If you practice healthy lifestyle habits to make your brain more flexible, can you also lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease?
New research out of the United States has identified 7 factors that can improve your chance of avoiding this dreaded and fatal disease by as much as 50%. Modifying your lifestyle for the good was front and centre in this study, with exercising, eating well, controlling weight and not smoking topping the list.
In reviewing this study, the Director of Information and Education for the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada was quick to point out that this research is based on a mathematical equation and has not yet been proven in real life. However, she refers to all of this new information as being like the pieces of a puzzle – there is no conclusive strategy at this time, but each piece is bringing researchers closer to understanding the disease.
Healthy Lifestyle Does Improve Brain Flexibility
We know that lifestyle factors can make a difference in improving brain function and flexibility. We particularly agree that you need to keep your brain flexible, and that you must do many different kinds of activities to withstand any assault to your brain that may come along. We all know how important it is to keep the body “stretched.” Here is the best way to do the same for your brain:
- Exercise
- Eat a healthy diet
- Don’t smoke -- if you do, stop now.
- Control your weight.
- Do mind games like Sudoku and crosswords.
- Learn to play an instrument or to speak a new language.
In the case of Alzheimer’s disease, there is not one particular strategy that gives you the best chance of avoiding Alzheimer’s disease. However, by doing many of the above activities, we believe you can fill in this puzzle in more completely.
Related Articles
1. 10 Simple Strategies for Alzheimer’s Prevention
2. Daily Exercise Improves Brain Function
3. Healthy Living Series Part 1 of 5: In Pursuit of Good Health – Dementia and Alzheimer’s
