Top 10 Tips to Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

1. Add More Fruits and Vegetables to Your Diet

One of the best defenses against this disease appears to be in the food you eat. A study published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association found that people who eat the recommended amount of folate have a much lower risk of developing the disease.

Folates are B-vitamins found in leafy green vegetables, oranges, legumes and bananas.

But, Although folates appear to be more beneficial than other nutrients, the primary message should be that overall healthy diets seem to have an impact on limiting Alzheimer’s disease risk, who co-led the study. Antioxidant-rich foods are also extremely important.

2. Give Your Lifestyle an Upgrade

The same factors that put you at risk of heart disease, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, may also increase the likelihood that you’ll develop Alzheimer’s disease.

This means that leading a healthy lifestyle by avoiding tobacco, excess alcohol, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight may help keep your brain as healthy as your heart.

The major way we’ve reduced the death rate from heart disease is through lifestyle changes: eating better, exercising more, smoking less. It would require a lot of people to change the way they live, but there’s no reason to think we can’t have the same impact on Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

3. Get Active

Numerous studies have shown that exercising, even modestly, reduces the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s.

Walking 45 minutes three times a week for six months significantly improved mental ability of older adults with no dementia; a randomly selected control group that did stretching and toning had no change.

Another study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine also found that seniors who did as little as 15 minutes a day of modest exercise three times a week reduced their risk of developing dementia by about 30 percent.

4. If You Have Diabetes, Control It

Poorly controlled diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, so if you have this condition be sure to eat right and exercise regularly to keep it under control.

5. Don’t Overdo Omega-6 Fats

Omega-6 fats, found in most vegetable oils as well as red meat, poultry, cereals, eggs and nuts, are essential for a healthy brain, as they help to form the membranes that protect brain cells.

However, this is a case where “a lot” is not necessarily better. A recent study by researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Diseases in San Francisco found that raised levels of arachidonic acid, a type of omega-6 fat, is associated with Alzheimer’s. The researchers believe it interferes with the brain’s nerve cells.

In the United States, vegetable oils are a major source of omega-6 fats. If you’re looking to cut back on it, eliminating processed foods from your diet (which almost always contain vegetable oil) would be a sensible step.

6. Stimulate Your Brain

“A lifetime of intellectual curiosity and mental stimulation” may help to promote brain health, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. In fact, numerous studies suggest that stimulating your brain as you age can ward off dementia and cognitive decline.

Some researchers believe that lifelong mental exercise and learning may promote the growth of additional synapses, the connections between neurons, and delay the onset of dementia.

Just keeping busy seems to tune the brain . In a seven-year study of 1,800 older adults, the more “leisure pursuits” a person had, the lower their risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Leisure pursuits included:

* Visiting friends
* Playing cards
* Going to the movies

You can also try crossword puzzles, games like chess and checkers, reading, attending a lecture, volunteering or taking a class that interests you.

7. Stay Social

A robust social life also appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, according to a study in the September 2008 issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

Those who participated in home and family activities, visited friends and relatives, attended parties, card games and other club activities and had home hobbies were less likely to develop the disease, researchers found.

These activities might be indicative of an enriched environment, which has been shown in animal models to enhance the creation of new brain cells and promote brain repair.

8. Avoid Head Injuries

Research has uncovered a strong link between serious head injury and Alzheimer’s. You can reduce your risk of head injury by always wearing a seat belt while driving, wearing a helmet on a motorcycle or bicycle and making sure to remove tripping hazards around your home.

9. Relax and Stay Positive

According to the Center for Healthy Minds, elderly people who experience a lot of psychological distress (worrying, feeling insecure or nervous) are more likely to show signs of mental decline. In fact, one study found that people prone to high levels of distress were twice as likely to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease after five years than those who were prone to low levels of distress.

Further, adults who suffer from depression have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s than those who show few or no depressive symptoms.

10. Don’t Live Near High-Voltage Power Lines

A major new study based on nearly 5 million people in Switzerland found that those who live within 50 meters of a power line more than double their risk of Alzheimer’s and other neuro-degenerative disease, compared with those who live at least 600 meters away.

Before you put your house on the market, keep in mind that this study involved 220-380 kV power lines, which are extra high voltage lines used for long distance, very high power transmission. In contrast, power lines used to connect a typical residential customer to a utility would be less than 1,000 volts (volts not kV).