5 Tips To Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

Exercising memory and intellectual capacity accompanied by changing habits and adopting healthier ones can help delay the onset of the disease.

Alzheimer’s disease progressively progresses, affecting cognitive ability and affecting the patient’s quality of life, even in matters as simple as dressing, remembering where an object was placed, what to do, among other simple issues.

Its development is progressive and, at the moment, although there is no cure, there is a treatment. Now it is worth asking: could this disease be prevented? So what would you have to do to stay healthy?

Can Alzheimer’s be prevented?

It has not been possible to identify the specific cause of this disease. However, it is considered that there are several factors that can influence its appearance.

Dr. Juebin Huang clarifies that Alzheimer’s is ” twice more common among women than men, partly because they have a longer life expectancy.”

Symptoms

Initially, there are small, imperceptible memory losses that can be easily ignored. Over time, these losses become worse to such an extent that the person becomes unable to perform daily activities.

In the final stages, the patient has problems performing intellectual activities such as speaking, understanding, reading, or writing . Some symptoms of Alzheimer’s include:

• Disorientation.
• Reasoning problems.
• Misunderstanding of common words.
• Inability to tie your shoes or button your shirt.
• Irritability, confusion, apathy, or decay, among others.
• Short-term memory loss: It is difficult to retain new information.
• Long-term memory loss: It is difficult to remember personal information such as important dates, profession, and even name.

How can Alzheimer’s disease be prevented?

At present there is no conclusive evidence regarding the prevention of the disease. However, it is believed that a healthy lifestyle can do a lot. On the other hand, taking care of mental health is a very advisable fundamental habit.

Therefore, it is proposed that people maintain a lifestyle that combines exercise with healthy eating, recreation and the management of emotional tension.

On the other hand, experts recommend learning to detect the first symptoms. In addition, it is very important to exercise both memory and intellectual function. Some of the tips to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s are:

1. Controlling vascular risk factors

Controlling the main vascular risk factors involves trying to keep cholesterol, sugar, and high blood pressure levels balanced. For this, you can consult your doctor.

2. Modifying the lifestyle

With some lifestyle modifications, you can take care of your brain health and reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s. Let’s look at some guidelines below:

• Diet: A healthy and balanced diet could also help in the prevention of Alzheimer’s. Thus, it is recommended to increase the consumption of:
  • “Good” monounsaturated foods:  walnuts, peanuts, almonds, pistachios, avocados, cinnamon, or olives.
  • Polyunsaturated: omega 3 and green leafy foods.
  • Vitamin E,  present in wheat germ, shelled cereals, green leaves, nuts.
  • Vitamin B12: can be found in animal products.
  • Folic acid (Vitamin B9): present in foods such as beans, green vegetables, oranges.
  • It is also recommended to reduce the consumption of red meat, refined foods, butters and fats derived from dairy products.
• Practicing physical exercise is very good for your health in general and it is also very good for preventing Alzheimer’s disease.
• Stop smoking, as smoking is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s. If you have not yet managed to break this bad habit, we recommend looking for alternatives to do so.
• Increase cognitive activity since it can prevent and somehow prolong the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Numerous studies determine that these activities are an exercise for the brain and memory.

Here are some activities that could boost cognitive function:

• Read frequently.
• Study a career.
• Speak several languages.
• Have more social activity.
• Play musical instruments.
• Challenge yourself with intellectual games like chess, crosswords, puzzles, sudokus, and all kinds of board games to think about.

Alzheimer’s disease: final comments

In summary, until now there is no exact way to predict whether a person will develop dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease.

It is very important to take into account the risk factors, since they can be key in the early detection of this disease. At the moment it cannot be said that its evolution can be stopped.

However, detecting it early can help a lot to improve the quality of life of the patient. We recommend you go to a specialist if you think you may be having symptoms of this disease.