I think that clinicians need to have a serious conversation with their patients who have mild cognitive impairment or even early stages of Alzheimer’s disease about how powerful these lifestyle interventions are. See things like diet, exercise, brain training, they seem to be readily available. There are no, you know, injections, infusions involved. So patients assume these are not powerful...
I think that clinicians need to have a serious conversation with their patients who have mild cognitive impairment or even early stages of Alzheimer’s disease about how powerful these lifestyle interventions are. See things like diet, exercise, brain training, they seem to be readily available. There are no, you know, injections, infusions involved. So patients assume these are not powerful. But they are. They reduce inflammation in the brain. They improve blood flow in the brain. They even reduce the amyloid in the brain. So when it comes to counseling patients, I tell them how powerful these interventions are and that they need to take them seriously. I actually write a script and I write, walk 3,000 to 5,000 steps a day, do more exercise if you can. I sign it and I give it to them. I say, make sure you don’t eat junk food. I write in the script, Mediterranean diet is the best. Be mindful of what you eat. The second script. I tell them, please be careful about level of stress and try to meditate every day. I give it to them. I believe there are five pillars of brain health in terms of importance to me. The most important one is exercise. The more fit you are, the larger your hippocampus, the less likely it is that you will develop Alzheimer’s disease. Second is optimal sleep, sleeping seven to eight hours and treatment of sleep apnea if it’s there. Third is eating a Mediterranean diet and avoiding any junk food at all. Fourth is reducing stress and doing either meditation or slow breathing. And fifth is brain training, whether it is through computer-based brain games or learning a new hobby or joining a book club or taking dance class or anything else. So in summary, when I talk to my patients, I tell them that lifestyle interventions are powerful. They’re not expensive, they’re readily available, but they really do make a huge difference in whether or not your brain shrinks and whether or not you develop cognitive decline or worsening of cognitive decline. And I talk to them about the five pillars of brain health, exercise, sleep, diet, stress reduction, and brain training.
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