求可以幫助控制可改變的危險(xiǎn)因素的醫(yī)生，如高血壓、膽固醇、血糖和吸煙等，是我們保持最佳腦功能的最佳選擇。”

Here are some key ways to improve your heart health, and therefore your brain:

這里有一些關(guān)鍵的方法來改善你的心臟健康，從而改善你的大腦:

Exercise. A recent study finds you don't have to be young and in great shape to reap the benefits of exercise. It only took six months of aerobic exercise, four days a week, to improve thinking and verbal skills in a group of older adults.

鍛煉。最近的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn),你不需要年輕,也不需要身材好,才能獲得鍛煉的好處。在一組老年人中，每周4天的有氧運(yùn)動只需要6個(gè)月就可以提高他們的思維和語言能力。

Avoid transfats and other unhealthy fats. Trans fat has been linked to a 75% higher risk for Alzheimer's. While many companies have cut back, it can still be found in many processed foods and snacks so check food labels carefully.

避免反式脂肪和其他不健康的脂肪。反式脂肪會使患老年癡呆癥的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)增加75%。雖然許多公司已經(jīng)減少了添加量，但在許多加工食品和零食中仍然可以發(fā)現(xiàn)它，所以要仔細(xì)檢查食品標(biāo)簽。

Take care of your teeth. People with gum disease often have the same risk factors for heart disease, so be sure to brush and floss your teeth twice daily.

照顧好你的牙齒。患有牙齦疾病的人患心臟病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素通常是相同的，所以一定要每天刷牙和用牙線清潔牙齒兩次。

Improve your sleep. Poor sleep has been linked to cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension and diabetes. It can also increase plaquesthat cause artery blockage.

改善你的睡眠。睡眠不好與高血壓和糖尿病等心血管風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素有關(guān)。它也會增加引起動脈堵塞的斑塊。

Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says being exposed to secondhand smoke increases a non-smoker's risk of developing heart disease or stroke by about 30%.

停止吸煙，避免二手煙。美國疾病控制和預(yù)防中心表示，接觸二手煙會使非吸煙者患心臟病或中風(fēng)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)增加約30%。