Have you ever walked into the kitchen and forgotten what it was that you went in there to do or get?

It happens to all of us when our minds are distracted by the many different responsibilities in our lives. However, imagine not remembering an event from yesterday or earlier this morning, or not recognizing someone you’ve known all your life.

The memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease can produce terrifying consequences as your mind is unable to process what used to be simple day-to-day functions.

Alzheimer’s affects more than six million Americans, slowly destroying a person’s memory, thinking skills, verbal communication, and even their personality. The emotional, physical, and economic toll it has on families is staggering.

A number of factors contribute to your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, including age, gender, and family history, which are beyond your control, but there are lifestyle modifications you can make in order to help lower your risk.

Although there is no surefire way to prevent the condition, I would like to dedicate this post to exploring six ways you can lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

1. Maintain a Healthy Weight

A 2020 study posted in the Journal of Aging demonstrated that “study participants who had a BMI corresponding with being overweight or obese were more likely to develop dementia.”

Your ideal body weight (IBW) or body mass index (BMI) uses a formula that takes into account three main factors: your age, your gender, and your height in order to establish a healthy weight range or target weight. Do whatever it takes to maintain that target weight.

2. Watch Your Waistline

While your weight is one factor in the equation, the size of your waistline is another that needs to be considered. A 2020 Harvard study indicated that while you might maintain the proper BMI, excess fat around your middle can also increase your risk of cognitive decline, leading to Alzheimer’s.

The National Institutes of Health recommends that the waistline measurement for women not exceed 35 inches if you are a woman and not be more than 40 inches if you are a man. To get an accurate measurement of your waistline, use a tape measure (sewing tape) around the narrowest portion of your waist, taking in the area between the navel and lowest rib.

3. Be Aware of What You’re Eating

Controlling your weight and your waistline will involve being aware of what you’re eating. Mindful eating should put more emphasis on colorful, vitamin-packed vegetables and fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.

At the same time, you will need to cut down on killer whites (white sugar, white rice, white salt, and white flour), refined foods with additives and preservatives, fast foods, sodas, sweets, and other mindless snacks that add calories without providing any nutritional benefit.

Also keep a close eye on portion sizes. A good rule of thumb is to maintain a 2:1:1 ratio of vegetables to protein to carbohydrates on your plate.

4. Regular Exercise

When it comes to improving your health, getting regular exercise seems to pop up everywhere you look. It can also lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

Besides helping burn off calories to control weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, studies at the University of Valencia in 2020 showed that exercise assists in the “modulation of amyloid β turnover, inflammation, synthesis and release of neurotrophins, and improvements in cerebral blood flow.”

All of these normal functions have an effect on cognitive function, especially improved cerebral blood flow, keeping cognitive decline and the development of Alzheimer’s at bay.

5. Monitor Your Numbers

Along with watching your weight and waistline, you should regularly monitor and work to maintain healthy ranges of cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and blood sugar. The relationship between high levels in all of these tests and cognitive decline is well-documented by a large body of research.

Not only are these numbers indicators of how well you are doing in the first four items on our list, but they also provide insight into factors like inflammation and cerebral blood flow that contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s.

6. Schedule Regular Hearing Tests

Another contributing factor that is often overlooked when considering your risk of cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease is hearing loss.

Frank Lin at Johns Hopkins has thoroughly documented the connection between hearing loss and dementia, noting that hearing loss, which leads to depression, social isolation, cognitive strain, and various other negative mental and physical health conditions, plays a leading role in cognitive decline.

Regular hearing tests, at a minimum of every two years after the age of 50, allow you to monitor changes to your hearing before it begins to have an impact on your ability to communicate. Fortunately, Lin has also shown that hearing aids can reverse and/or prevent further cognitive decline.

Pacific Hearing Inc. Provides Comprehensive Hearing Assessments and Treatment for Hearing Loss

As doctors of audiology, we not only advocate for better hearing but also for your better overall health.

Although we advocate for better hearing, all six ways of preventing Alzheimer’s are viable lifestyle changes that improve your quality of life and allow you to enjoy an active and independent lifestyle for years to come.