5 Key Ways to Prevent Dementia
Did you know that a healthy diet can help prevent brain deterioration? Forget about your sweets and refined flour and include fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily routine.
We’re talking about dementia in general: the moment when an individual starts to lose some aspect of his/her mental capacity, when it’s difficult to live an autonomous life. This includes memory loss, loss of direction, reasoning…
I’m sure you’ve already been able to guess what the most common type of dementia is; it is undoubtedly Alzheimer’s Disease. Strokes, however, such as an ictus, can also lead to dementia.
Although we understand clearly that one is never able to eliminate 100% the risk of developing these types of conditions, it’s worth it to get to know what you can do day in and day out to help prevent these problems. Sometimes, this isn’t entirely dependent on age, or whether or not you have a family history of it.
Sometimes thyroid problems, or extreme vitamin deficiency can cause memory loss or mental deterioration. That’s why this has nothing to do with becoming senile, which is what is almost always associated with this term.
So let’s take a look at a few things.
Is it possible to prevent dementia?
Neurologists say that there is no way to prevent suffering from some type of dementia. However, if you suffer from a stroke, for example, having a large cognitive reserve or being in good health can help to lessen the damage over time.
Always remember that your brain has a wonderful elasticity to it. It’s like a muscle that, when exercised, it becomes more capable, creating more neurological connections and more tissues, which will make it more resistant to degenerative problems in the future.
There are some things that need to be made clear, however. By not smoking, you are eliminating a whole lot of health problems. The same is true if you avoid consuming drugs or any other type of substance that may provoke brain deterioration. This will bring you a better quality of life.
By this, what we mean to say is that there are certain factors that are capable of reducing damages, by developing more connections between neurons. This creates a healthier, hardier brain. Is that what you want?
Let’s talk about it below:
1. A healthy diet
Take a minute to think about what your diet has consisted of over the past week. Do you often eat a lot of sweets? Pre-packaged meals? Do you add salt to your food? Do you eat a lot of refined white flour? How many servings of fruit do you eat a day?
You may need to make a few changes. In order to prevent dementia and to care for your brain, you must follow the following tips:
- Foods rich in antioxidants are necessary for protecting your neurons from chemical substances, like free radicals. This helps prevent neuron oxidization. Include antioxidants in your diet with the following foods:
- White tea
- Green tea
- Red grapes
- Foods with Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, like those available in salmon, walnuts, avocado…
- Green vegetables like spinach and cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cauliflower…
2. Moderate exercise
Make sure your muscles understand this piece of information: walking for half an hour every day is associated with better cognitive function and less cognitive decline. So why not start today?
You don’t need to fatigue yourself, nor do you need to achieve a max effort. All you need to do is be consistent and dedicate a half an hour to one hour every day to being active. You need to move, raise your heart beat, and use your heart.
When you get home and take a shower, the sense of well-being you’ll have is priceless. Your brain will thank you!
3. Keep your heart healthy
What do we mean by keeping your “heart healthy”? There are various important things to keep in mind for this:
- Keep your cholesterol levels healthy.
- Make sure you do not have hypertension.
- Don’t smoke.
- Avoid foods that have a lot of fat and promote arteriosclerosis.
- Deal with stress and anxiety appropriately.
- Avoid excess body weight.
4. Say yes to having good social relationships
Don’t stay at home watching television for hours and hours. Go out with your friends, your family members, enjoy some laughter, jokes, and new experiences, no matter what age you are.
Get the courage to take that trip, get out of your routine and sign up for a new class you’d like to take. These are all wonderful stimuli that will amplify your cognitive reserve and will help you enjoy a healthier, happier brain.
5. Say yes to learning something new every day
A brain that just goes through the monotony of every day is an oxidized brain. It loses its abilities every day and will start to have memory problems.
By offering yourself stimulus every day, you are offering another type of “nutrient” to your brain which will create neurological anchors, new connections that feed learning and knowledge.
So don’t block off your curiosity: read, learn, look at things critically and find new truths to life, new incentives that will make your brain happy and will help you prevent possible future dementia.