A new study has revealed that taking supplements of beta carotene, the pigment found in carrots, tomatoes and broccoli and which makes carrots orange, may cut the risk of dementia and help you remember words and conversations better.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that those who take beta carotene supplements for 15 years or longer have better memory and other brain skills. It is thought that beta-carotene protects brain cells from damage caused by ageing.

 

Researchers believe that the supplement could be used to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s but added that more research was needed to confirm this before they could recommend its use as a dietary supplement. Smokers were also warned not to take the supplement as it could increase the risk of lung cancer. The research does, however, provide more evidence that antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables, which mop up harmful chemicals produced in the body can stave off diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

To those of us who remember Popeye the sailor man and his hearty spinach meals, spinach will forever be associated with his bulging muscles. Now it seems that spinach can give your heart extra strength as well.

Previous studies have shown that eating spinach regularly can reduce your risk of having a heart attack but the latest research reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, shows that it can also boost your chances of survival by up to a third if you do have an attack. The crucial healing ingredient it appears is nitrite – found in high quantities in green vegetables such as spinach and lettuce.

 

Researchers from the University of Texas who carried out the spinach study recommend eating five to nine ounces of nitrite-rich vegetables a day, three times as much as is typically consumed on current estimates.

 

They found that mice whose drinking water was spiked with nitrite for a week before having a heart attack had a 33 per cent higher survival rates than those whose water was not spiked. The chemical’s benefits come from its conversion to the gas nitric oxide when oxygen levels are low during a heart attack. Nitric oxide widens closed or clogged arteries, increasing the supply of oxygen to the heart.

 

Studies from the 1960s once linked nitrate and nitrite to an increased risk of cancer but this research shows that this early research may have been based on very weak data and that nitrate and nitrite found in green leafy vegetables and in our saliva is beneficial.

Not only are afternoon naps one of the best ways to fight fatigue recharge your batteries according to sleep experts, scientists have also discovered that a nap can help lower your blood pressure.

In a study at Liverpool’s John Moores University, volunteers had their blood pressure, heart rate and blood vessel dilation checked. They were then divided into three groups – some had to stand quietly for an hour; others lay down; while the remaining third went to sleep. The sleeping volunteers had a significant reduction in blood pressure and heart rate while the other two groups did not. It is thought that this blood pressure reduction may explain the lower rates of death from heart disease in Mediterranean and Latin American populations where siestas are common.

 

To get the full benefits of an afternoon nap; schedule your nap between 1 pm and 3 pm; any later and you will find it hard to get to sleep at night. Aim for around 20 minutes shut eye; as studies have shown this is the optimum napping time to improve your daytime performance and productivity.