“These small changes can make a really big difference.”
Dementia is a set of symptoms caused by damage to the brain such as memory loss and problems thinking or reasoning. The illness is normally associated with elderly people but it isn’t a normal part of ageing.
However, according to a doctor, there are simple lifestyle changes you can make to eliminate your risk of developing brain decline.
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As Dr Clare Durrant, Race Against Dementia Dyson Fellow, pointed out that:
“One in three cases of dementia may actually be preventable with simple changes to lifestyle”.
She mentioned that not smoking, keeping the heart healthy, keeping the brain active and remaining sociable was one way to prevent the development of dementia.
“These small changes can make a really big difference.”
Research on the impact of healthy living interventions on the development of dementia has shown positive results.
The data show that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and cereals and low in red meat and sugar may help reduce the risk of dementia.
If these foods seem familiar, it is likely because it falls under a Mediterranean style regime.
Mediterranean diets are traditionally rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes and cereals, with moderate consumption of oily fish and dairy products, and low in meat, sugar and saturated fat.
Most of the fat in this type of diet comes from olive oil, and alcohol is consumed sparingly during meals.
A Mediterranean-style diet offers many benefits to the heart and research suggests what is good for the heart is good for the brain.
Following a diet more strictly could be associated with slower rates of decrease in memory and thinking.
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As the Alzheimer’s Society reports, a systematic review scanned all the existing evidence about the Mediterranean diet relating to problems with memory and thinking and dementia, to assess the potential benefits.
A lot of research was not included in this study because it was not stringent enough or it did not look at the diet as a whole.
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