"There are two types of Alzheimer's disease -- one that starts relatively early, around age 60, and one that starts much later in life, between ages 70 and 80. Early-onset Alzheimer's has a major genetic component. The more prevalent Alzheimer's starts later in life and has minimal genetic determination."
Shlomo Breznitz, PhD
That is a relief for those who have had relatives with late-onset Alzheimer's disease and who have worried about being genetically predisposed to the disease. There are things we can do to protect ourselves from the late-onset Alzheimer's disease, that has less genetic determination. Sleep 8 hours every night. Exercise 30-60 minutes every day. Eat 3 servings of fish a week. Some health food sources also recommend taking 100 mg phosphatidylserine twice per day. Also, as we get older there is less need to learn new things, so our brains may become inactive. To offset that, do things that really enable us to think again: such as, going to a new location and orienting oneself with maps, learning a new language or musical instrument, reading interesting books. Stress has a very negative impact on cognition, so eliminating stress and learning how to better handle stress are important. Meditation and yoga and exercise help with this.
No comments:
Post a Comment