Alzheimer’s Disease: Decreasing Risk Through Lifestyle Changes

Alzheimers is an ongoing concern in today's world. William M. Simpson Jr., MD discusses ways to decrease our risks. 

Losing a loved one to Alzheimer’s disease is one ofthe most painful experiences and most dreaded diagnoses I make as ageriatrician. While some cases of Alzheimer’s dis- ease are heavily affected bya person’s genetic make-up, fortunately the majority of cases are notgenetically pre-determined, making Alzheimer’s risk reduction possible.

There are 2 main forms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD),early and late-onset. While early-onset of AD is genetically related, this onlyaccounts for 15% of cases. The APOE e4 gene is present in 40% of people whodevelop late-onset disease. Thisgene is also present in 25-30% of the general population, indicating thatgenetics is not the whole story. The remaining 85% or more cases of AD arelate-onset and more related to diet and lifestyle factors.

While there are several contributing factors to thedevelopment of Alzheimer’s dis- ease, neurologic and vascular research isbeginning to unravel some of the lifestyle behaviors and environmentalmechanisms, which either increase or lower our chances of developing thisdisease. For example, diet is related to risk of Alzheimer’s. Foods high infat, meat and dairy products, foods high in saturated fat such as fried andprocessed foods as well as fish high in mercury, refined sugars and sugarybeverages are all associated with increased AD risk.

Foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains,legumes, sweet potatoes, broccoli (all high in Vitamin E and folate), beans,brown rice, corn (high in Vitamin B6), almond milk, and fortified cereals (highin Vitamin B12) all decrease risk of Alzheimer’s.2

The significant differences in the reported ratesof Alzheimer’s disease around the world give credence to the influence oflifestyle factors. In general, Western-lifestyle countries have higher reportedrates of AD than those of the East and Africa. Differences in animal fatconsumption seem to play a role in lower rates of AD in countries with more plant-baseddiets. The same behaviors that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseaseappear to increase the risk of late onset AD. These include: lack of exercise,smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, poorly-controlled diabetesmellitus, the metabolic syndrome and poor diet (lacking in fruits andvegetables, coupled with excess calories, resulting in excess weight).  Essentiallyall of above illnesses are associated with increased levels of inflammation inthe body. These same inflammatory changes seem to also influence the risk ofAlzheimer’s.

So, how can we decrease our risk of developing AD?Here are 5 key lifestyle changes:

1.  Get moving and lose weight. Inactivity is linked to greater weight gain,which is associated with increased levels of inflammation. Walking on a regularbasis is associated with decreased brain shrinkage and exercising outsidelowers the rate of depression, associated with increased risk of AD.

2.  Don’tsmoke. Smoking is inflammatory and damages our respiratory and cardio- vascularsystem.

3.  Eat morefruits and vegetables. The more fruits and vegetables consumed, the higher theintake of anti-oxidants, potassium and other micronutrients and the lower theaverage blood pressure, all of which tend to lower AD risk.

4.  Get enoughsleep. Recent research points to poor sleep patterns as increasing risk fortype 2 diabetes, which can increase chances of developing AD.

5.  Increasementally stimulating activities such as social engagement, work, or mentallychallenging leisure activities exercising the brain is important to pre- ventcognitive decline.

Although this only scratches the surface ofAlzheimer’s, a healthy lifestyle is currently our best point of attack in thebattle against AD.

William M. Simpson Jr., MD is the Emeritus Professor of Family Medicine at theMedical University of South Carolina. For more information visitwww.rethinkfoodbook.com.