Few people eat enough fruit, vegetables

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most folks eat far too few fruits — or vegetables. Only 12 percent of you eat 1.5-2 cups of fruit daily (the minimum recommendation for basic survival!), and only 9 percent consume the minimum of 2-3 cups of veggies a day.

According to a paper presented at Nutrition

2019, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, as many as 1 in 7 cardiovascular deaths worldwide may be related to not eating enough fruit, and one in 12 deaths could be from insufficient vegetable intake.

Fiber, vitamins, minerals and other phytonutrients in fruits and veggies help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol, and a hearty diet of fruits and veggies is associated with a 31 percent reduction in premature death and a lower cancer risk. So amp up your intake with, for example, a small apple, 32 seedless grapes or eight large strawberries and three long spears of broccoli, two medium carrots, one large tomato or one baked sweet potato over the course of your day.

Now hear this — and keep dementia at bay

In 1966, Timothy Leary got it wrong when he said, “Turn on, tune in, drop out.” Research from the U.K.’S University of Exeter and King’s College London clearly shows that when you turn on a hearing aid and tune in to what’s going on around you, you don’t drop out. You strengthen your connection to the outside world and protect your brainpower.

Those researchers conducted the online study PROJECT, involving more than 25,000 folks 50 and older. It showed that getting a hearing aid as soon as you start to lose acuity is an important way to reduce your risk of dementia. It seems folks who needed to and used a hearing aid were able to demonstrate a stronger working memory, were able to concentrate and pay attention more closely, and had faster reaction times. That makes sense. If you can more easily figure out what’s being said, you can remember it and respond to it more quickly!

The problem is that hearing aids are not covered by Medicare (or most insurance plans), and they can be expensive. The solution? Talk to your audiologist about which hearing aid is best for you and then start shopping. Online, Consumer Reports has an extensive section covering almost every hearing aid out there and info on how to find your best price. Hearing aids can run from $140 to $1,900 or more.

Email questions for Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen to youdocsdaily@sharecare. com.