Has this happened to you? You left your keys somewhere and you can't find them.
You walk in the room and you don't know why
you went in there in the first place.Are these the first signs of dementia?
In this video we'll examine natural ways to prevent
dementia! COMINGUP!
Unfortunately there are no disease modifying drugs to stop progressive
dementia or to cure the disease, however, the good
news is that there are certain steps you can do
ideally early on to live a healthier life
there are different types of dementia the most common type
being Alzheimer's dementia making up about
70 percent of the dementia cases. In Alzheimer's dementia there is an
abnormal build of proteins in brain cells and around
brain cells. These proteins are neurotoxic meaning
they cause damage to the brain cells.One of the proteins
involved is called amyloid, deposits of which
form plaques around brain cells. The other protein
is called tau deposits of which form tangles
within brain cells. As brain cells become affected
there's also a decrease in chemical messages
also called neurotransmitters involved in sending messages
or signals between brain cells. This damage interferes with the ability
of brain cells to communicate with each other.When
brain cells cannot communicate normally
normal everyday actions which you and i take for granted
are affected such as thinking, behavior and feelings.This is because particular
regions in the brain are damaged. Alzheimer's disease usually first
damages the hippocampus leading to memory loss
and disorientation.It later affects areas in
cerebral cortex responsible for language, reasoning and social
behavior. So that means when cells in a particular
region are damaged that region cannot carry out
its functions normally so bringing up the early example
of losing keys so if we have a key and we place it on the table
we are using a certain part of the brain which is located in the temporal lobe
and it's called the temple lobe because it's located near
the temple and the temperol lobe is used for
short-term memory. So if we leave the key we know we have to pay attention because
we leave the key and the temporal lobe is is using it for
storage for short-term memory.Then there's also
the frontal lobe and the frontal lobe is located in the
front of the brain and that tells us where we're sitting.So i'm sitting here
and i'm i know i'm here because of the frontal
lobe sitting here in my home and there's a communication
between the temporal lobe and also the frontal lobe, however,
in alzheimer's dementia there's damage to the part of the brain that's at the
hypocampus in the area of the temporal lobe and if that's
damaged in terms of short-term memory there's also no communication to the
front part of the brain, the frontal lobe. So you leave your keys
in a place there's no sort of short-term memory to
help you remember where the keys are and in terms
of communication with the frontal lobe that's also
damaged and you also don't know where it is.So if you're
interested in a video looking at medication that can slow the
progression of alzheimer's disease click on the link provided it's
normal to occasionally forget recent events such as where the keys
were last placed or the name of the person you just met
especially if you're not paying attention in terms
of short-term memory to be formed however, if it is consistent affecting
your quality of life and you are unable to
formulate a plan to retrace your steps it is a problem
worth looking into more carefully.So what are five things
you can do to prevent dementia. Number one
exercise.Exercise has many known benefits
reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes
strengthening the muscles and bones, moreover. physical activity seems to help
your brain not only by increasing the blood
to the brain but also by increasing chemicals that protect the brain and
raising a good cholesterol called HDL
Cholesterol. When we age there is a natural reduction
in brain connections.Exercise can also lead to formation of new brain
synapses and protect the brain cells from dying.
In a study by Dr. Baker she's a professor from
Wake Forest School of Medicine she concluded
that six months of aerobic exercise is sufficient to favorably move tau
protein levels in older adults at a higher risk of progression
to dementia. There was a statistically significant reduction
in the aerobic exercise group in their spinal fluid of tau protein. So
how much exercise should we do? Exercising
several times three to four times a week for 30 to 60 minutes
such as such exercises such as walking, jogging ,cycling ,dancing dancing is
aerobic and it also provides a mental challenge
of remembering dance steps hand and eye coordination and balance.
According to the WHO at least 150 minutes of moderate
physical activity per week including strength training
yields not just physical benefits but cognitive ones as well.
The next thing you can do is blood pressure control. Let me give you two
examples of studies or opinions regarding this.The American Heart
Association and the American Stroke Association
concluded that blood pressure lowering to
lower the risk of post stroke dementia is effective and that it's reasonable to
lower blood pressure in mid life to lower the risk of late life
dementia. In the New England Journal of Medicine
Research based on FRAMINGHAM HEART STUDY examined the potential role
that cardiovascular health including blood pressure plays in
dementia. The study did show improvements in dementia rates, however,
only in participants who had a high school diploma.
The findings showed that earlier diagnosis
and more effective treatment of stroke and heart disease
likely contributed to a lower incidence of dementia. If you're finding
VALUE in this video don't forget to like, subscribe and hit
that notification button. Third point is cognitive training when
looking at population studies these show that education increases
cognitive reserve. In the earlier study you mentioned, the
Framingham study that found that participants
with at least a high school diploma benefited the most
from declining dementia rates compared with participants with less education. So
what would I advise to activate our brain cells. Learn a new
skill, pursue learning a new language, actively
read, crossword puzzles. For example a study of
nearly 2 000 cognitively normal adults seventy or older found that participating
in games and crafts and computer use and social
activities for about four years was associated with a lower risk of mild
cognitive impairment.The next thing you can do in terms
of reducing dementia naturally is diet. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO )they examined several population studies
and recommend a mediterranean diet which is high in fish
fruits, nuts and vegetables as this was associated with lower rates
of dementia. Then there is the so-called MIND diet a combination of the
mediterranean diet and the DASH diet (dietary approaches to
stop hypertension) this was a diet heavy in leafy green
and vegetables, nuts, berries, beans ,whole grains, fish, poultry,
olive oil and wine in moderation. Their diets were limited in
red meat butter. cheese sweets, fried and fast food. Another thing
you can do to reduce dementia naturally is sleep
you can look at sleep. In a 2015 study looking at sleep and
associated amyloid plaques in brain regions reported and I quote
"that self reported sleep quality, but not
quantity was associated with amyloid plaques in
brain regions typically affected in alzheimer's dementia.
This just means that the participants in the study who reported
sleeping problems had a high association of amyloid plaques. There are also other
theories that speculate that toxic substances like the
aforementioned tau proteins and amyloid plaques are simply
washed away with better quality sleep. So looking at these
studies poor sleep (insomnia) appear to be
risk factors for alzheimer's dementia. another thing you can do in terms of
naturally reducing dementia is a combination of this. My
general recommendation would be a combination of recommendations
talked about earlier in this video. In a recent study in Neurology looked at
five behaviors. They were associated
with a lower risk for alzheimer's disease. The five behaviors were
not smoking, consistent moderate physical activity, light to moderate
alcohol consumption, a high quality mediterranean style diet
an engagement in late life cognitively challenging activity. So
question of the day? What are you going to change
going forward to reduce your risk of alzheimer's dementia?
Leave your answers and comments in the section below! And if you want to see
more videos and subscribe to this channel click
right here over here here here thank you
and goodbye.Of dementia which is not okay