Dementia: Things To Lower Your Risk
More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s and dementia, a devastating brain disorder that affects thinking, memory, and behavior that can interfere with daily life.
Family history, overall health, and other factors can contribute to dementia, which is the seventh leading cause of death globally. However, individuals can lower their risk of developing dementia by making specific lifestyle changes, according to Jessica Caldwell, director of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement Prevention Center at Cleveland Clinic.
“Small changes over time can add up to major benefits for your brain as you age,” Caldwell told HuffPost. “It’s never too late to start a healthy habit—even people who have mild cognitive changes or dementia can benefit from brain healthy habits.”
Although you cannot completely control your risk of developing dementia, there are lifestyle changes and health management actions you can take now to protect your brain and reduce your chances of developing dementia in the future.
Health Management Actions
1. Try to maintain a healthy weight
Several studies have associated obesity with an increased risk of dementia. A scientific analysis published in JAMA in 2022 named obesity as one of the top modifiable causes of dementia.
2. Manage your cholesterol
Studies suggest that high cholesterol poses a greater risk of developing dementia, and this risk increases with age. Heshan J. Fernando, a clinical neuropsychologist for Corewell Health in Michigan, suggests adopting a heart-healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fruits and vegetables, lean meats like chicken and fish, whole grains, and healthy fats. This “can help optimize blood flow to the brain,” he told Women’s Health Magazine.
3. Manage your blood pressure
Uncontrolled hypertension, or high blood pressure, can increase the risk of developing dementia later in life, according to Dr. Zaldy Tan, the director of the Jona Goldrich Center for Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders at Cedars-Sinai in California. Eliminating lifestyle factors that contribute to high blood pressure, such as smoking, unhealthy diet, and lack of exercise, can help to prevent cognitive brain decline in the future.
4. Manage diabetes
“A growing body of research has implicated a strong link between metabolic disorders like diabetes and impaired nerve signaling in the brain,” Dr. Verna Porter, a neurologist and director of the Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurocognitive Disorders at Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, told Women’s Health Magazine. According to Dr. Porter, you can reduce “inflammation in the brain, which in turn helps to protect” it by managing your diabetes.
5. Get your vision and hearing checked
Research shows that untreated vision loss increases the risk of dementia by about 50 percent. Also, a 2024 study linked hearing loss to a higher risk of developing dementia. However, people who used hearing aids were less likely to develop dementia than non-users.
Lifestyle Changes
1. Take vitamin D
Vitamin D has been known to help clear amyloid plaques, a protein that scientists believe contributes to Alzheimer’s disease. In a study involving 12,388 participants from the U.S. National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center, those who took vitamin D had a 40 percent lower risk of developing dementia than those who did not. The average age of the participants was 71. In addition, 2,696 participants developed dementia over 10 years, and 75 percent of those participants were not exposed to vitamin D.
While Vitamin D was effective across all groups, the effects were significantly greater in women than in men. Women who took the supplement had a 49 percent lower risk of developing dementia than those who did not. The study was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia Diagnosis, Assessment, & Disease Monitoring in 2023.
2. Stay physically active
Regular exercise is so crucial that Dr. Randall Wright, a neurologist and medical director of the Brain Wellness Center at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, refers to exercise as “Bluetooth for the brain”—suggesting it helps us create better connections.
“It’s kind of the holy grail,” Dr. Wright told HuffPost. “We all look for things that help with neuroplasticity, and exercise unlocks the brain’s potential. It’s important to keep those brain cells moving forward and developing.”
3. Stay socially active
“A lot is happening when we’re interacting, we’re processing a lot,” Dr. Tan told HuffPost. “When we don’t do that, those neural pathways are not being utilized, and they start to redirect or dissipate, which can accelerate cognitive decline.”
4. Avoid smoking and ease up on alcohol
According to the Alzheimer’s Society, smoking has been linked to dementia because it can increase the risk of problems with the heart and blood vessels. Toxins in cigarettes also cause inflammation, which has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Also, research shows that heavy drinking can damage the brain and increase the risk of dementia. A 2023 study found that decreasing drinking levels from “heavy” to “moderate” will lower the risk.
5. Manage your mental health and watch your stress levels
Mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, can increase the risk of dementia. A 2023 study found that people diagnosed with depression were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with dementia later in life. Medication, therapy, and healthy habits such as proper nutrition, regular exercise, and adequate sleep can all contribute to addressing mental health issues.
Stress is a part of everyday life and can significantly affect your mental health. However, Dr. Tan said what matters isn’t trying to avoid stress at all costs but learning how to manage it better when it happens.
“Having sustained levels of stress is bad for you,” he told HuffPost. “When you’re stressed, your cortisol shoots up, and if it’s sustained, it can damage the brain.”
6. Avoid eating a diet of only processed foods
“Processed foods lead to micro-inflammations in the brain, and that is associated with all kinds of problems and reduces longevity,” Friederike Fabritius, a neuroscientist, told HuffPost. “The microbiome affects the brain, so eating fermented foods daily is a sure way to improve your brain health dramatically. Most of our neurotransmitters are produced in the gut.”
Fabritius suggests eating fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, or kimchi. Caldwell recommends brain-healthy whole foods like green, leafy vegetables, omega-3-rich fish, berries, and nuts.
7. Try to minimize exposure to air pollution
Studies suggest that people consistently exposed to fine particulate matter (PM) in the air are more likely to develop dementia than those who aren’t. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PM can come from construction sites, unpaved roads, fields, smokestacks, or fires or can result from complex reactions of pollutants.
8. Don’t stop learning
Learning new things keeps the mind sharp and lowers the risk of dementia.
“Whenever we learn new things, we know that we form new connections between brain cells,” Dr. Tan told HuffPost. “Whenever you make these connections, you increase what we call brain plasticity. Plasticity is [the] ability of our minds and our brains to adapt to change.”
Source Links:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/jamiefeldman/avoid-actions-reduce-dementia-sc
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a63227792/lower-dementia-risk-doctors/
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a63322657/vitamin-d-dementia-study/
