- Posted By: Myriam Grajales-Hall
- Written by: Dole Newsletter
![bilingual-brain-power bilingual-brain-power](http://ucanr.org/blogs/LatinoBriefs/blogfiles/7001.jpg)
Researchers reviewed data from 211 Alzheimer's patients, including their professional history, education, language skills as well as when symptoms of dementia began to appear. They found that the bilingual patients were diagnosed 4.3 years later and reported onset of symptoms 5.1 years later than monolingual patients. Women reaped the most benefit from bilingualism, which postponed onset of symptoms by 6 years! No existing drug or therapy has been able to yield such a dramatic result.
Interestingly, the brains of both the mono- and bilingual patients exhibited similar age-related deterioration --
![BilingualDictionaries BilingualDictionaries](http://ucanr.org/blogs/LatinoBriefs/blogfiles/7002.jpg)
- Increasing consumption of leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables.
- Spicing up your diet with turmeric (the anchor ingredient of most curries).
- Lacing up your walking shoes.
- Increasing variety -- not just intensity of exercise.
All of the above can help ward off obesity, which doubles your risk of developing dementia.
Source: Dole Newsletter, “Hasta luego, Alzheimer’s,” May 2011