Slash Alzheimer’s Risk and Stave Off Brain Shrinkage
There are lots of things I‘ve come to accept about getting older. For instance, I no longer panic when a gray hair sprouts up on my head. And as far as I’m concerned, wrinkles are nothing more than wisdom lines. (That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.)
But just mention the word Alzheimer’s and all bets are off. Frankly, the thought of dementia’s slowly stealing away what it is that makes me me is nothing short of terrifying.
Now, some new research done at the University of Pittsburgh has given me hope that I will never have to worry my little gray-hair-sprouting head about it again. Researchers there are saying that staving off Alzheimer’s may be as simple as slipping on my walking shoes and going for a daily stroll.
And I’m not talking about just a slight reduction in your risk here. They found that walking a little over three-fourths of a mile a day could slash your risk by a whopping 50%!
If you’re already experiencing some mild cognitive impairment the news is even better for you. Your daily three-fourths-of-a-mile stroll can reduce brain atrophy and cognitive decline by more than 50%.
Using MRI and cognitive exams, the researchers were able to show that healthy adults who walked what amounts to a total of six miles per week, were able to maintain their brain volume (when brain cells die, your brain volume decreases) and reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s by half over 13 years. (If you’re a city slicker like me, that’s about 72 blocks.)
Cognitively impaired people needed to walk just five miles—about 58 blocks—per week to maintain brain volume and slow their cognitive decline.
And in case you’re wondering, I’m happy to report that the impressive results persisted even after the researchers factored in other risk factors for dementia including high blood pressure, age, and gender.
Remember, everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.
Printer-friendly versionAbout the author
An enthusiastic believer in the power of natural healing, Alice has spent virtually her entire 17-year career in the natural-health publishing field helping to spread the word.
She is an advocate of self-education and is passionate about the power of group knowledge sharing, like the kind found right here on HealthierTalk.com. Alice loves to share her views on holistic and natural healing as well as her, sometimes contentious, thoughts on the profit-driven inner workings of traditional medicine.
Follow Alice and HealthierTalk on Twitter.
Email this Article
Comments
Ginny
Yes, it's the simple daily health regimens that reduce our chances of getting diseases that are common amongst the elderly. In addition, it's imperative that we avoid the onslaught of prescriptive medications that are all too frequently handed to us by every Doctor that we see, even when we are in good health. Many of these medications have dangerous, and irreversible side effects that are worse than the condition for which they were prescribed. If you do not assume the role of a well informed and selective consumer, when new prescriptions are handed out like band aids to elderly, then you are putting your life into the hands of pharmaceutical companies who only view you in terms of dollars. Remember the term, "Buyer Beware?" Where drugs are concerned, wiser words were never spoken.
jestina
The average person,without a treadmill cannot possibly achieve this goal.
Alice Wessendorf
Hi Jestina,
Thanks for your comment. I agree it looks a bit daunting on the surface. It certainly will be a change for a lot of us, but I do think a 3/4 mile walk a day in the morning or perhaps after dinner every day is achievable. (Maybe even split it into two shorter walks each day.) If we make it a social activity with family or friends that could help keep us motivated and on track. Considering the payoff I think it's certainly worth a try.
Dr. M
Another thing that is essential is water! An Alzheimer's clinic in Minnesota is having a 93% success rate at returning patients to normal, just by making them drink lots of water. Their goal is to have each patient drink about 2 gallons per day of pure water (NOT tap water). Naturally, they have to "go" a lot.
Their reasoning is that since the brain is over 90% water, if you don't drink enough water, the brain cells dry out, and don't make the proper connections. When they re-hydrate the brain with lots of water, everything starts working again.
It is very typical for elderly people (and others as well) to not drink enough water (no, you can't count coffee, tea, alcohol, or soft drinks) – so it is only logical that de-hydration is going to occur in older people.
My own mother died years ago from Alzheimer's, and she never drank water. Usually only a cup or two of coffee per day. Had I known about this water therapy at the time, it probably could have saved her.
Li Tang
Walk barefooted on a variety kinds of earth surface will do more help to keep one's brain health. To massage your feet on soil, grass, mud, rock will boost your brain function.
Post new comment