Ways to Prevent Alzheimer's Part 2

Today I am going to give you steps 3 & 4 on how to prevent dementia. If you missed my post from yesterday, click here.

Step 3: The 777 Stress Bust

Stress is not a good thing, as we know. It can cause all kinds of health problems. Turns out, stress is also bad for your hippocampus, the region in the brain responsible for memory. Stress leads to high levels of cortisol, which is like poison to the hippocampus. Practicing good relaxation techniques is good for your hippocampus, and your memory!

Dr. Oz recommended the 7-7-7 technique. Three times a day, give yourself a moment to take in deep breaths; breathe in while counting to 7, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and finish by exhaling for 7 seconds. Supposedly this method has shown results to reduce stress and increase the size of the hippocampus if practiced over an 8 week period.

Don't be afraid to relax and take a "time out" when life situations become stressful. My personality is one that has to always keep busy. Sometimes it's hard to make myself sit down and relax, but sometimes that's exactly what I need! Make sure to make some time for you, to just kick your feet up and take a break! You owe it to your health!!



Step 4: Tease Your Memory

Do things out of the ordinary to boost your memory. One idea Dr. Oz presented was to memorize your grocery list. He showed that the mind has the ability to memorize lists of 20-30 things. He presented an audience member, on his show, who was given a mock grocery list of 20 things to memorize. He taught her to associate things with each item. For example, if eggs were on her grocery list, she could use a visual image of a chicken laying eggs in it's coop. The next item on the list might be rice. She could picture the farmer feeding his chickens rice; the chickens eat the rice and then return to their coop to lay eggs. It could continue on and on as you build a story around your list and associate the items with a visual reminder. As his audience member practiced this method and returned to show off her memorization skills she had acquired, she recited each of the 20 items on her list without skipping a beat!!

I wonder if this method still works when you have little kids tugging on your coat tails while shopping??? I'll have to test that one out ;)

There are many games and puzzles out there that can help in "teasing" your memory as well. I was just talking to my mother-in-law the other day about this very thing. One of her favorite games to play on her handheld Nintendo DS is a game called "Brain Age". This game quizzes your brain on certain memory exercises. Games such as these can help to keep your mind active and tease your memory.

Tomorrow I will finish up with steps 5 & 6 on how to improve your memory health!

To view part 3, click here.

Ways to Prevent Alzheimer's Part 1

Ever since I watched the movie "The Notebook", I have had this fear about either my husband or myself developing dementia later on in life. What a horrible thing it would be to lose one's memory of everyone and everything they hold dear.

Never did I imagine that my own mother would be struck down by this awful disease, and especially at a such a young age. Even though her form of dementia has no genetic links, there is always a fear deep, down inside that it will happen to me.

A few months ago, after we received my mom's diagnosis, Dr. Oz had a show about "Ways to Prevent Alzheimer's". Alzheimer's is a form of dementia, so I recorded the show in hopes of finding some ways that I can prevent this awful disease from affecting me (and to see if there was any hope to restore for my mom).

Now, I don't necessarily believe that you can 100% prevent this disease. If you are genetically predispositioned to get it, it may be out of your hands. With that said, I do believe that it's possible that things in our environment could be contributing to all of the diseases that we see among us today. Cancer, dementia, diabetes, etc...all of these illnesses are on the rise. And while many are genetically "destined" to have these illnesses, there may be others who can prevent bringing these sicknesses upon themselves simply by living a healthier lifestyle. I'm not a doctor, but much of what Dr. Oz and his colleague had to say made sense.

The nature of dementia is that the brain begins to shrink. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that controls memory, and the rule of thumb is: the bigger the better! It would make sense that if we can prevent our brain from shrinking, we can prevent diseases caused by shrinkage (such as dementia). Like I said, genetics play a big role in this. But there are some things we can do to help prevent or prolong this shrinkage from happening. Dr. Oz listed 6 steps that we can take to stimulate our brains and help to keep our brains from shrinking, preventing dementia. I want to spend the next few days sharing some of what he said; take it for what it's worth ;)

STEP 1: Take a Memory Boosting Supplement Everyday

The supplement that he recommended was a DHA memory boosting supplement. DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid which makes up a large portion of your brain. Lower DHA levels are associated with smaller brain size. DHA also increases blood flow to the brain. Studies have shown that people who take 600 mg of DHA supplements every day, over a period of 6 months, will boost their brain so much that it functions as if it is 3 years younger! You better believe I will be taking these supplements everyday!



STEP 2: Do Brain Stimulating Switch-Ups

Sometimes we need to switch things up, just to keep the brain active and thinking. By "switching it up", different parts of the brain are exercised.

When I was in junior high, my best friend and I used to write mirror messages to each other. Little did I know that I was working my brain to prevent Alzheimer's! One of the suggestions was to write backwards (such a mirror messaging), or to write or eat with the other hand. Other suggestions include wearing your watch on the other hand, switching hands while brushing your teeth, or swapping hands when brushing your hair (I have yet to try this one...I don't need any more bad hair days than I already have! Ha ha).

I could continue on with all 6 today...but I'd rather spread it out over the next couple of days. Besides, my kids are home from school and ready to tackle some homework!

Tune in tomorrow as I continue with steps 3 & 4 on preventing dementia!

To view steps 3 & 4, click here.