Alzheimer’s isn’t inevitable. Many experts now believe you can prevent or at least delay dementia — even if you have a genetic predisposition. Reducing Alzheimer’s risk factors like obesity, diabetes, smoking and low physical activity by just 25 percent could prevent up to half a million cases of the disease in the United States, according to a recent analysis from the University of California in San Francisco.
Here are 10 new ways you can boost your brain health now.
1) Get moving
“If you do only one thing to keep your brain young, exercise,” says Art Kramer, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Illinois. Higher exercise levels can reduce dementia risk by 30 to 40 percent compared with low activity levels, and physically active people tend to maintain better cognition and memory than inactive people. “They also have substantially lower rates of different forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease,” Kramer says.
Working out helps your hippocampus, the region of the brain involved in memory formation. As you age, your hippocampus shrinks, leading to memory loss. Exercise can reverse this process, research suggests.
How you work up a sweat is up to you, but most experts recommend 150 minutes a week of moderate activity. Even a little bit can help: “In our research as little as 15 minutes of regular exercise three times per week helped maintain the brain,” says Eric Larson, executive director of Group Health Research Institute in Seattle.
2) Pump some iron
Older women who participated in a year-long weight-training program at the University of British Columbia at Vancouver did 13 percent better on tests of cognitive function than a group of women who did balance and toning exercises. “Resistance training may increase the levels of growth factors in the brain such as IGF1, which nourish and protect nerve cells,” says Teresa Liu-Ambrose, head of the university’s Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory.
3) Seek out new skills
Learning spurs the growth of new brain cells. “When you challenge the brain, you increase the number of brain cells and the number of connections between those cells,” says Keith Black, chair of neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “But it’s not enough to do the things you routinely do — like the daily crossword. You have to learn new things, like sudoku or a new form of bridge.”
UCLA researchers using MRI scans found that middle-aged and older adults with little Internet experience could trigger brain centers that control decision-making and complex reasoning after a week of surfing the net. “Engaging the mind can help older brains maintain healthy functioning,” says Cynthia Green, author of 30 Days to Total Brain Health.
4) Say “Omm”
Chronic stress floods your brain with cortisol, which leads to impaired memory. To better understand if easing tension changes your brain, Harvard researchers studied men and women trained in a technique called mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). This form of meditation — which involves focusing one’s attention on sensations, feelings and state of mind — has been shown to reduce harmful stress hormones. After eight weeks, researchers took MRI scans of participants’ brains that showed the density of gray matter in the hippocampus increased significantly in the MBSR group, compared with a control group.
5) Eat like a Greek
A heart-friendly Mediterranean diet — fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts and beans — reduced Alzheimer’s risk by 34 to 48 percent in studies conducted by Columbia University.
“We know that omega-3 fatty acids in fish are very important for maintaining heart health,” says Keith Black of Cedars-Sinai. “We suspect these fats may be equally important for maintaining a healthy brain.”
Data from several large studies suggest that older people who eat the most fruits and vegetables, especially the leafy-green variety, may experience a slower rate of cognitive decline and a lower risk for dementia than meat lovers.
And it may not matter if you get your produce from a bottle instead of a bin. A study from Vanderbilt University found that people who downed three or more servings of fruit or vegetable juice a week had a 76 percent lower risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease than those who drank less than a serving weekly.
6) Spice it up
Your brain enjoys spices as much as your taste buds do. Herbs and spices such as black pepper, cinnamon, oregano, basil, parsley, ginger and vanilla are high in antioxidants, which may help build brainpower. Scientists are particularly intrigued by curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, common in Indian curries. “Indians have lower incidence of Alzheimer’s, and one theory is it’s the curcumin,” says Black. “It bonds to amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brains of people with the disease.” Animal research shows curcumin reduces amyloid plaques and lowers inflammation levels. A study in humans also found those who ate curried foods frequently had higher scores on standard cognition tests.
7) Find your purpose
Discovering your mission in life can help you stay sharp, according to a Rush University Medical Center study of more than 950 older adults. Participants who approached life with clear intentions and goals at the start of the study were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease over the following seven years, researchers found.
8) Get a (social) life
Who needs friends? You do! Having multiple social networks helps lower dementia risk, a 15-year study of older people from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute shows. A rich social life may protect against dementia by providing emotional and mental stimulation, says Laura Fratiglioni, director of the institute’s Aging Research Center. Other studies yield similar conclusions: Subjects in a University of Michigan study did better on tests of short-term memory after just 10 minutes of conversation with another person.
9) Reduce your risks
Chronic health conditions like diabetes, obesity and hypertension are often associated with dementia. Diabetes, for example, roughly doubles the risk for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Controlling these risk factors can slow the tide.
“We’ve estimated that in people with mild cognitive impairment — an intermediate state between normal cognitive aging and dementia — good control of diabetes can delay the onset of dementia by several years,” says Fratiglioni. That means following doctor’s orders regarding diet and exercise and taking prescribed medications on schedule.
10) Check vitamin deficiencies
Older adults don’t always get all the nutrients they need from foods, because of declines in digestive acids or because their medications interfere with absorption. That vitamin deficit — particularly vitamin B12 — can also affect brain vitality, research from Rush University Medical Center shows. Older adults at risk of vitamin B12 deficiencies had smaller brains and scored lowest on tests measuring thinking, reasoning and memory, researchers found.
