5 Steps To Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease
If you want to stay sharp and in control of your life well into your golden years, there are proactive methods to achieving the mental alertness you need.
More and more research is pointing to the fact that physical activity and lifestyle choices have more to do with preventing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other forms of Dementia – once thought to be a normal part of aging – than pure genetics.
So, if you had a parent, grandparent or sibling with AD it doesn’t mean you have to follow the same path.
What You Need To Know
Statistics gathered from extensive research do point toward a higher risk of developing AD if you had a close relative with AD – as much as 50%, but that has less to do with genes and more to do with following their lifestyle patterns.
If for example, your parents were smokers who rarely exercised, you may have developed some of the same destructive habits.
What can you do to break the cycle and prevent AD?
Take action, and take control TODAY.
Even if you are in your 60s and 70s, you can reverse some of the damage done to your brain through poor diet, inactivity, or damaging lifestyle choices.
Scientists have discovered very recently that the brain has the ability to repair cells and neurotransmitters and improve cognitive function and memory.
Start with these 5 Simple Steps:
1. Eat Right.
It seems so simple, yet too many people just don’t get enough of the mind preserving antioxidants found in fresh fruits and vegetables.
A well-balanced diet, free of dairy products and using low-fat sources of protein will protect both heart and mind.
2. Supplement where necessary.
Many diets lack the nutrients proven to promote brain health.
These include sources of essential fatty acids found in fish and specific herbs and minerals that can enhance cognitive function.
3. Exercise.
Originally it was thought that exercise increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain cells.
This is still true, but a report prepared for the National Institutes of Health states that exercise can also stimulate the production growth factors, which are molecules produced by the body to repair and maintain nerves.
4. Lower Your Cholesterol.
Many people with early dementia or AD symptoms may have actually experienced small strokes that damaged the brain’s neurotransmitters.
By keeping cholesterol levels in check, the arteries are free and clear of plaque that can cause a stroke.
5. Exercise Your Mind.
Keeping up with current events, working puzzles each day, learning and memorizing new information all work to keeping the mind strong and alert.
It is normal for people to sometimes forget a name or date, but the more practice recalling such information the greater the brain’s ability to do this throughout old age.
In the case of mental challenges, the more you do the more you can push back the clock on cognitive decline.
Final Thoughts
Five easy steps, when you think about it, can do much to make aging an event to celebrate instead of dread.
With age there comes experience and wisdom, and we should all do whatever is within our power to be able to pass that on to the next generation.
Think you might need a hand in creating your ideal brain-healthy lifestyle?
You’re not alone. In fact, most of the people who engage with our articles and posts tell us the hardest thing about a plan to prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s and Dementia, is getting started, and knowing what works and doesn’t work.
We created our ProtectMyBrain Program to give people the tools and strategies they need to identify their individual risks and tailor a personalized plan to prevent these diseases from ever becoming an issue.
To find out if our ProtectMyBrain Program might be right for you, click the link below.
ProtectMyBrain Dementia Prevention Program
We hope these tips provide you with some insights and assistance to living your most brain healthy life.
If you enjoyed reading this piece, and want to see more of our works relating to prevention and brain-healthy lifestyle, check out the links to some of our other articles below:
- Healthy Bodies Make Healthy Minds – Article
- How Iron and B Vitamins Improve Brain Activity – Article
- Can Vitamin C and E Help Prevent Dementia? – Article
- Cognitive Decline: Can It Be Prevented? – Video
- Memory Loss: Is It Normal Or Abnormal? – Video
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