Day 286 of 365 - Alzheimer's Prevention?
Our brains make us who we are as human beings. They allow us to express our personality and emotions. They give us the ability to think, act and function in our day to day lives. Yet, we often take all that for granted until things are not working so well.
Brain disease, and particularly dementia and Alzheimer's disease is now epidemic around the world. In the U.S. alone, 5.5 million people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and numbers are expected to increase exponentially in the coming years. This disease causes not only a physical and cognitive burden for the one who is diagnosed, but also an economic, emotional and family burden for all involved in care-giving.
Treatment of the physically evident disease processes in the brain, once the damage of Alzheimer's has been done, has not been very successful at all. That is why focusing on prevention becomes so important.
You might be thinking that it's an inevitable disease, mostly genetically based, but that is not true. Researchers and leading clinicians in the field today are saying that only 5% of cases have a strong genetic determinant and that the other 95% have preventable factors. How can they say that? It's because it's been determined that the mechanisms of development and progression of Alzheimer's has been found to be multi-dimensional. Thus, the approach to prevention and treatment needs to be multi-pronged as well.
While the traditionally recognized amyloid plaques and tangles are only evident in some Alzheimer's diseased brains, chronic inflammation is present in all of them. Indeed, it is now believed to be the main mechanism causing damage to the brain. This inflammatory process begins 20 - 30 years before symptoms of dementia even appear. It first shows up as insulin resistance. This causes changes in the cellular components in the brain, and throughout the body for that matter, which gradually deteriorates brain structures and functions. It is a cascading effect over time.
Even though we may have thought of dementia and Alzheimer's as a disease of old people, we all need to take steps to prevent it, no matter what our age at present. Whatever we are doing, right now, may already be damaging our brains. It's never too early, or too late to do things to support our brain function.
What are the most effective preventive strategies? Again, there is agreement across the board from leading clinicians and researchers in the field. Here are the top five:
1. Diet - Eat an anti-inflammatory diet to improve insulin sensitivity and to have a healthy gut microbiome.
2. Exercise - Do both strength training and aerobic exercise regularly.
3. Sleep - Get 7 -8 hours of quality sleep a night.
4. Stress Reduction
5. Brain Training - Challenge your brain a few times a week with activities which make your brain work harder.
Making changes now can create noticeable improvements at any age. Who doesn't want to think more clearly, forget less and feel better overall? That sounds like better health and vitality to me.
(Since I'm currently watching a series on this topic, expect to see more on specific aspects in this blog in the coming days.)
Brain disease, and particularly dementia and Alzheimer's disease is now epidemic around the world. In the U.S. alone, 5.5 million people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and numbers are expected to increase exponentially in the coming years. This disease causes not only a physical and cognitive burden for the one who is diagnosed, but also an economic, emotional and family burden for all involved in care-giving.
Treatment of the physically evident disease processes in the brain, once the damage of Alzheimer's has been done, has not been very successful at all. That is why focusing on prevention becomes so important.
You might be thinking that it's an inevitable disease, mostly genetically based, but that is not true. Researchers and leading clinicians in the field today are saying that only 5% of cases have a strong genetic determinant and that the other 95% have preventable factors. How can they say that? It's because it's been determined that the mechanisms of development and progression of Alzheimer's has been found to be multi-dimensional. Thus, the approach to prevention and treatment needs to be multi-pronged as well.
While the traditionally recognized amyloid plaques and tangles are only evident in some Alzheimer's diseased brains, chronic inflammation is present in all of them. Indeed, it is now believed to be the main mechanism causing damage to the brain. This inflammatory process begins 20 - 30 years before symptoms of dementia even appear. It first shows up as insulin resistance. This causes changes in the cellular components in the brain, and throughout the body for that matter, which gradually deteriorates brain structures and functions. It is a cascading effect over time.
Even though we may have thought of dementia and Alzheimer's as a disease of old people, we all need to take steps to prevent it, no matter what our age at present. Whatever we are doing, right now, may already be damaging our brains. It's never too early, or too late to do things to support our brain function.
What are the most effective preventive strategies? Again, there is agreement across the board from leading clinicians and researchers in the field. Here are the top five:
1. Diet - Eat an anti-inflammatory diet to improve insulin sensitivity and to have a healthy gut microbiome.
2. Exercise - Do both strength training and aerobic exercise regularly.
3. Sleep - Get 7 -8 hours of quality sleep a night.
4. Stress Reduction
5. Brain Training - Challenge your brain a few times a week with activities which make your brain work harder.
Making changes now can create noticeable improvements at any age. Who doesn't want to think more clearly, forget less and feel better overall? That sounds like better health and vitality to me.
(Since I'm currently watching a series on this topic, expect to see more on specific aspects in this blog in the coming days.)
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