Nutrition, health and the ageing process

During early development, our cognitive abilities improve, peaking in young adulthood, after which they remain relatively steady until some level of decline with old age. However, this decline is not inevitable and depends on both the individual and the specific cognitive domain in question (Craik & Bialystok, 2006). The deficits in cognitive abilities associated with age have been termed ‘Age-related cognitive decline’ (ARCD). They can be observed in a wide spectrum of cognitive functions, spanning attention, episodic memory, spatial ability, processing speed to executive function (Verhaeghen & Cerella, 2002). Up to half of all adults over the age of 64 years report experiencing difficulties with their memory (Reid & MacLullich, 2006).