Healthy Body, Healthy Brain Links
- Go to the Healthy Body, Healthy Brain page >
- Go to the Healthy Body, Healthy Brain Outreach page >
- Go to the Healthy Body, Healthy Brain PowerPoint Presentation (4MB) >
Links
Click on the blue links below to find out more about how making healthy choices can help you protect your brain from the risk of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia. Healthy choices that can make a difference include:
Mental Challenges, Eating Smart, Physical Activities, and Fun with Others.
Healthy Body, Healthy Brain Links
- Alaska Commission on Aging: Healthy Body, Healthy Brain
- The Alzheimer’s Association: Maintain Your Brain
- The Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Agency of Alaska
- AK Public Health: Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
- And for advocacy efforts, The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority
Misc Senior and Alzheimer's Links
Protective Lifestyle Factors Can Decrease ADRD Risk
Many of the protective lifestyle habits which decrease the chances of developing diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other chronic diseases also act as protective factors against ADRD:
Physical Activity
- Activity Protects Against ADRD Risk:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-01-16-study-dementia_x.htm
Older people who exercised as little as 15 minutes a day, three days a week, reduced their chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 30 percent, according to a study by Eric Larson, a researcher at the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle.
Midlife physical activity is associated with a reduced rate of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, according to the results of a study published in Lancet Neurology. “Exercise may promote brain plasticity. Exercise may even alleviate amyloid burden in the brain, as suggested by a recent study in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease,” wrote the study’s authors, from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. People who exercised at least twice a week as they passed through middle age had a 50 percent lower chance of developing dementia, and a 60 percent lower chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease, when compared with more sedentary colleagues.
Healthy Eating
Eating a healthy, whole foods diet – in particular a Mediterranean diet – appears to offer a remarkable level of protection against the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
A number of specific foods or substances found in foods have been identified as helpful in preventing Alzheimer’s disease:
Even one bout of untreated depression can raise the risk of developing Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia later in life. “The one thing we feel you can really do to stave off Alzheimer’s disease as much as you possibly can is to stay socially involved and stay interactive and mentally active,” said Dr. James Brewer, a dementia researcher at the University of Pittsburgh.
Mental Challenges
Something as simple as reading the daily newspaper can help lower risks of Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment. A study found that a cognitively active senior was 2.6 times less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s disease than a cognitively inactive senior. Activities such as visiting a library or attending a play were associated with reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment.
This campaign funded by The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. ACoA and the Alaska Division of Public Health are partners in this campaign.