over the last several years i get asked this question a lot
what can i do to prevent alzheimers disease
there isnt one good answer
but
there are a few things at the top of the list
diet
exercise
blood pressure control
if you wanted to slow down your chances of getting alzheimers disease
these are probably the top three
when you look at them they are also the secret to a lot of other illness like heart disease kidney disease stroke diabetes to name a few
most of those diseases are risk factors for alzheimers disease
which one should be the number one thing to do
its hard to pick
but
today im picking blood pressure control since the first thing you do to control your blood pressure is to eat correctly lose weight if you are obese and exercise
the first prescription for blood pressure control will be these things
doing these things plus controlling my blood pressure to the new normals may be one of the reasons i have not progressed down the alzheimers cliff yet
in a study recently called the sprint study it was found that keeping the blood pressure down below 130/80 made a difference in memory loss as the participants aged
here is a link to an article on the sprint study
alzheimers starts first in the brain as amyloid gets deposited then tau proteins get deposited
this all starts before symptoms start
this is called prealzheimers
then mild memory loss starts usually as short term memory loss
if these folks have memory testing its slightly abnormal and their scans for amyloid are positive
they have mild cognitive impairment which is what i have
then as the memory worsens they develop full blown alzheimers disease
all alzheimers patients go through these stages
prealzheimers then mild cognitive impairment then alzheimers disease
in the sprint study it seemed that controlling blood pressure below 130/80 decreased the incidence of mild cognitive impairment in the study group by 20% and by doing so may have prevented some of them from getting alzheimers disease and at least slowed down the disease some
remember those of us that are in this alzheimers pit we all would gladly accept some slowing down of the disease
just imagine getting a 5 year delay on your alzheimers disease
what things could your affected loved ones have got to see that they missed
a wedding a graduation a birth etc
yep
we would take that in a heart beat
it does seem that a more aggressive approach to blood pressure control would and does make a difference in how fast someone develops symptoms
in fact
this study was stopped because it was found that those in the tightly controlled blood pressure group developed less cardiovascular events
it was felt to be unethical to allow folks to not be in the group that tightly controlled blood pressure
so the study was discontinued and those other folks got better blood pressure control
the study did continue to follow the mild cognitive folks longer
blood pressure control with the new standards less than 130/80 makes a difference in the development of mild cognitive impairment the step right before you fall off the path into the abyss of alzheimers disease
so
dont let the pressure get to you
keep yours under control
its so easy to do
the rewards are great
like seeing a relative graduate get married have a child
i control mine with diet exercise and for a few pennies a day a prescription pill
there is no excuse to not do this
reap the rewards
the organicgreen doctor
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