Until she moved to the Baltimore area from her home in Florida, none of us really knew the extent of the damage that Alzheimer's had done to a beloved family member. Before her arrival, part of her daughter's house was converted into an apartment. We all thought she just needed some help getting around.

In almost no time at all, it became clear that wasn't the case. Her daughter couldn't provide the right kind of care, and she moved in to a nursing home specifically for people suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia.

Going to visit her, having to remind her who I was, hearing the stories she was convinced were true but we all knew weren't (like FBI agents and dead relatives visiting her room)... it was, obviously, a pretty rough time.

I'm telling you about this because I understand how terrifying the thought of Alzheimer's is. And I understand that you want to hear about every bit of news on possible ways to prevent it.

Well, today you're getting two.

First up is a compound that's already been in the news lately. Yep, it's a good year for resveratrol. Research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute shows that resveratrol could in fact neutralize the effects of particular peptide isoforms, toxic proteins that are linked to Alzheimer's disease.

What does this mean? Deformed peptides have been found collected in the brain plaques that are found near areas of cell death in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Resveratrol seems to be able to target those peptides without affecting normal, healthy ones -- even the ones that, by a variety of other tests, are virtually indistinguishable from toxic peptide arrangements.

Now, the researchers aren't certain that resveratrol can cross the blood-brain barrier. If it can, though, this means it could be a serious weapon in the arsenal against Alzeheimer's. And it has so many other health benefits that it should probably be part of your daily diet anyway.

If you're concerned about cognitive decline, you might want to pick up some vitamin D along with that resveratrol. A study based at Tufts University in Boston looked at the effects of vitamin D on 1,000 people between the ages of 65 and 99.

Only 35 percent of the people had sufficient vitamin D levels, but they were the ones who had the best cognitive performance on a variety of tests. Now, you probably didn't need yet another reason to take vitamin D, but there -- you got one anyway.

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