Keep Your Brain Healthy As You Age

As the western world ages, concern is growing that we are in the early stages of an epidemic.  According to the World Health Organization, over 35 million people worldwide have Alzheimer’s disease.  Those numbers are expected to triple by 2050. 

Unfortunately few drugs exist today that effectively deal with these types of diseases.  However, the good news is scientists have learned in recent years that healthy life-style practices alone can dramatically reduce the chance of age related cognitive decline and dementia. 

An article published in the Wall Street Journal recently cited a study by Peter Elwood and a team from the Cochrane Institute of Primary Care and Public Health at Cardiff University in the U.K.  The article can be found here: http://www.wsj.com/articles/our-amazingly-plastic-brains-1423262095. 

The study followed a group of men living in the U.K. beginning in middle age for 30 years.  They found that those who lived healthy lifestyles by eating a healthy diet (plenty of fruits and vegetables), keeping their weight in check, limiting alcohol consumption and not smoking reduced their chance of cognitive decline and dementia by an astonishing 60%. 

Further, of all the lifestyle variables studied, the researchers found that physical exercise reduced the risk of cognitive disease the most. 

For more information about this study and brain health generally, I would highly recommend you read the Wall Street Journal article in its entirety.