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6 Ways to Decrease Your Risk of Alzheimer's Disease

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13 FEBRUARY 2017

As we age, our brains might start to get less sharp, making it harder to learn new things or remember key events. And for some, that cognitive decline could be significant, in some rarer cases leading to Alzheimer's disease.


When it comes to Alzheimer's, there are more drug failures than successes. On average about 99 percent of all drugs in clinical trials never actually make it to approval, and drugs are still failing late-stage trials in 2017. But there are other ways to decrease your risk of getting the disease.


The company also provides a program that can be used to prevent some of that cognitive decline.


1. Pay attention to the food you eat.

The right diet can contribute to lowering your risk of cognitive decline - in particular a diet called the MIND diet, short for "Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay".




A study of almost 1,000 seniors found that the diet appeared to lower the risk of Alzheimer's by 35 percent for those who followed it moderately and by 53 percent in people who followed it closely.

Plus, it fits in with what Maria Carrillo, chief scientific officer of the Alzheimer's Association told Business Insider in July:


2. Stay active.

Citing intervention-based trials and epidemiological studies, the US National Institute on Ageing found that exercise can also play a key role in reducing your risk for Alzheimer's and general cognitive decline.

Neurotrack's program recommends strength training and cardiovascular exercises, said Kaplan.


3. Decrease your stress levels where possible.




4. Maintain healthy sleep habits.




5. Stay socially active.





According to the National Institute on Ageing, staying cognitively active, either with intellectual stimulation or staying socially engaged, is linked with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's.

6. Read, play games, or otherwise stimulate your mind.



This article was originally published by Business Insider.

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