Preventing Alzheimer’s disease can be an effective method to delay the impact of Alzheimer’s on patients by maintaining a healthy diet, mental exercise, increasing social engagement and aerobic exercise you can lower your risk.
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Preventing Alzheimer’s disease
When one reaches the later years of one’s life, procedures will slow down and bones will weaken. This is the time when you will not be able to do the work that you used to do before or if you were still able to do it, you would not be able to do it with the exact speed and strength you used to before.
That is the sad reality about ageing. Things will slow down and finally, bit by bit, disappear.
But that is not always the case. For some people, the ageing process can speed up, particularly in the area of the brain. And scientists call it Alzheimer’s.
It is a degenerative and progressive illness that targets the brain, particularly the sites that deal with learning and memory. Although it usually affects people over the age of 80, there are some who are treated with the problem as early as their 40s and 50s. There are also occasional cases when Alzheimer’s attacks in the late 20s.
Alzheimer’s Disease is distinguished by progressive memory loss and the inability to focus attention on one thing. Individuals with this disease will forget their names, and their addresses and will cease to recognize their husbands, children and people who are close to them.
When it is in its later stages, language issues may also happen because of the inability of the person to recall words that are suitable for what they are going to say. The condition may also result in behavioural changes because of progressive memory loss. There are some patients who don’t remember how to go about their normal processes such as eating, sleeping or brushing their teeth. Some patients may even forget how to breathe.
This is the reason why most old people dread this condition. It can really be debilitating, robbing you of your life and frequently moments of your loved one.
Although nothing has been proven yet, some research shows that doing mental tasks can truly slow down the progression of the disease. For instance, Alzheimer’s patients who love to answer puzzles, do sudoku and play mental games like chess are slower in their progression compared to other patients with the same degree and case of Alzheimer’s. Because of this, some scientists acknowledge that Alzheimer’s can be prevented through the use of the mental process.
As the exact cause of Alzheimer’s illness is still unknown, there’s no certain way to prevent the disease. But a healthy and socially active lifestyle can help lower your risk.
Reducing your risk of cardiovascular illness
Cardiovascular disease has been connected with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
You may be able to lower your risk of developing these diseases– as well as other serious problems, such as strokes and heart attacks – by taking steps to enhance your cardiovascular health.
These include:
- Quitting smoking
- keeping alcohol to a minimum level
- eating a healthy and balanced diet, including at least 5 bits of fruit and vegetables every day
- exercising for at least 1.5-2 hours every week by doing the moderate-intensity aerobic activity (such as cycling or fast walking), or as much as you’re able to
- Make sure your blood pressure is checked and handled through regular health tests
- if you have diabetes, make sure you keep to the diet and take your medication on time.
Other risk factors for Preventing Alzheimer’s disease
The latest research indicates that other factors are also important, although this does not mean these factors are directly accountable for causing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
These include:
- hearing failure
- Certain depression
- loneliness or social separateness
- Having a sedentary lifestyle
The research concluded that by adjusting all the risk factors we’re able to change, our risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease could be significantly reduced.
- Remaining mentally and socially active
There’s some proof to suggest that rates of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease are lower in people who remain mentally and socially active throughout their lives.
It may be feasible to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s illness and other types of dementia by:
- reading
- learning foreign languages while ageing
- playing musical instruments or learning
- volunteering with your local residents
- taking part in group sports and exercise
- trying new exercises or hobbies like Yoga
- Keeping an active social life
- Interventions such as “brain training” computer games have been shown to enhance cognition over a short period, but research has not yet established whether this can help preventing Alzheimer’s disease.