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8 Ways to Prevent Alzheimer’s
Scientists and doctors cannot yet cure Alzheimer’s disease, but they do know of several ways to help delay or prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s dementia.
Many of the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease are beyond our control, like aging or genetic history, but many others are controllable. In many cases, making healthy lifestyles choices can lessen the chance that you will succumb to this devastating brain disease.
The following are lifestyle choices and activities that are correlated with a decreased incidence rate of Alzheimer’s. Doctors do not yet know if any of the following actually prevent the disease, only that people who engage in such lifestyle choices succumb to the disease less frequently.
According to the National Institute on Aging (affiliated with the National Institutes of Health), there are eight ways to decrease your odds of Alzheimer’s:
1. Exercise
Clinical studies have shown that older adults who exercised for 15 minutes or longer, three or more times per week over a six-year period had a 35 percent to 40 percent reduced risk of Alzheimer’s compared to more sedentary older adults. Exercise is good for the heart and cardiovascular system, boosts mood and alertness, and prevents cognitive delays.
MRI scans done on participants in another study (with older adults subjects) before and after a six-month program of regular exercise revealed exercise caused improvements in brain activity in certain areas of the brain.
Incorporating regular exercise into a lifestyle is one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve overall health and wellbeing – both physical and mental.
2. Engage Your Mind
The mind is like a muscle that needs exercise to stay strong. Numerous clinical and epidemiological studies have linked regular cognitive exercise with a decreased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s dementia:
• In one study, older adults who regularly engaged in information processing activities were 47 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s.
• People who speak two or more languages seem less at risk of the disorder.
• People with a higher level of formal education seem less at risk of the disorder.
Engaging the mind with activities such as reading or writing, doing crossword puzzles, playing music and learning new things seems to protect against the onset of the disease.
3. Stay Socially Active
Older adults who have many friends and who participate frequently in social events have a slower onset of dementia.
4. Eat a Brain Healthy Diet
Initial clinical studies indicate that certain foods, particularly foods high in antioxidants, may delay cognitive declines associated with aging. Foods and food types that have shown promise include the following:
• Cranberries, blueberries and strawberries
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Green, leafy vegetables
• Broccoli
• Foods from the Mediterranean diet
The National Institute on Aging recommends eating a healthy diet that is high in fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates and fish, and low in meats and fats. Such a diet can reduce obesity (another Alzheimer’s risk factor) and help maintain good cardiac function.
5. Avoid Obesity
Numerous studies have linked obesity at middle and older middle age with dramatic increases in dementia and Alzheimer’s dementia risks.
Type 2 diabetes is associated with a dramatic increase in Alzheimer’s risk, and so is obesity without diabetes. Researchers speculate that obesity’s affect on insulin in the body may lead to the development of Alzheimer-causing plaques in the brain.
Avoiding obesity through regular exercise and a healthy diet seems to be a very effective approach for minimizing Alzheimer’s risk.
6. Don’t Smoke and Don’t Drink to Excess,
Clinical studies have consistently found a strong association between smoking cigarettes and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease: smoking as much as doubles the chances.
Smoking cigarettes not only increases the likelihood of succumbing to the disease, but it can also result in an earlier age of onset. Heavy smokers develop Alzheimer’s more than two years earlier than non-smokers, and those who drink heavily and smoke experience the disease almost five years earlier than those who don’t.
7. Minimize the Stress in Your Life
Chronic stress is not only unpleasant, it can increase your risks of Alzheimer’s. Preliminary research reveals that stress hormones can increase the production of proteins that form Alzheimer’s plaques in the brain. Research has also shown that amongst people at risk for the disease, higher levels of stress accelerate memory loss.
8. Avoid Head Trauma
Early research indicates that head trauma, particularly repeated concussions, can increase a person’s risks of Alzheimer’s. People still engaging in active sports, such as cycling or rollerblading, should always wear a helmet. Older people should take steps to reduce the risks of falls. Some steps that can be taken to safeguard against falls at home include:
• Adding handrails and banisters
• Adding non-slip surfaces to bathrooms and slip areas
• Ensuring that all footpath areas are well lit
• Remembering to remove trip hazards from footpaths immediately
• Exercising to boost strength, balance and flexibility
Maximize Health and Wellness for Brain Longevity
The secrets to an active and cognitively sharp old age don’t differ much from the secrets to general health in older age. Eat well, exercise, love and laugh with friends and family, and avoid poisons and poisonous stress. All basic everyday secrets to health and wellness — and things that will guard you against Alzheimer’s dementia.
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