Health coach Alejandra Ruff shares five science-backed strategies to support long-term brain health and reduce Alzheimer's risk, including prioritizing omega-3s, ensuring quality sleep, avoiding blood sugar spikes, staying active every 2-3 hours, and eating anti-inflammatory foods.
A large-scale study finds that objective social isolation directly accelerates cognitive decline in older adults, independent of loneliness, across all demographic groups, highlighting the importance of social connections for neurological health and Alzheimer's prevention.
Scientists have found that walking 3,000 to 5,000 steps daily can significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and delay cognitive decline, with benefits increasing up to 7 years for those walking more than 5,000 steps. Regular walking promotes brain health by stimulating endorphin release, improving blood flow, and slowing tau protein buildup, making it a simple, accessible way to protect cognitive function.
A recent study suggests that walking 3,000 to 5,000 steps daily can significantly delay the onset of cognitive decline related to Alzheimer's disease, highlighting an easy and free way to protect brain health through regular physical activity.
SuperAgers are individuals over 80 with memory performance comparable to much younger people, and their brains show unique biological traits that resist or resist the effects of Alzheimer's disease. Research suggests that social engagement, brain structure, and cellular differences contribute to their exceptional cognitive resilience, offering insights into potential ways to prevent or delay dementia.
Dugal Bain-Kim, CEO of Lifeforce, changed his lifestyle after his father's Alzheimer's diagnosis, adopting habits like taking creatine, microdosing GLP-1s, engaging in Zone 2 cardio, following a MIND diet, and prioritizing sleep to potentially prevent cognitive decline.
Research shows that lifestyle interventions like exercise, diet, and social engagement can significantly improve brain health and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and cognitive decline, highlighting a promising, cost-effective approach for public health strategies to combat the growing dementia crisis.
SuperAgers are individuals over 80 who maintain memory and cognitive functions comparable to much younger people, with research showing their brains have thicker attention-related regions, fewer tau tangles, larger neurons, and less inflammation, suggesting that genetics, lifestyle, and brain structure contribute to their exceptional aging process.
A recent study suggests that writing by hand can reduce the risk of dementia by over 50%, highlighting the importance of engaging in brain-stimulating activities and adopting healthy lifestyle habits to protect against cognitive decline.
To help prevent Alzheimer's disease, avoid alcohol, caffeine, heavy meals, sodium, and sugar-sweetened beverages after 5 p.m., and instead focus on a healthy diet, good sleep, and regular exercise. Small lifestyle changes can significantly support long-term brain health.
Keith Hengen and colleagues propose that the brain operates optimally at a state called criticality, which is crucial for learning and memory. Disruption of criticality, such as by tau protein buildup in Alzheimer's, impairs cognitive function. The theory suggests new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, including early detection via fMRI and sleep-based interventions to restore criticality, potentially preventing or slowing neurodegenerative diseases.
A large study indicates that following the MIND diet, rich in leafy greens, berries, nuts, and olive oil, can significantly lower the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, especially when dietary habits improve over time, with benefits observed across various age and racial groups.
Experts highlight the importance of diet in supporting brain health and reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Key foods recommended include strawberries, salmon, walnuts, eggs, leafy greens, barley, and green tea, all of which provide essential nutrients and antioxidants that promote cognitive function and delay brain aging. Limiting intake of saturated fats and sugars is also advised to lower dementia risk.
Neuroscientist Robert Love shared five brain-boosting foods to help prevent Alzheimer's, including eggs for B-complex vitamins and choline, sardines for omega-3 fatty acids, chocolate for neurogenesis and angiogenesis, wild-caught salmon for healthy fats, and black rice for polyphenols beneficial for gut and brain health.
Breakthrough Alzheimer's treatments that remove toxic proteins from the brain have sparked renewed interest in vaccines as a potential cheaper and easier option for treating the disease. Clinical trials are underway or completed for at least seven Alzheimer's vaccines that aim to harness the immune system to eliminate disease-related proteins. Researchers believe they have learned from past failures and are now testing vaccines that provoke an immune response without causing excess inflammation. While vaccines are still in the early stages and will require large trials, they could offer a more accessible alternative to current treatments.