One of the diseases that has begun to widespread a lot is Alzheimer’s. It has become the 6th leading cause of death only in the USA. People die more from Alzheimer’s than from prostate and breast cancer. One thing that can be done is to protect your brain from damage or any cognitive decline and prevent the disease.
What is Dementia?
Dementia signifies a decline in the mental ability of a person which is so severe that it disturbs their everyday life. It includes a variety of symptoms.
When dementia appears, two or more of the following mental functions become impaired:
- Memory
- Visual perception
- Communication and language
- Reasoning and judgment
- Ability to focus and pay attention
The disease is progressive. This means that as it progresses it becomes worse. People usually forget some of the most common things: they forget some of their relatives, where they put their keys or they just forget to eat.
Alzheimer’s interferes with cell communication and damages the brain cells which causes problems with the , movement, thinking, behavior and judgment.
These are some of the most common factors which can cause the disease to appear:
- Impaired thyroid function
- Head injuries
- Obesity
- Depression
- Alcohol use
- Certain medication
- High blood pressure
- Low physical activity
- Poor diet and vitamin deficiencies
- Family history of Alzheimer’s disease
- Smoking
- High cholesterol
- Old age
- Diabetes
In case you belong to several of the abovementioned risk factor categories, you’d better do something in order to improve your cognitive function and prevent the disease.
Alzheimer’s vs. Dementia
Dementia is the wider term, while Alzheimer’s is considered to be the most common type of dementia. It appears in 60 to 80% of all the cases.
These are some other varieties of dementia:
- Mixed dementia
- Vascular dementia
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- Frontotemporal dementia
- Dementia with Lewy bodies
- Normal pressure hydrocephalus
- Parkinson’s disease
- Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome
- Huntington’s Disease
Twisted strands of a protein called tau, beta-amyloid deposits in the brain and cell damage and death are the main characteristics of Alzheimer’s. Some of the earliest signs are: depression, apathy, forgetting locations or names, etc., while as the disease progresses, these are some of the signs which appear: poor judgement, confusion, disorientation, impaired communication, behavior changes, and difficulty swallowing, speaking and walking.
Here, We’re Also Presenting You The Best 9 Natural Tricks That Can Help You Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease:
1. Quit Smoking
Smoking is the main cause for various diseases: heart problems, cancer and even dementia. Researchers from Finland have proved that people who smoke for example 2 or more packs of cigarettes every day and are 50 or 60 have an increased risk of dementia.
Smoking causes inflammation as well as oxidative stress. There are also numerous other studies that connect Alzheimer’s to smoking.
The best thing you can do in order to prevent the disease from appearing is to quit smoking. There are many herbs that can help you with that. Your lungs will be free of toxins, too!
2. Be Physically Active
We know that it is recommended to include physical activity in our everyday routine. Even our brain can benefit from it. It helps nutrients circulate better and improves the supply of oxygen in our brain. Risk factors like increased blood pressure, diabetes etc. become prevented.
People who have an increased factor of acquiring any type of dementia or Alzheimer’s particularly should exercise at least 3 times every week. In case you can’t exercise, try walking for at least half an hour a day. You can also include cycling or swimming.
3. Vitamin B
Vitamins of the group B are very important for our brain health. They decrease the levels of homocysteine in our blood which leads to different vascular problems like heart diseases and strokes when it’s increased. Your brain suffers the most in these cases. It starts having a poor performance and cognitive impairment appears.
If you intake enough vitamins from this group (B12, B6 and folic acid) you’ll manage to decrease brain atrophy. Thiamine is also a vitamin of the B group that helps our brain cells produce more energy. When we’re deficient in thiamine, Korsakoff Syndrome appears and this is a chronic memory disorder which belongs to the types of dementia.
Include more foods which are rich in vitamins from the group B. In case you’re a vegetarian, include more dairy products and eggs as well as a lot of vitamin B12.
4. Vitamin D
Nowadays, many people have vitamin D deficiency. Our body produces this vitamin when we’re exposed to direct sunlight.
Vitamin D is very important for our cognitive function and the complete mental health.
Make sure you’re exposed to enough sunlight for at least 15 minutes every day.
5. Train Your Brain
When you’re learning something new, you brain starts reorganizing so that it could create more space for the new information, but it also connects that information through new neuropathways.
A specific Canadian study discovered that cognitive function is supported in people who are bilingual and the onset of dementia was delayed.
Try to play some brain-stimulating games. You can include: chess, scrabble, sudoku or crossword puzzles. Another thing you can do is learn a new language or learn how to play a new instrument.
6. Prevent Head Injuries
Head injuries can cause changes in personality, vision, speech, symptoms like memory loss, confusion etc. and even if they are short-term, they can still be dangerous. These people are usually at an increased risk of dementia, especially if their injury caused 30 minutes to 24 hours of unconsciousness.
Try to wear a helmet when you’re doing water sports, skiing, skating or cycling. It is very important to protect yourself and your head.
7. Control The Intake Of Alcohol
Many years of alcohol abuse can cause the appearance of alcoholic dementia and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Also, the risk of vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is really increased. Make sure your intake of alcohol is controlled so that you can decrease this risk.
8. Track Your Numbers
It is very important to pay attention to your cholesterol, blood pressure and weight because obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes are risk factors. Make sure you’re familiar with your diet goals, exercise as well as the daily intake of calories.
9. Increase The Social interaction
If you’re isolated for a longer period of time, your brain becomes worn down. Socializing is one thing that is probably the most important one when it comes to preventing Alzheimer’s disease.
Numerous studies have proved the connection of clinical dementia with depression and also increased risk of vascular diseases.
In case you’re an older person, try to have a neighbor or one person that will walk with you every day. You can sign up for some new class and learn something new, but also meet new people. Talk to your loved ones regularly.
All of these habits are healthy for your brain and they will help you decrease the risk of any type of dementia. Include coconut oil, fish oil and many anti-inflammatory foods into your everyday diet.
You can only understand people and enjoy the world with the help of the command center e.g. your brain. If you pay attention to it and protect it, you’ll live a healthier and longer life full of different experiences and memories.
