OBESITY

Eat regularly throughout the day, and always have breakfast to lessen the chance of snacking on high-calorie foods. Choose low-fat options and have sensible portion sizes. Aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes five times a week, and try building activity into your daily life, such as using the stairs instead of the lift. According to the latest study conducted by University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, consumption of ginkgo biloba drug which is said to keep mind sharp at older age doesn't restrict the cognition decline. Ginkgo biloba is believed to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that protect cell membranes and help govern the workings of the brain's chemical messengers or neurotransmitters.

Lead researcher Dr. Steven T. DeKosky said that measuring the effect of ginkgo in a big trial in older people doesn't show any effect of the drug on slowing down or delaying normal age-related changes of cognition. To test the effect of this drug, statistics were created derived from the results of ginkgo Evaluation of Memory study, which included 3,069 community-dwelling adults age ranging from 72 to 96 years. The participants initially took 120 milligrams of ginkgo or placebo twice a day and were routinely tested for cognitive abilities. Over more than six years of follow-up, the researchers found no evidence that ginkgo delayed or prevented normal declines in memory, language, attention, visuospatial abilities or executive functions such as anticipating outcomes and adapting to changing situations and thinking abstractly.

Researchers added that gingko was fairly safe but it didn't seem to do anything to slow down the cognitive changes of aging. Earlier results from the same study had found that ginkgo did not prevent or slow the development of Alzheimer's. But there is a large body of previously published evidence which suggests that ginkgo biloba is effective for improving cognitive impairment in older adults.