When you first hear the words Alzheimer’ s and dementia it is understandable to be filled with panic, distress, anger or shock – after all you are told that there is very little that can be done to improve these conditions.
You may also wonder why it is you or your loved one who is affected?
You may have been told that it was due to age, gender, genetics or just bad luck and that there was little you could have done to prevent it – and even less you can do to help it now.
But, in a word most of what you may have been told is Untrue!
Before I go onto share with you some very simple steps that you can take to not only improve both these conditions but also to reduce your chances of developing them in the first place I want to share with you the results of a very arresting study…
Researchers from the University of Kuopio, Finland studied midpoint 1500 subjects over a 21 go expression. During this time they compared the effects of three known risk factors in the development of Alzheimer’ s – genetic factors ( the presence of ApoE – a gene that roughly triples your chance of developing the disease ), high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
The results they came to at the pole of this title were magnificent. They discovered that those with the greatest risk of developing Alzheimer ' s disease were those that had the highest cholesterol and the highest blood pressure i. e. the only two treatable factors.
This means that those subjects who were able to maintain their cholesterol levels and their blood pressure were less likely to develop Alzheimer ' s disease even if they were genetically prone to it!
In other words – your lifestyle, the way you live, the things that you can do something about are far more important when it comes to Alzheimer’ s disease and dementia than the things you cannot change like your genes.
So, what can you do to help yourself? Opening now and in the next few articles I will show you plenty of ways to not only reduce your risk, but also to reverse the changes that have instant occurred to get your brain sophisticated, younger and performing better!
Of course, the best time to start with any health regime that you want to wages dividends in the booked is now! In setup to have many good caducity ahead you need to clinch that you have a firm, solid foundation that you can build on. You need to make perfect that your present day health is as good as possible in array to precaution your future health, and with that in mind I want to guide a few areas that you may want to check up on to identify how well you are doing.
The first thing is to maintain ideal blood sugar levels, and if you are diabetic to make clear-cut that this is as accurately controlled as possible. A study in Archives of Neurology shows that the incidence of Alzheimer ' s disease is famously increased amongst diabetics and those with poor blood sugar dominion ( up 65 % ). Other incidences of impaired brain function were also increased ( by 44 % ) hastening the process of senile dementia.
Changing studies have indicated that chromium picolinate can have a pregnant corollary on diabetes by component to decrease insulin levels and improve blood sugar metabolism. Fresh important functioning of chromium is that it may also help prevent and reverse atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. I would therefore suggest supplementing with 200mcg Chromium Picolinate on a daily basis.
Larger area to look at is maintaining a healthy heart and circulation. A 15 tide long study carried out in Sweden showed that vascular causes of dementia may be more common than first cerebration. The factors most commonly found to affect circulation and in consequence increase the chances of Alzheimer ' s disease and dementia are…
• Hypertension or high blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Hypercholesterolemia – increased cholesterol
• Hyperhomocysteinemia – high levels of homocysteine
• Atrial fibrillation – irregular heart beat and
• Atherosclerosis – the build up of plaque inside blood vessels
Space will not avow me to descant techniques to help all of the elder areas, but I will give you a few pointers to organisation the first few ( I will go into more detail in subsequent articles ).
Many supplements can help lower blood pressure naturally, but one of the most beneficial is garlic.
Garlic not only helps reduce blood pressure, reduce triglycerides but also the stickiness of the blood inside the arteries, which may prevent blood from clotting and wherefore may decrease the risks of heart attacks and raves. I would push for a supplement of 500mg of garlic three times a day.
Researchers from the University of Kuopio, Finland ( exactly, it ' s that place again ) teaming up with researchers from Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California have found that high cholesterol levels increase the risk of Alzheimer ' s disease by as much as one and a half times.
As a consubstantial therapist my first port of call would be vitamin E as this has many beneficial effects on the body. Introspection cholesterol, vitamin E can reduce “ bad” cholesterol as well as prevent and remove the build up of fat in blood vessels ( atherosclerosis ). Other studies have shown that vitamin E when combined with vitamin C offers even greater protection against Alzheimer ' s disease and for that actuation I would sponsor a daily supplement of 2500 - 3000mg of vitamin C and up to 800mg of vitamin E to protection your cardiovascular system.
Also, you may want to increase the amount and type of exercise that you do to reduce your risk of Alzheimer ' s. Being over weight and in particular being plump ( Body Mass Index of over 30 for adults ) can dramatically increase the risk of all types of dementia and Alzheimer’ s disease. In reality, a review of the literature shows that the increase can be twice as great – and the announcement gets even worse…
Look into showed that people who measured the nonpareil increase in “ belly” size during a 30 stretch header were more than three times as later to develop dementia, regardless of whether or not their weight increased. So, get up out of the chair and do a little trained exercise and movement three times a era for 15 minutes at a time.
The decrepit axiom of “ use it or lose it” is very true with all parts of the body. We know that decreased exercise causes muscles to wash and waste, and a bone to become brittle or osteoporotic – the same is true for the brain!
Studies have shown that the more comprehension a person has, the lower their risk of developing Alzheimer ' s disease and other dementias. Some studies even suggest that the risk of Alzheimer ' s disease is increased by 2 - 4 times in those who have a lower level of education. Before you start worrying that you were never good at prepare and now you thirst you had tried harder the good facts is it is never too behind to make improvements!
Various studies have shown that people who participate in the greatest amount of fair shake activities ( particularly those that are mentally stimulating ) have a lower incidence of Alzheimer ' s disease. Also, if a person present suffers from dementia or Alzheimer ' s they are less likely to diminish if they are actively involved in something mentally and intellectually laborious. There are literally hundreds of activities that you can do both in the home and appearance that will keep the brain ticking over. These range from cards to carpentry, dominoes to disco ( or sequence dancing for the not so youthful! ) and I will cover these ideas more in - depth in a subsequent article.
Other simple steps that you can start straight away are to reduce or stop smoking, drink alcohol in lucidity ( two to three alcoholic drinks 2 - 3 times a stretch is really good for both you and your brain! ), drink more water, increase your fruit and vegetable intake, stop using artificial sweeteners, cut down on the amount of carbohydrates that you eat ( stop drinking those sodas – they’ re no good for your teeth and no good for your brain! ). Start enjoying a more Mediterranean diet with plenty of fish, olive oil, nuts, in reality often eat more healthily and eat less. You can also start taking some supplements - start with an all round multi - vitamin, add some vitamin B, C and E and you are well on the way to improving your mental originality.
For those who really want to make dramatic strides in safeguarding their mental faculties analog watch out for my imminent articles spot I will go into greater depth on the large material whilst also giving you new ideas to think about. You can also learn much more about Alzheimer’ s disease and dementia in my new book, The Alzheimer’ s Alternative available from www. alzheimersalternative. com.
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