5:15 PM
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More than half of the cases of Alzheimer's disease worldwide could be prevented if enough people made relatively simple lifestyle changes. Evidence presented at the Alzheimer Association's International Conference in Paris in July illustrated that seven factors are associated with up to half of all Alzheimer's cases:- Low education (possibly because less education means less opportunity to develop neural connections to carry into old age)
- Smoking
- Untreated or inadequately treated depression
- Mid-life high blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Mid-life obesity
My take? Considering that Alzheimer's cases are expected to triple by 2050 to about 106 million worldwide, it isn't too soon to adopt preventive strategies. Also, consider that most of the lifestyle risk factors associated with Alzheimer's disease, including smoking, inactivity, high blood pressure, diabetes and mid-life obesity, also raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. Making these changes would be good for your body as well as your brain. As far as low education is concerned, it isn't too late to add to your brain power by challenging your mind. I've long recommended strategies such as reading newspapers and books, learning dance steps, doing crossword puzzles, playing musical instruments, participating in ongoing education and learning a new language.
A small study published in the June 2011 issue of the Archives of Neurology suggests that a diet low in saturated fat that also emphasizes foods low on the glycemic index may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. The investigators compared the effects of a diet high in saturated fat and simple carbohydrates with those of a diet low in saturated fats and simple carbohydrates in 20 older adults who were healthy and 29 seniors who had specific memory problems considered precursors to Alzheimer's disease. After four weeks, they found in the healthy group that the diet high in saturated fat and simple carbs elevated substances measured in blood that indicate presymptomatic Alzheimer's, while the diet low in saturated fats decreased 