THE MEMORY MAN
James Joseph Discusses Research on the Aging Brain
Dr. James Joseph, PhD, is an expert on aging and has done extensive research on the role of diet in preserving brain health. He is currently the Director of the Neuroscience Laboratory at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, where his work on fruits and vegetables –berries in particular – has met widespread acclaim. By demonstrating the potential of antioxidant-rich berries in improving neuronal communication within the brain, Dr. Joseph has advanced our understanding of how to fight such degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
In a recent visit to DNI headquarters in Westlake Village, California, Dr. Joseph shared his insights on diet and the aging process…
DNN: Can you tell me a little bit about how you got into research involving aging and the possible role of fruits and vegetables?
JJ: The way it all started was how all good research starts - and that’s serendipitously. My colleague, Ron Prior, was one of the developers of the ORAC test, which means Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. So Ron said to me, "we ought to look at fruits and vegetables with the ORAC," and I said, "you do that, and I’ll take the best ones, and look at their beneficial properties to see if they can forestall aging." I’ve been doing aging research for a long time and I’m not only interested in the biomarkers and what declines in aging, but in the intervention of aging.
DNN: To the layman, “free radicals” sound like some kind of '60s throwback. What’s the best way to explain what they are and how they work?
JJ: Free radicals are very reactive molecules that like to bond with things. Imagine that you’re wearing a white suit and you go over to a friend’s house who has a big German Shepherd. This dog’s been out playing in the mud and he sees you. He runs up and puts his big dirty paws all over you. Now, he didn’t mean to hurt you - he simply wanted to bond with you.
Every major disease has an oxidative stress and an inflammatory component, lending to why a lot of these diseases increase as we age. If we could discern which fruits and vegetables are highest in ORAC activity, then we could offer a guide for eating the fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidant activity which might offset what could be going on in their bodies with respect to age - giving people more protection.
DNN: And those fruits are….?
JJ: Well, the fruits with the highest ORAC activity are the berry fruits (blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, boysenberries, blackberries, etc.), while the vegetables that are highest in ORAC activity include spinach and avocados.
DNN: What would you say to those who take supplements instead of getting nutrients from food sources?
JJ: People ask, "Why can’t I just take more vitamin E or C or other antioxidant supplement?" The answer is becoming increasingly clear, in the nutrition community anyway, that when you take these vitamins out of the food matrix, they may not only be ineffective - they may actually be harmful.
There’s still a lot of controversy about this, for example with respect to vitamin E and heart disease. I still think the best way to get these nutrients is from foods. One of my favorite sources for vitamin E is the avocado. The much maligned avocado is unbelievably healthy. On the California Avocado Commission website there is a blueberry-avocado smoothie recipe - you’ve got to try it, it really is good.
DNN: How do these antioxidants and other components actually work within the body’s cells - specifically the brain cells?
JJ: We’re first looking at picking fruits and vegetables that have a high probability of getting into the brain. Everybody has focused on antioxidants and anti-inflammatories in foods and it certainly is a guide. But what we’re finding out is that the antioxidant/anti-inflammatory properties of fruits, such as berries and possibly vegetables (we haven’t looked at vegetables yet), are very good at altering signals.
By altering these signals in the brain, they can help neurons communicate - something they’re very good at. What’s becoming increasingly clear is other things can alter the signals, like fish oil (the omegas) and spices such as curcumin. So when we’re talking about the active compounds from fruits and vegetables getting into the brain, where they go, what they do - only a very small part of what they’re doing has anything to do with what they call "quenching" free radicals.
DNN: So the antioxidants can help with brain signaling. What’s the relationship between signaling and brain decline? Does brain decline mean you’re having problems with signaling?
JJ: Yes. Old neurons are like old married couples - they don’t talk so much anymore. A lot of things happen with aging that reduce communication. Membranes become more rigid and there is what we call "trafficking," signals aren’t working as well as they used to, and receptors aren’t coupling and uncoupling - this occurs quite dramatically in Alzheimer’s disease. We now know that fruits and vegetables - especially berry fruits - can change these characteristics by turning the coupling/uncoupling mechanisms back on.
Nutrition was once thought of as an adjunct to medical therapy. But nobody ever thought about how nutrition can work to actually turn these signals back on so that traditional treatments may work even better.
DNN: What are some important things we can start doing today to improve our health?
JJ: Exercise, eat right - eat your fruits and vegetables (just like your mom told you, she’s right). Popeye knew what he was talking about - eat that spinach! Eat berries - get them into your diet every day. Basically, eat your colors - and that’s not M&Ms we’re talking about. You can even add dark chocolate to your diet (no use being unhappy because you can’t have chocolate). If you eat the right things, in the right amounts, you won’t be hungry.
Try to reduce your stress. Do yoga, run if you can run. If you can’t run for some reason, find other ways to get your head someplace else.
Brain health is also important, be sure to exercise your brain.
DNN: With things like crossword puzzles?
JJ: Exactly. Because with the brain it’s really “use it or lose it.” Let me give you an example. There was a study of nuns that went on for many years. The nuns agreed to donate their brains post-mortem so researchers could study them. It turned out some of these women had full-blown Alzheimer’s disease when they died, yet they didn’t show a lot of the cognitive deficits that one usually sees. It was because the other nuns kept them engaged - doing projects, working - they didn’t just sit in a chair.
DNN: So you need social interaction?
JJ: Yes, do something interactive every day. Shooting your TV could be a good start or use the TV to play video games - a great way to challenge your brain. I watch TV - but I make sure I do other things, like crossword puzzles, play chess, play cards, whatever. It's important to think and keep your brain active every day to keep your mind healthy.
DNN: What are the types of foods you try to eat every day?
JJ: I’ve been a modified vegetarian for almost 25 years. I don’t have anything against meat; I just choose not to eat it. I do eat fish two to three times a week, and lately have been eating fish that’s not farm-raised. I eat a lot of veggies and whole grains, stuff like hummus and tabouli, and I only use olive oil.
For exercise, I try to do an hour a day of something like the NordicTrack or elliptical machine, or when the weather’s good I go running.
DNN: What age does brain decline or damage begin?
JJ: That’s a hard question to answer because it depends on the complexity of the task. Major contributions of top mathematicians were during their 20's - Einstein and the like, that seems to be the peak age for that discipline. For other disciplines it seems later.
For example, there’s a researcher at Johns Hopkins Medical School named Dr. Paul Talalay - have you ever heard of broccoli being a very good anti-cancer food - that’s his work. I think he’s around 82 or 83. He won the Linus Pauling award this year and gave one of the best talks at the meeting - he is still making contributions.
It’s hard to say when the brain declines, because it is task dependent. That’s true for both cognitive and motor functions. If you give somebody a speed test, a younger person is going to blow an older person away. A cognitive test can be either speed or power. A speed test is timed, like taking a test at school. Older people are going to make more mistakes on this type of test - but if you give them what’s called a power test, in many cases, they’ll actually make fewer mistakes than a younger person because they’re more methodical about things. As I like to say, what we lack in speed we make up for in wiliness.
DNN: Is it generally true that most people’s brains will decline in their later years?
JJ: That’s true.
DNN: You mentioned decreasing stress. How is stress linked to brain degeneration?
JJ: This is a complicated and multi-faceted area. Very briefly, it could be things like cortisol, which goes up. Cortisol is not very good for the hippocampus, which is one of the major memory areas of the brain. There are many other possible mechanisms involved.
DNN: Is the population as a whole now at a greater risk for brain diseases like Alzheimer’s, or are we seeing more brain disease because more people are living longer?
JJ: We’re at higher risk for brain disease because we’re living longer, which is really what it's about. I don’t know if I buy this, but people in the aging field talk about reproductive senescence - you know, how the salmon spawn and then die? Well in some sense, we’re supposed to do that, too. And after we have our reproductive years, we’re supposed to go away. We weren’t built to live as long as we’re living. But with, for example, some of the strides made with cardiovascular disease, people are living to their 80's and 90's - we’ve got centenarians and super-centenarians. So, the longer you live, the more likely you are to develop these brain diseases.
But the idea is not to live forever - it is for healthy aging. So that well into your old age you can continue to do the things you want to do - to ride a bike, go jogging or play a little golf.
DNN: Should you start as early as possible to have the best chance of preventing brain degeneration?
JJ: Yes.
DNN: In the teen years?
JJ: Yes.
DNN: Even earlier—the preschool years?
JJ: Yes. There’s research looking at teenagers who for some reason died early, and they’re already starting with some of the coronary changes indicative of later development of heart disease. With the increase of Type 2 diabetes in children, that too is really going to contribute to cardiovascular disease.
What I see - or what I think is see - is kids telling parents what they want to eat. When I was growing up, I never told my mother what I wanted to eat - she put it on the table and I ate it. Overweight kids aren't overweight because they ate their mother’s vegetables, they got that way because of what they’re eating instead - eating with their friends at the mall, what is offered in the school lunch programs.
It’s more than a matter of healthy eating, it’s a lifestyle change. The earlier you can start people thinking about a lifestyle, like in the schools, the better. I understand that many schools around the country have to bring in these vending machines and fast food. But in the end, if parents made their kids a better school lunch, maybe they wouldn’t run over to get this other stuff. But the important part is to introduce them to healthy eating. If they’re 15 and they’ve never tasted broccoli, they certainly won't try it out it at school.
DNN: Very true – and very thought-provoking. Thank you.