"What Can Help In Preventing Alzheimers"
Many scientists consider prventing Alzheimers is one of the most exciting recent developments in the dementia research arena. A growing body of evidence suggests that the health of the brain, one of the body's most highly vascular organs, is closely linked to the overall health of the heart and blood vessels.
Beginning in young adulthood, management of such cardiovascular risk factors as cholesterol and blood sugar levels, blood pressure and weight may help avoid or delay cognitive decline and development of Alzheimer's disease. Additional evidence points to a significant role for regular physical exercise in maintaining lifelong cognitive health. Still other evidence suggests that a low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables may support brain health, as may a robust social network and a lifetime of intellectual curiosity and mental stimulation.
As the president and medical director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Foundation International in Tucson, Arizona, Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., is one of the physicians at the forefront of Alzheimer prevention. He contends that the current research on the disease serves only to confirm the idea of preventig Alzheimers is the only practical way of dealing with it.
Many scientists agree with Dr. Khalsa that Alzheimer's is actually a multi-factorial disease. That is, its development is dependent upon several variables, including but not exclusive to nutrition, chronic stress, and lifestyle choices. However, Dr. Khalsa believes that out of these risk factors, the most probable cause of Alzheimers are chronic, unrelenting stress and free radical damage and oxidative stress, all of which occur at a certain point in our lives as we age. So, the good news is that we can take certain steps in preventing Alzheimers. Exercise Recent studies at Japan's University of Tsukuba have found that an exercise program incorporating low-intensity calisthenics also improved the memory in elderly people with mild cognitive
impairment. The calisthenics, called Furfuri-Guppa, were combined with singing. After one year in the exercise intervention program, 70 of participants showed a significant improvement in memory. Mental and Social Activity for Preventing Alzheimers A number of studies have reported that mental and social activities, such as reading, dancing, doing crosswords, painting, playing music, and singing in a choir could delay the onset of dementia. It has been proposed that such activities increase brain activity, stimulate establishment of new connections between nerve cells and may even result in the production of new nerve cells. Old age is not a reason to stop learning new things. Over the years of mental stimulation a brain can build many connections between nerve cells. When such an active brain becomes affected by Alzheimer's disease some of these connections are disrupted, but the brain may be able to re-route the flow of information to intact connections and compensate for the death of other nerve cells. Because of this, active brains that have many connections between nerve cells, tend to remain free of the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease for longer. In contrast, a flow of information in an inactive brain, that has few connections between nerve cells, is easily disrupted at the onset of Alzheimers disease. Diet Still being studied is the effect of diet and nutritional supplementation in preventing Alzheimer's disease. Promising work has shown the helpfulness of antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, and fish oil. While no research has yet confirmed this, anecdotal observation has shown a number of cases where the kind of diet recommended for the prevention of heart disease has also proven useful in preventing Alzheimers disease. Again, while nothing has been shown for sure, including some of these measures in your lifestyle may help you to avoid Alzheimer's will improve your overall health and quality of life. Although researchers do not yet understand many of the cellular processes that lead to Alzheimer's, it appears that a healthy lifestyle can help in preventing Alzheimers.
Alzheimers Exercise
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