5 Steps To Staying Mentally Sharp And Preventing Alzheimer's Disease
5061
Disease & Illness > Alzheimers Disease
Mar 1, 2007
Frank Mangano -
5 Steps To Staying Mentally Sharp And Preventing Alzheimer's Disease
If you want to stay sharp and in control of your life well into your golden years, there are proactive methods to achieving the mental alertness you need. More and more research is pointing to the fact that physical activity and lifestyle choices have more to do with preventing Alzheimer s disease (AD) and other forms of dementia - once thought to be a normal part of aging - than pure genetics. So if you had a parent, grandparent or sibling with AD it doesn't mean you have to follow the same path.
Statistics gathered from extensive research do point toward a higher risk of developing AD if you had a close relative with AD - as much as 50%, but that has less to do with genes and more to do with following their lifestyle patterns. If for example, your parents were smokers who rarely exercised, you may have developed some of the same destructive habits.
What can you do to break the cycle and prevent AD? Take action and take control today. Even if you are in your 60s or 70s you can reverse some of the damage done to your brain through poor diet, inactivity, or damaging lifestyle choices. Scientists have discovered very recently that the brain has the ability to repair cells and neurotransmitters and improve cognitive function and memory.
It's Not Too Late to Make A Difference: Start the 5 Steps Today
1. Eat Right. It seems so simple, yet too many people just don't get enough of the mind preserving antioxidants found in fresh fruits and vegetables. A well-balanced diet, free of diary products and using low fat sources of protein will protect both heart and mind.
2. Supplement where necessary. Many diets lack the nutrients proven to promote brain health. These include sources of essential fatty acids found in fish and specific herbs and minerals that can enhance cognitive function.
3. Exercise. Originally it was thought that exercise increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain cells. This is still true, but a report prepared for the National Institutes of Health states that exercise can also stimulate the production growth factors, which are molecules produced by the body to repair and maintain nerves.
4. Lower Your Cholesterol. Many people with early dementia or AD symptoms may have actually experienced small strokes that damaged the brain's neurotransmitters. By keeping cholesterol levels in check, the arteries are free and clear of plaque that can cause stroke.
5. Do your Mental Exercises. Keeping up with current events, working puzzles each day, learning and memorizing new information all work to keeping a mind strong and alert. It is normal for people to sometimes forget a name or date, but the more practice recalling such information the greater the brain's ability to do this throughout old age. In the case of mental challenges, the more you do the more you can push back the clock on cognitive decline.
Five easy steps, when you think about it, can do much to make aging an event to celebrate instead of dread. With age there comes experience and wisdom, and we should all do whatever is within our power to be able to pass that on to the next generation.
Statistics gathered from extensive research do point toward a higher risk of developing AD if you had a close relative with AD - as much as 50%, but that has less to do with genes and more to do with following their lifestyle patterns. If for example, your parents were smokers who rarely exercised, you may have developed some of the same destructive habits.
What can you do to break the cycle and prevent AD? Take action and take control today. Even if you are in your 60s or 70s you can reverse some of the damage done to your brain through poor diet, inactivity, or damaging lifestyle choices. Scientists have discovered very recently that the brain has the ability to repair cells and neurotransmitters and improve cognitive function and memory.
It's Not Too Late to Make A Difference: Start the 5 Steps Today
1. Eat Right. It seems so simple, yet too many people just don't get enough of the mind preserving antioxidants found in fresh fruits and vegetables. A well-balanced diet, free of diary products and using low fat sources of protein will protect both heart and mind.
2. Supplement where necessary. Many diets lack the nutrients proven to promote brain health. These include sources of essential fatty acids found in fish and specific herbs and minerals that can enhance cognitive function.
3. Exercise. Originally it was thought that exercise increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain cells. This is still true, but a report prepared for the National Institutes of Health states that exercise can also stimulate the production growth factors, which are molecules produced by the body to repair and maintain nerves.
4. Lower Your Cholesterol. Many people with early dementia or AD symptoms may have actually experienced small strokes that damaged the brain's neurotransmitters. By keeping cholesterol levels in check, the arteries are free and clear of plaque that can cause stroke.
5. Do your Mental Exercises. Keeping up with current events, working puzzles each day, learning and memorizing new information all work to keeping a mind strong and alert. It is normal for people to sometimes forget a name or date, but the more practice recalling such information the greater the brain's ability to do this throughout old age. In the case of mental challenges, the more you do the more you can push back the clock on cognitive decline.
Five easy steps, when you think about it, can do much to make aging an event to celebrate instead of dread. With age there comes experience and wisdom, and we should all do whatever is within our power to be able to pass that on to the next generation.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
Frank Mangano is an active member of his community who works diligently providing assistance to senior citizens and probing as a health advocate to discover new and innovative ways to promote well being. Discover how you can maintain good mental health at: www.alzheimersdefense.com/
Write a Review
Add to My Favorite
Refer it to Friend
Report Article
Other links owned by this user
Have you had your lycopene today? If you ate a green salad with fresh chopped tomatoes, then you not only got a healthy dose of this powerful antioxidant, but you have also taken significant action toward lowering your blood pressure. A recent
Category:
If you want to stay sharp and in control of your life well into your golden years, there are proactive methods to achieving the mental alertness you need. More and re research is pointing to the fact that physical activity and lifestyle choices have
Category:
Other links at Disease & Illness > Alzheimers Disease
Alzheier?s disease is a disease that effects the brain cells, leading to deentia and a deterioration of the brain itself. The disease can be hard to diagnose at first, because it happens slowly and the syptos can be ild. At first, the only sypto
Category:
What is happening in the brain of an Alzheimer's patient to cause all of the unpleasant cognitive and behavioral symptoms of the sickness? Alois Alzheimer was the first to find the strange plaques and tangles characteristic of the sickness in the brain
Category:
There is a disease out there that scares a lot young people in today?s orld. They start to orried about hether their parents are going to end up one of the elders that are ondering out in the streets not knoing here they are. Who they are or even
Category:
Copyright 2006 Frank Mangano he body and mind become diseased when one of two basic needs is not met. One, toxins or foreign substances enter the body, and two, the body does not have the right nutrients or reserves to fight the invasion.
Category:
One f the mst distressing aspect fr the relatives and friends f the sufferers f Alzheimer?s disease is the cmplete change f the patient?s persnality. The persnality and general behavir f Alzheimer sufferers in the later stages f the disease
Category:
Site Sponsor
Directory Statistics
Articles: 68214
Categories: 501
Yahoo Entertainment
