How can I reduce the risk of developing dementia?
Did you know that there are 5.5 million people with dementia in the US and every 66 seconds someone else develops the disease?
The reality is, more and more people are being affected by dementia, and there are no signs of the numbers dropping down any time soon. For the most part, it’s still not clear what causes this terrible condition (certain genes are known to increase risk), and a cure is proving hard to find.
This left me wondering: is there anything we can do to help us prevent this awful fate?
The answer is yes! We certainly need more research on this topic, but there are already some known risk factors.
Here are some of the things you could do that are associated with a lower risk of developing dementia:
1) Eat fruits and vegetables — a high intake was associated with a 20% lower risk in a 2017 study with 30k participants
2) Exercise — a high level was associated with a 14% lower risk in a 2014 study with 83k participants
3) Don’t smoke — smoking was associated with a 30% higher risk in a 2015 study with 1m participants
4) Avoid high blood cholesterol — as a normal cholesterol level was found to be associated with a 53% lower risk in a 2017 study with 23k participants
Dementia is a horrible heartbreaking disease, not only on the person affected but also on family and friends. While we wait for more research breakthroughs, it’s good to know there are already things we can do to reduce the risk of having to face it later in our lives.
A special thank you to inesvanmuysen for her help and feedback on this story!
