The Bacteria In Your Mouth Providing Brain Function Insights
Oral Microbiome Insights Illuminating Your Chances Of Developing Dementia
The message of our microbiome is all about understanding what is us and what is not and is a far more complex thing than earlier thought. The influence that bacteria has upon us through gut flora and oral cavity is much more profound than previously realised. A diet rich in green leafy vegetables is going to serve you far better than a meat-heavy one. The best types of good bacteria feed on vegetable diets rather than diets loaded with carbohydrates and meats. Most folk know that more veggies and less processed foods are better for your health on a number of fronts. If you are at all concerned about dementia as you age, then, green leafy vegetables should be a priority item in your diet.
Ageing, Brain Health & Bad Bacteria
“Lead author Dr Joanna L’Heureux, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said: “Our findings suggest that some bacteria might be detrimental to brain health as people age. It raises an interesting idea for performing routine tests as part of dental checkups to measure bacterial levels and detect very early signs of declining brain health.”
While decline in memory and brain functions is typical in old age, deteriorations in mental capabilities that is greater than would be expected with normal ageing is known as Mild Cognitive Impairment. Approximately 15% of older adults fall into the category of mild cognitive impairment, considered the greatest risk factor for the development of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.”
– Science Daily
We Are What We Eat
We are what we eat! This old adage is proving to be never truer than in the light of the discoveries being made by medical science about our microbiome. The import of the latest research, highlighted here, is that going to the dentist could be an opportunity to get tested for brain function deterioration as we age and to do something about it in response.
What Can Be Done About Declining Brain Function?
If the correlation between brain function and bacteria is a two-way relationship, then, treatments which alter that could be part of a solution for dementia. Dietary change, obviously, is one course of action. However, targeted treatments may also be possible in addition to improved oral hygiene routines and things like probiotics. This study was published in PNAS Nexus and involved 110 participants over the age of 50.
“In 2024, more than 421,000 Australians are living with dementia, and without a medical breakthrough, that number is expected to increase to more than 812,500 by 2054.
Additionally, 68% of aged care residents have moderate to severe cognitive impairment.”
– RAC GP
The importance of diet to good health and wellbeing has never been clearer and yet too many of us still eat poorly for no good reason. The abundance of easily accessible nutritional information has never been greater. However, the cost of living crisis of the last few years since Covid has impacted those struggling Australians – the working poor. Economists point out that the so called lucky country has an aged poverty crisis. Those living on welfare have had to do so below the poverty line for decades. Tough love has been the bipartisan policy of both main political parties in Australia. The unemployment rate of around 4% is celebrated during this high interest rate period by governments, but there are many more people suffering from lack of work and therefore lack of income. The Age Pension is not much help for those who have been endemically poor for decades.
“Australia has a much higher poverty rate among people aged over 65 than Sweden and Norway. Unlike Australia, Sweden and Norway’s robust public pension systems ensure retirement security. Australia could reduce levels of poverty in retirement by increasing spending on the Age Pension. This could be funded by reducing the inequitable tax concessions on superannuation given to high income earners.”
Getting Dementia When You Are Poor
The bacteria in your mouth providing brain function insights for older Australians can be a warning signal for heightened risks of dementia. However, if too many older Aussies cannot afford to buy fresh fruit and vegetables due to the ravages of high inflation it wont be much good getting the heads up. The thing about the rate of inflation not being so high is it doesn’t mean prices are going down – it only means the increases are not so severe. We have seen the prices of food, rents, energy, and services like dental care rise for 3 years and nothing has gone down. This is the economic reality for poorer folk on struggle street. Once you reach a certain age few businesses will employ you. Those who have been on the economic scrapheap for years remain poor getting poorer until they die. Depression is a common response to sustained misfortune. Eating healthy is not so appealing when you have little to live for. We are living in an age of extreme selfish concern for ourselves at the expense of others. Just look at what is happening in America right now. Imagine being old and frail in Trump’s America, as they slash government spending to give tax cuts to billionaires. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world is attacking the poorest folk and stripping away government services like Medicaid and USAID.
Dementia & Cheap Food Flogged By Companies To Aussies
“But with healthy habits linked to dementia prevention, Dr South said it is, unfortunately, becoming harder for patients to make healthy food choices, as they are bombarded with product marketing, or priced out by the cost-of-living crisis.
‘It used to be about getting enough energy, enough protein, but we now have an oversupply of energy and a food industry that’s making unprocessed foods extremely palatable and cheap,’ she said.
‘We really need to be going back to basics of less processed, more fruit and veggies, but that is hard to access for a number of reasons including costs, time, and nutritional knowledge of what do we do with some of these vegetables.
‘If there was one nutritional message that I could give as many patients as I could, it would be eat more veggies and less processed food in as many ways as you can,’”
– Dr Terri-Lynne South, a GP dietitian and Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Obesity.
Disclaimer: The material posted is for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Results vary with each patient. Any dental procedure carries risks and benefits. If you have any specific questions about any dental and/or medical matter, you should consult your dentist, physician or other professional healthcare providers.
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