Reducing Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

WHILE THERE IS NO WAY TO PREVENT ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE, you can reduce your risk by making the right lifestyle choices for your body and brain in order to age successfully.
The brain is one of a human’s most vital organs as it plays a role in every action and every thought we have and just like the rest of our body, the brain needs to be taken care of. A healthy brain is able to withstand illness, and in order to maintain a healthy brain, we need to take action on things we can control, i.e., our lifestyle choices.

There are only two risk factors that we cannot control and these are genetics and aging; however, we can control how we live our life. In order to maintain a healthy brain and reduce the risks of Alzheimer’s disease, we need to take control of these lifestyle choices:

Diet A healthy diet is important for your overall body health, and especially a healthy brain.

Mental Exercise It’s important that you exercise your brain and body on a daily basis. Growing evidence suggests that regular mental calisthenics may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by enhancing cognitive reserve– the mind’s resistance to damage.

Physical Exercise What’s good for your heart is also good for your brain. Exercise is great as it gets the blood moving and keeps the heart and brain healthy by constantly receiving nourishment from the constant blood circulation. Develop a regular physical exercise program. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity at least five days per week.

Stop Smoking Smoking is extremely damaging to many parts of the body and the brain.

Stress Management It’s very important to fix any underlying problems that are causing stress and to relax your body and mind as stress causes increased blood pressure, makes the heart beat faster and releases a hormone called cortisol (prolonged levels of high cortisol can have a negative effect on the body). To manage stress you can do physical activities, breathing exercises, yoga or meditation.