Mental Acuity, Keep the Thinker working and Avoid Alzheimer’s

Lifestyle can make a huge difference in maintaining brain functions such as memory, learning, judgment, and mental acuity.  Here are a few things according to Mayo Clinic, Andrews University, and Web MD that are beneficial in prevention of Alzheimers's Disease.

1. Control your stress, stress makes it difficult to remember things and to create memory files for new information.

2. Get your sleep! A habitual loss of 1-2 hours of sleep per night can impare brain function.

3. lower if high or maintain your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose(blood sugars) in a healthy range

4. Keep your mind active through reading, word games such as crosswords or sudoku, staying up on current events, and engaging in conversations with the sharing of ideas.

5. Exercise, Exercise, Exercise!!

6. Maintain and grow healthy interpersonal relationships. This keeps the mind occupied in a healthy way.

7. Maintaining a healthy weight and getting a variety of vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, omega-3 rich nuts and seeds.

A few other factors which can cause memory problems are ongoing depression, use of certain prescription drugs, chronic pain, and a deficiency of vitamin B12 in the elderly.

How do you select metal cookware?

Years ago when we first got married, we received a set of Calphalon / Circulon non stick cook set as wedding gift. Back then we didn't know much about teflon and how it can degrades over time and be hazardous to our health. So with a little help from our house mate, we started looking at other alternatives, we did not pick Anodized Aluminum because there is a link with Alzheimer disease. The choice was between Cast iron and Stainless Steel. Do you have a preference in metal? Lets hear it in the comment section.
photo credit: myhsu

Dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Years ago I had the privilege of working with a lady who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, it was an interesting experience because everything I taught her before she would not remember it 20 minutes later.

According to the latest studies, if you exercise early in life, there is a reduced risk of dementia late in life. People who exercise regularly in middle age are one-third as likely to get Alzheimer’s disease in their 70s as those who did not exercise. Even people who begin exercising in their 60s have their risk reduced by half!

I don't know about you, but after working with Alzheimer's patients, I want to do everything I can to avoid that. Remember: Heredity loads the gun, but your lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Do you have a family member that suffers from Alzheimer's disease? What have you done to cope with living with an Alzheimer's family member? Share us your tips in the comment area.
photo credit: secretlondon123