Blueberries and aging was the focus of the botanical seminar in early December in the Foods and Nutrition Department.  Dr. James Joseph, lead scientist at the Neuroscience Laboratory, USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts presented 'The Duality of Signaling Effects of Blueberries Under Oxidative Stress Conditions and Cognitive Performance in Aging.'

Aging includes losses in neuronal function including decrease in motor and cognitive performance in both humans and animals.  Many of these age-related behavioral changes occur even in the absence of specific, age-related diseases such as Alzheimer disease or Parkinson disease.  Dr. Joseph and his team are looking into how a healthy diet, especially those rich in antioxidants, can help to prevent mental decline that often accompanies aging.  Antioxidants, found in many colorful fruits and vegetables, have been shown in numerous epidemiologic studies to reduce the risk of developing age-related diseases.

Dr. Joseph and his team fed aged rats diets supplemented with spinach, strawberry, and blueberries for eight weeks and found that all three diets were effective in reversing cognitive deficits in a water maze performance.  But, only the blueberry supplemented group improved performance on tests of motor functions that rely on balance and coordination.

Research from Joseph's laboratory suggested that dietary supplementation with fruit or vegetable extracts high in antioxidants might decrease the enhanced vulnerability to oxidative stress that occurs in aging including improvements in motor and cognitive behavior. Additional research suggested other mechanisms in addition to antioxidants might be involved in the beneficial effects of blueberries, including the way neurons in the brain communicate.

Just another reason to make increasing the number of colorful fruits and vegetables (including blueberries) in your diet one of your New Year's resolutions!

For more information on the Botanical Center please visit their Web site http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/bot

The Child Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires that every school district participating in the National School Lunch and/or Breakfast Program develop and implement a local "wellness policy" by the beginning of school year 2006-2007.  This mandate is to help protect and improve child health through adequate levels of physical activity and good nutrition during the school day.  Wellness policies must address specific school-based nutrition and physical activity areas.  Including:

• Goals for nutrition education, physical activity, and other school-based activities designed to promote students wellness;
• Provide nutrition guidelines for all foods and beverages available on school campuses during the school day;
• Ensure that guidelines for reimbursable school meals meet federal requirements and nutrition standards;
• Involve a broad group of members of the community;
• Include a plan for measuring implementation of the wellness plan; and,
• Designate a person(s) to insure fulfillment of the local wellness policy.

Purdue Extension is working with community and county partners across the state to develop an Action Plan for Community Wellness to address health, nutrition, infrastructure, zoning, recreation, and other related issues in addition to the 2006 School Wellness Policy.  On Friday, January 6, 2006, Purdue University will be hosting a video conference titled "Indiana: Healthy People, Healthy Communities."  The focus of the video conference is to bring community/county partners together for community and school wellness. 

The video conference will include a panel of experts addressing healthy lifestyle options for Indiana communities.  The panel will include the following members:

Dr. Judith Monroe, Indiana State Health Officer;

Dr. Peggy Wild, Indiana Department of Education, Office of Career and Technical Education;

Dr. Connie Weaver, Purdue University Food and Nutrition Department Head;

Dr. Bernard Dahl, Purdue University Horticulture and Landscape Architecture;

Kathy Dale, Tippecanoe County Vision 2020;

Dr. Steven McKenzie, Purdue University, Food and Nutrition Department and Living Well After 50; and,

Amy Moyer, Corporate Outreach Coordinator, National Institute for Fitness and Sports.

For more information on the Healthy People, Healthy Communities video conference please contact Karen Zotz, Assistant Director and Program Leader, CFS Extension at kzotz@purdue.edu.