March is National Nutrition Month and for adults age 40 and older staying sharp is food for thought.
Rob Naylor, communications director for AARP Tennessee, points to a 2017 survey in which nearly nine in 10 adults said they would eat a healthy diet if they knew it could reduce their risk of cognitive decline, heart disease or diabetes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends certain amounts of fruits, vegetables, dairy, grain foods and protein. Naylor says a large majority of adults consumed too few servings of fish, oils and green leafy vegetables.
He says good brain health can start with a common sense approach.
“Portion sizes, the idea that cooking at home generally results in better diet quality, using things like olive oil instead of butter, increasing the amount of fish as a substitute for red meat, I think are all things that folks hear, but there really is a connection between long-term brain health and a healthy diet,” he states.
Naylor says research shows that, like an expensive car, your brain functions best when it gets only premium fuel. Eating high quality foods that contain lots of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants nourish the brain and protect it from stress.
Naylor says while there is no one magic brain food, there are foods that can help decrease memory loss. These include foods containing fish oil or Omega-3, which consistently have shown possible brain benefits.
Naylor says this is important for seniors to consider.
“You know, it’s never too late to make changes to your lifestyle to be more healthy,” he stresses. “I know a lot of folks may be thinking, ‘Well, I’ve been going for the burger-and-fries option for most of my life.’ Well, it does have an impact over time, but it’s never too late.”
Naylor points to studies that show that food is the best fuel for the brain while supplements and brain health vitamins have mixed evidence.
AARP offers the latest information on how foods affect your brain health at AARP.org.

The Tennessee State Fair Commission voted late last week that a search should begin for a new site that can accommodate the future growth and goals of the State Fair.
The fair has been held at the Nashville Fairgrounds since 1906.
As you may know a certain portion of the land at the fairgrounds is being developed into a new major league soccer stadium as well as retail and residential spaces.
Now that brings up an old question about the possibility of the fair coming to Manchester at the Bonnaroo grounds. No official talks have taken place with leaders in the city, county or Bonnaroo, but residents are beginning to talk again.
Many of the rumors might have started because of the talk that the City of Manchester might be annexing the land called Great Stage Park. Now Bonnaroo representatives have asked Manchester City leaders about the possibility of annexing its property so the land would be inside the city limits of Manchester.
If Manchester does eventually annex Bonnaroo the city would have to provide services like police, fire and sewer. The benefit would come in the form of tax money from the event. Because the land is currently outside the city limits, the county receives sales tax revenues generated during the annual event, which is around about $1 million per year. At first Manchester would only get tax revenue from any growth in sales tax dollars, and after 15 years following annexation, all sales taxes from the event would then go to Manchester. If the city annexes the land, the county will lose sales tax revenue.
WMSR News will continue to follow all of the possibilities.

Grundy County’s sheriff is joining a growing group of people calling for a new trial for Adam Braseel, the man convicted in a 2007 murder case.
Braseel was sentenced to life in prison for the beating death of Malcolm Burrows. All along he’s claimed his innocence. He says it was a case of mistaken identity. Last month, his attorneys said there’s new evidence that will prove their client is innocent.
In a report Wednesday in the Chattanooga Times Free-Press, Sheriff Clint Shrum said that evidence identification in 2017 of a fingerprint found on the passenger door of Burrow’s car at the murder scene matching cop-killer Kermit Eugene Bryson is a reason to revisit the case.
He criticized the initial investigation, saying it appeared to be filled with issues before the TBI ever became involved. Shrum was not employed at the sheriff’s department at the time of the probe.
He qualified his remarks Wednesday by saying he was not expressing an opinion on Braseel’s guilt or innocence, but that his statement intends to “reflect a professional opinion based on a conclusion of the facts that I have been shown in this case.”
Braseel’s legal team has said the real killer was Bryson, who had been the target of a 2008 manhunt after the shooting death of Grundy County Deputy Shane Tate. Bryson killed himself as officers closed in on him at a Monteagle home.

Motlow State Community College recently welcomed Dr. John Chandler, III as Dean of Athletics and Physical Education. He replaces Dan McShea, who had served as interim director of athletics since August 2018.
Chandler comes to Motlow from San Jose State University in California, where he served as Assistant Director of Academic Success and Services. He inherits a Motlow athletic department that consists of five sports: baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball, and soccer.
Prior to his time at San Jose State, Chandler served as an academic advisor at Georgia State University in Atlanta in 2015-16, where he led academic advising initiatives for 385 arts & sciences students. He served as Development & Sponsorship Coordinator at Undefeated Chicago from 2012-15, where he directed external affairs, sales, solicitation, presentation and marketing for a $48 million athletic facility.