How To Prevent & Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer’s and Dementia
There is no one definite way to prevent your risk of Alzheimer’s or Dementia, but there are many steps you can take to help reduce your overall risk factors. Many factors that help with your overall health and wellness also help with the prevention and reduced risk of Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
You can start with regular physical activity. It is good for your heart, circulation, weight, and mental wellbeing. This can include both aerobic activity and strength-building activity to help keep you fit in different ways. Aerobics include continuous activities like walking or jogging that are good for your heart, lungs, and blood circulation, while they are also good for your brain health. Strength-building activity works your major muscles like legs, back, arms, stomach, and shoulders. It helps you with daily tasks while also controlling your blood sugar levels and reducing the risk of diabetes, another risk factor for dementia.
Additionally, a healthy diet is helpful in reducing your risk of dementia and other conditions. It is easy to increase the amount of healthy items daily like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. You can eat fish regularly and also reduce the amount of red meat you eat. It is helpful to change to lower-fat dairy foods and use vegetable and plant oil for cooking and dressing as much as possible. Even more, reducing the amount of salt and sugar is helpful as well. All of this can help with your weight and overall health which will in turn reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Eliminating smoking and reducing alcohol are also very important in reducing your risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia. If you do smoke it is important to make an effort to quit as soon as possible in order to improve the circulation of the blood vessels to your brain. And, drinking alcohol only in moderation is more helpful in reducing your risk of dementia as well. It is helpful to keep your alcohol intake to only one or two drinks at a time and to make sure that you do so while you are eating food. This can help it digest more healthily and keep it from damaging your organs and circulation.
Finally, you can stay socially and mentally active to help maintain your brain’s ability to cope with disease. It can also help relieve stress and improve your mood. Various activities like puzzles, crosswords, and other interactive activities can keep your brain active and help delay or even prevent Alzheimer’s or dementia from developing. You can even read or work to learn a new language or other topic to keep your brain active while you also remain socially interactive for your mood and stress relief. All of this can help your brain health in the long run.