A very real concern! (becoming forgetful)

hollydolly said:
yes the oven is my Achilles heel... I take the food out but don't turn the oven off until I'm sure the food is thoroughly cooked...and if it isn't back in it goes.. but I very often forget to turn the oven off if the food is ready when I take it out the first time...

That's one thing if I'm home and I see it an hour later when I go into the kitchen, and altho' it hasn't happened yet , I'm very concerned I'll leave the house one day with the oven still on.. so like you Aunt Bea..I find myself double and triple checking things sometimes to ensure I've done it. and honestly that's one thing that does make me feel OLD
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It doesn't hurt to double and triple check things. You are cognizant of your environment. That is half the battle in my opinion. :)
 

Recently read a bestseller by a top neuroscience researcher Lisa Genova, Remember. She relates general senior temporary forgetting phenomenon is common and not related to Alzheimers. I temporarily forget minor things all the time. If something is important to remember later, I take more steps to ensure remembering.

A typical trivial episode this week, I walked downstairs in my residence twice to grab something, only to be distracted by other things downstairs then forgetting the prime reason I had gone down to grab a pair of eyeglasses. It isn't that we have permanently forgotten whatever but rather the executive control part of our brain, our pilot, loses the ability to with certainty readily recall things we have in recent minutes been thinking about and focused on. Usually if one relaxes, it just takes a few minutes for the mind to return to whatever thought.
 
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IFortuna said:
I would check with a licensed physician, however, since I have been practicing intermittent fasting, my mental acuity has increased substantially. Just sayin'. Please do check with a doctor first though. You may have other issues of concern regarding your question. :)
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Your mental acuity has not increased from fasting.
You're forgetting to eat. :ROFLMAO:
 

Old Salt said:
do the weirdest things, like trying to shove oven mitts into the fridge (as I did a few moments ago) etc. etc. Should I worry about Alzheimers or is it a natural symptom of aging?
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I found this on the Hopkins Medicine site:

"We all misplace things. And yes, on a busy morning we may even put the cornflakes box in the refrigerator if we’re moving too fast. It’s normal to put things in the wrong spot, and it’s normal to catch the mistake or retrace our steps to find the keys sitting on top of today’s stack of mail.
What’s not: Being unable to figure out where lost belongings might be, putting things in more and more unusual places and starting to suspect—without evidence—that people have stolen your missing possessions."
 
There is hope for us yet. Researchers at UCSF turned elderly mice into teenagers almost overnight. Don't rush out and buy the drug they used -- could be dangerous, and might turn you into a mouse, but research continues. (-8

"Drug Reverses Age-Related Mental Decline Within Days
Rapid Rejuvenation of Mental Faculties in Aged Mice Implicates Reversible Physiological ‘Blockage’ Behind Age-Related Cognitive Losses"
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/12/419201/drug-reverses-age-related-mental-decline-within-days
 
ElCastor said:
There is hope for us yet. Researchers at UCSF turned elderly mice into teenagers almost overnight. Don't rush out and buy the drug they used -- could be dangerous, and might turn you into a mouse, but research continues. (-8

"Drug Reverses Age-Related Mental Decline Within Days
Rapid Rejuvenation of Mental Faculties in Aged Mice Implicates Reversible Physiological ‘Blockage’ Behind Age-Related Cognitive Losses"
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/12/419201/drug-reverses-age-related-mental-decline-within-days
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This sure sounds promising. Can't find any info on whether there are any human trials yet.
 
David777 said:
Recently read a bestseller by a top neuroscience researcher Lisa Genova, Remember. She relates general senior temporary forgetting phenomenon is common and not related to Alzheimers. I temporarily forget minor things all the time. If something is important to remember later, I take more steps to ensure remembering.
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Thanks for the tip. I just ordered a copy from my library.
 
Old Salt said:
I am 85 years old and will forget something I was going to do almost immediately. It does come back to me eventually! Also, some words I always knew now don't come to mind despite my best efforts. I don't think I suffer from reduced intelligence but do the weirdest things, like trying to shove oven mitts into the fridge (as I did a few moments ago) etc. etc. Should I worry about Alzheimers or is it a natural symptom of aging? Any ideas?
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I'll be 65 soon, and I have noticed that when I'm stressed or in a hurry, or my mind is on a number of things, I switch to autopilot and autopilot doesn't always perform perfectly. This particularly happens when I'm driving, and daydreaming, and will pass the street I'm supposed to turn on. Of course I see what just happened and have to backtrack. It doesn't bother me, though. This has been happening for years. When someone else is in the car with me, I ask them to pay attention to the road because I know I'll be too busy talking to them and will probably miss my turn, lol.

I also read somewhere that medicines can make people forgetful, particularly as they age and take more medicines. That's something to be aware of.

Over the years, I have done little tricks to keep me on track -
TIMER
1) Cooking - I ALWAYS use a timer. Every single time. Sometimes I have two timers going, one for the oven and the other for the microwave, etc.
2) If I have an appointment, I write it on my desk calendar, and use a timer the day of the appointment - I give myself 10-15 minutes before the appointment to make sure I have time to get on my shoes, find the keys, get into the car, etc. Sometimes I'll be quicker than the timer and leave before it goes off, then come home to find the timer still ringing. I laugh when I see that!
3) I exercise my brain by making a list in my head (without writing it down) and make it a point to do what's on the list.
4) I play CROSSWORDS every day.
5) For my medicine - Morning medicines are always at the breakfast table, and in the morning I take them out and put on my napkin. By the time I finish breakfast, the medicines are gone. Evening medicines go on a tray table where I sit and knit in the evenings and watch a movie. I have done it enough times that I remember to take my evening meds.

Hope this helped! Good luck!:)
 
IFortuna said:
I would check with a licensed physician, however, since I have been practicing intermittent fasting, my mental acuity has increased substantially. Just sayin'. Please do check with a doctor first though. You may have other issues of concern regarding your question. :)
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Interesting! I used to intermittently fast to increase my HGH levels for weight lifting. Intermittent fasting will also trigger the body to increase it's autophagy activity...maybe your mental acuity has benefited as a result. :unsure:
 
Three of my 4 children tell me I'm getting forgetful
but I just blame it on them because who can keep track which of the 4 I've told what to?? ;)

And they tell me that they have to repeat things because I'm not focused
and I just tell them they're mumbling and to annunciate the end of each word☺️

Then there are those moments where I'm the only one to blame. Busted :rolleyes:

Then I know what I have to do. Wait for it....
 
Being forgetful is one thing, but having out and out dementia or Alzheimer's is another altogether. While we may be a bit quirky and eccentric at times and preoccupied, it's when we are not aware of the world around us that causes concern. Wandering aimlessly and not recognizing the area we are in is very worrisome and indicative of real changes in our brain matter. We lose many thousands of brain cells normally each day and these are never replaced, but actual loss of cognizance is something entirely different. As long as we are interacting and recognizing that we come up short memory wise on occasion is nothing serious at all. What we do at times can even be humorous as long as we come out of our short comings safely.
 
ElCastor said:
Something else that might be worth looking into -- cocoa flavonoids. Possibly helpful for the brain and also the heart. The following site has links to several articles on the subject:
"Enhancing Human Cognition with Cocoa Flavonoids"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5432604/
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Cocoa, as in chocolate? No need to give me the hard sell on that one... :love: Even better news for chocoholics? More seems to be better!

From the article (bold emphasis is mine):

"In this respect, the daily consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa drink has been showed to positively affect cognition, leading to improvements in cognitive performance both in older adults with early memory decline (36) and in cognitively intact elderly subjects (39). Specifically, compared to the low-flavanol condition (48 mg), the chronic administration of intermediate (520 mg) and high (993 mg) cocoa flavanols content over an 8-week period was associated to improvements in processing speed, executive function, and working memory in subjects with mild cognitive impairment. At higher cocoa flavanols concentrations, significant improvements were also evident in a verbal fluency task. Interestingly, such cognitive beneficial effects were paralleled by improvements in blood pressure and insulin resistance, suggesting a role of endothelial function and glucose sensitivity in modulating cognitive function in these patients (36). More recently, similar findings were replicated in healthy aged participants. Subjects in the intermediate and high cocoa flavanols groups, after a daily consumption over an 8-week period, showed better performance in several cognitive domains compared to those in the low-flavanol group (39).

By contrast, in healthy older adults a 6-week cocoa flavanols intervention showed no significant effects on cognitive and cardiovascular outcomes (34). In this study, however, participants were administered chocolate bar or beverage containing 397 or 357 mg flavanols, respectively; insufficient flavanols content may therefore account for the negative finding."
 
win231 said:
I think we tend to forget that our memory ages along with the rest of us.
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There are ways to combat this. One is to get that blood pumping to the brain I understand. :)
Old Salt said:
I am 85 years old and will forget something I was going to do almost immediately. It does come back to me eventually! Also, some words I always knew now don't come to mind despite my best efforts. I don't think I suffer from reduced intelligence but do the weirdest things, like trying to shove oven mitts into the fridge (as I did a few moments ago) etc. etc. Should I worry about Alzheimers or is it a natural symptom of aging? Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Recent research reveals that targeting an enzyme called BACE1 can “completely reverse” the buildup of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.Feb 14, 2018 As we age, we all seem to have brain plaque but now there is promising help.
Nathan said:
Interesting! I used to intermittently fast to increase my HGH levels for weight lifting. Intermittent fasting will also trigger the body to increase it's autophagy activity...maybe your mental acuity has benefited as a result. :unsure:
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Yes. Yesterday I went 36 hours before having my one meal a day OMAD. Yes there are amazing benefits from fasting. I usually only need 3 or 4 hours sleep at night but I like to get 6. I am up until 3, 4, 5, 6 and even 7 a.m. It varies. 😜 😇
 
StarSong said:
I'd have to be very ill to skip eating for 36 hours.
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It is easier than you think. Although I did not have the keto foods recommended during fasting, I never got hungry after a while. I drink a lot of liquids which helps to keep me going and I take vitamins with my OMAD meal. Everybody is different I still have a good amount of fat stores that keep me going LOL 🤣 Don't count the fiber as a carb just the sugars, starches, etc. Fat also helps to assuage hunger. I love real butter. Sometimes I just slice off a chunk of cold Kerrygold and pop it in my mouth. The fat is good for assimilating the Vitamin D3/K2 that I take. It really is easy. Watch some of the videos on YouTube for tips if you like. 😇
 
IFortuna said:
It is easier than you think. Although I did not have the keto foods recommended during fasting, I never got hungry after a while. I drink a lot of liquids which helps to keep me going and I take vitamins with my OMAD meal. Everybody is different I still have a good amount of fat stores that keep me going LOL 🤣 Don't count the fiber as a carb just the sugars, starches, etc. Fat also helps to assuage hunger. I love real butter. Sometimes I just slice off a chunk of cold Kerrygold and pop it in my mouth. The fat is good for assimilating the Vitamin D3/K2 that I take. It really is easy. Watch some of the videos on YouTube for tips if you like. 😇
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Interesting but nine years ago I moved to a whole food plant based diet with few added oils/fats. Keeps my weight in the 21 BMI range and my blood work in reasonably good shape. My brain seems to be working well.

Big benefit - I get to eat every 3-4 hours and have snacks. Plenty of potatoes, bread and other starches, along with fruit and LOTS of vegetables. :cool:

From TG-New Years I indulge in dairy, but rarely do so the rest of the year.
 
StarSong said:
Cocoa, as in chocolate? No need to give me the hard sell on that one... :love: Even better news for chocoholics? More seems to be better!

From the article (bold emphasis is mine):

"In this respect, the daily consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa drink has been showed to positively affect cognition, leading to improvements in cognitive performance both in older adults with early memory decline (36) and in cognitively intact elderly subjects (39). Specifically, compared to the low-flavanol condition (48 mg), the chronic administration of intermediate (520 mg) and high (993 mg) cocoa flavanols content over an 8-week period was associated to improvements in processing speed, executive function, and working memory in subjects with mild cognitive impairment. At higher cocoa flavanols concentrations, significant improvements were also evident in a verbal fluency task. Interestingly, such cognitive beneficial effects were paralleled by improvements in blood pressure and insulin resistance, suggesting a role of endothelial function and glucose sensitivity in modulating cognitive function in these patients (36). More recently, similar findings were replicated in healthy aged participants. Subjects in the intermediate and high cocoa flavanols groups, after a daily consumption over an 8-week period, showed better performance in several cognitive domains compared to those in the low-flavanol group (39).

By contrast, in healthy older adults a 6-week cocoa flavanols intervention showed no significant effects on cognitive and cardiovascular outcomes (34). In this study, however, participants were administered chocolate bar or beverage containing 397 or 357 mg flavanols, respectively; insufficient flavanols content may therefore account for the negative finding."
Click to expand...
Chocolate, particularly milk chocolate, that we consume as a treat is likely high in sugar and not so generous in flavanols. Maybe it has to be acquired and treated like a supplement. Not so much fun, but that which is good for you seldom is. (-8
 
I'm 61 and have put the wrong thing in the wrong place. Not often but I have. I have meant to make another stop then realized I drove right past the place and never stopped. When I was in my 30's, I was driving on the interstate and didn't realize I missed my turn off miles back until I saw the casino to my left!
 
IFortuna said:
It is easier than you think. Although I did not have the keto foods recommended during fasting, I never got hungry after a while. I drink a lot of liquids which helps to keep me going and I take vitamins with my OMAD meal. Everybody is different I still have a good amount of fat stores that keep me going LOL 🤣 Don't count the fiber as a carb just the sugars, starches, etc. Fat also helps to assuage hunger. I love real butter. Sometimes I just slice off a chunk of cold Kerrygold and pop it in my mouth. The fat is good for assimilating the Vitamin D3/K2 that I take. It really is easy. Watch some of the videos on YouTube for tips if you like. 😇
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Fat was villainized for decades while [added]sugar was promoted(very profitable). There is now growing evidence that [excessive] sugar plays a part in inflammation in the body, contributing to metabolic syndrome.

https://www.aarp.org/health/conditi.../lowering-inflammation-to-improve-health.html
 
ElCastor said:
Chocolate, particularly milk chocolate, that we consume as a treat is likely high in sugar and not so generous in flavanols. Maybe it has to be acquired and treated like a supplement. Not so much fun, but that which is good for you seldom is. (-8
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I don't like milk chocolate. Whew! I'm a dark chocolate gal all the way.

Truth is, I talk a better game than I play when it comes to chocolate. A little bit most days.
 
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