Here is some good news you don’t hear very often…
…directly from the medical literature:
Dementia is on the decline.
Even with obesity and diabetes rates steadily increasing in a population that is aging, the rate of dementia is actually significantly decreasing, and has been for the past 30 years!
Although our population is aging, the incidence of dementia has dropped by 20% every decade over the three decades.
These results, recently published on Feb 10, 2016 in the New England Journal of Medicine, give more than hope… they give definitive proof that dementia is a preventable condition.
Since 1981, over 5,000 participants of The Framingham Heart Study have been assessed serially via Mini-Mental State Examinations as well as subjective memory questionnaires and 45 minute long neuropsychological tests.
A dementia expert panel evaluated all data for possible cases of dementia or cognitive decline and quantified the incidence of dementia in this population of over 5,000 patients over the past 30 years.
Researchers found that the incidence of new onset dementia steadily declined… by 22%, then 38%, then 44% each subsequent decade.
Additionally, the age at new onset was increasingly older over time as well.
These results show that dementia prevention is not only possible, but effective and translates to real world results.
Because the population is aging significantly and the number of baby boomers that are alive and projected to live a longer life span continues to increase, this is the time to start taking measures to prevent dementia wherever and whenever possible.
What has been medically shown to prevent dementia and age-related brain changes, from a holistic standpoint?
1. Grounding:
By protecting your brain’s vasculature, decreasing inflammation, preventing stroke and treating high blood pressure, grounding your body might single handedly be the best thing you can do to preserve brain function over a lifetime.
Grounding not only decreases blood inflammatory markers, decreases high blood pressure and dilates blood vessels so that blood reaches end organs (such as the brain!) more effectively, it also flows more smoothly. Blood viscosity is decreased, red blood cells stick together less, and the function of the heart (in particular, heart rate variability) is improved.
Take a look at this clip that shows the effect of only one solitary 2 hour period of grounding on human blood:
or click here to watch it on YouTube.
2. Fish oil:
Show to preserve brain volume as we age and decrease dementia rates, taking an Omega 3 fatty acid supplement that is animal based (like Krill Oil) is medically proven to support brain function.
Read my article here for more details about using fish oil to prevent dementia, and links to my favorite brands.
3. Sleep:
High quality sleep is medically proven to protect brain function and poor quality sleep is associated with an increased risk of dementia. Melatonin naturally declines with age, so supplementing with melatonin if sleep depth and quality declines with age is an important way to protect and preserve brain function.
Read my article here for more ways to ensure deep, restorative, brain healthy sleep!
What are other holistic, brain protective, dementia reducing things you can do?
Plenty:
Stay well hydrated to maintain alert cognition
eat organically (studies show that pesticides increase Alzheimers Risk)
avoid gluten (studies suggest that gluten is neurotoxic)
drink coffee (clinically shown to reduce dementia rates)
drink green tea or take green tea extract (medically shown to boost memory!)
take Vit D supplements (studies show low Vit D levels are linked to increased dementia rates)
take Resveratrol supplements (medically shown to stop the progression of Alzheimers plaques!)
treat any anxiety (studies show treating anxiety lengthens lifespan!)
meditate regularly (medically proven to be brain protective!)
and stay active (daily walking is the key!)
To a long and dementia free future, straight from the medical literature to you! With love…
xoxoxoxo, Laura