I was reading an article by Dr. Martin and he was talking about natural dementia prevention.
He said that “dementia does not have to come with the territory as you get older.”
At a recent Alzheimer’s Association International Conference held in Honolulu, a study was presented and the conclusion was that there are three things that should be a big part of your life to stave off the dementia demon:
• vitamin D
• tea
• exercise
Let’s start with exercise. Researchers tracked 1,200 elderly people for 20 years as part of a study on cardiovascular risk. Something that was noticed by the researchers was that 242 of those patients who developed dementia had something in common: more time on the couch.
Once the numbers were reported, the researchers found that the patients who enjoyed the highest levels of physical activity had a 40 percent lower risk for dementia in any form. Those that moved the least were 45 percent more likely to come down with the mind-robbing condition.
The following is a testimonial from Elsie, age 67, one of my current clients.
“I was working a difficult crossword puzzle over the weekend and actually threw it in the trash because I couldn’t think of most of the words. I took a quick half hour walk through the neighborhood and when I returned, I wanted to try that puzzle again. I was so surprised that almost all of the words I couldn’t get before came to me immediately. I had read many times that exercise sends oxygen to your brain but never really thought much about it. That day it was like “wow” – it was amazing. One more reason to keep moving. Just had to tell somebody.”
The second preventative for dementia, according to another study, is tea drinking.
Seniors who drink between one and four cups of tea each week were found to have a 37 percent lower risk of dementia than those who drank no tea.
And the third study confirmed that vitamin D can lower your risk of dementia—and a D deficiency can increase your risk dramatically. Researchers looked at data on 3,325 American seniors and found that those who had low levels of Vitamin D were 42 percent more likely to suffer from cognitive impairment.
But wait, there is more. Those who were severely deficient in vitamin D had a 394 percent increased risk of contracting dementia. And millions of Americans are severely deficient in D. Maybe that’s you?
Like Dr. Martin says, “you can kill two birds with one stone by getting a little exercise out under the sun, where your body can make its own vitamin D as you work up a sweat, burn some calories and get your blood pumping”.
Another neat side-effect of vitamin D is that it can keep your bones strong and lower your risk for any number of diseases, including diabetes and cancer. It boosts your immune system and might even keep you living longer.
Then, after your sunny exercise bout, kick back with a cup of antioxidant-rich tea. Green tea in particular has been linked to fighting aging and cancer.
Questions? Concerns? I always encourage your input. Let me hear from you!
Bonnie Murphy is the owner of Bfit & Well and Fit Body Boot Camp in Anchorage, located at 3934 Spenard Rd. Call her at 907-229-7652.
