Dementia – Part 2 on how to handle it

How to keep an active healthy brain and prevent dementia

Dementia is hard to deal with, whether you are the one who is suffering with it or whether you are watching someone you love go through it. There are however many things you can do that can help reduce your risk of developing dementia.

Look after your heart

It’s not only your brain you need to look after but also the rest of your body. Your heart and your head are connected. There are certain conditions that can increase your risk of developing dementia. If you have reached ‘mid-life’ then these conditions could increase your risk more. The conditions are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and type 2 diabetes. Having these and not getting them treated can lead to damaged blood vessels in your brain. This then starts to affect your brain function and thinking skills. If you get these things treated and look after yourself you will decrease your risk of developing dementia.

If you’re a smoker, you are increasing your risk for developing heart disease, cancer, stroke, and other diseases, causing your risk for dementia to increase. However, if you stop smoking, these risks rapidly reduce.

 

Challenge your brain

Providing challenges for your brain to solve is great for your brain health. This could mean doing daily crosswords of Sukodo. You need to challenge your brain with new activities to build new brain cells. This is important because you will have extra cells in reserve for when some get damaged. If you don’t find puzzles appealing, then maybe you can try challenging your brain in different ways. Such as learning a new language. Whatever you enjoy doing it will keep your brain active. The goal is to stop your brain from being on ‘automatic pilot’.

 

Physical activity

Physical activity increases blood flow to your brain, which then stimulates the growth of brain cells. It is also associated with larger brain volume, which helps your brain function and reduces the risk of dementia. Exercise also reduces your risk of high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol. If you are someone who does very little physical activity, you may be increasing your risk of dementia.

 

Healthy diet

A high intake of saturated fats that are found in fried foods and takeaway food along with trans fats found in pies and cakes may increase your risk of dementia. Good fats such as monounsaturated fats maintain brain functionality and reduce the risk of dementia. These are the fats found in fish and olive oil. Also good for your bran are foods high in antioxidants. The Omega 3 fatty acids that are in oily fish help reduce inflammation in the brain, which then helps the growth of new brain cells.

 

Socialise

Socialising can be stimulating. It also helps to alleviate depression and improves vascular conditions. There is research that shows when you combine social activity with mental and physical activity you are not only having fun but improving your brain health as well.

 

If you have concerns that you or someone you love is developing dementia see your naturopath or nutritionist to find out how you can start living a healthier lifestyle. This clinic specialises in all matters concerning physical, spiritual, energetic, mental and emotional health. Give us a call today to find out how we can help.