Preventing Alzheimer’s is the key
Dr. Gary Small, professor of psychiatry and director of UCLA’s Longevity Center, says that because there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, we must focus on preventing or delaying the onset of symptoms. Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease from developing is the only kind of “cure” there is right now. Dr. Small urges us all to focus on our lifestyle choices as a way of protecting ourselves from this devastating condition. Dr. Small believes that people have much more control than they realize. It does make a difference if you take good care of your body and brain. It is in your best interest to maintain your brain function at its highest possible level over the years.
The four key areas for maintaining optimal brain function are: nutrition, physical exercise, mental exercise, and stress management. Here is some of Dr. Small’s advice:
- Nutrition: Research shows that there are certain foods that may protect the brain from Alzheimer’s and other chronic diseases. It is recommended that you add more fresh fruits and vegetables, and omega-3 fats from fish, nuts and flax seeds to your diet. Also control how much you eat, and cut back on processed foods and refined sugars. Finally, drink plenty of water to maintain proper brain and body function.
- Physical exercise: There is evidence that aerobic exercise, even a brisk 15 minute walk can be a way to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s. Here’s the interesting reason for this. As you exercise, your brain produces brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF). This stimulates your brain cells to grow more “branches”, so they can communicate more efficiently. Exercise also causes your brain to produce endorphins, which helps increase mental focus and improves mood.
- Mental exercise: Can be categorized into two types, mental stimulation and memory techniques. Mental stimulation comes from your job, from an interesting conversation, doing puzzles, playing games, anything that gets your brain to work at an optimal level. Memory techniques include these basic methods to keep your memory sharp: focus your attention on what you want to remember, snap a mental picture of what you want to recall, and link the picture to something that has meaning for you.
- Stress management: Lowering stress lowers the level of inflammation in your body. And it is believed that brain inflammation is linked to Alzheimer’s. Getting high quality sleep is one important way to manage stress and control inflammation.
You can learn more about how to prevent or delay Alzheimer’s Disease in Dr.Small’s book, The Alzheimer’s Prevention Program.
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