Easy, Inexpensive Way to Prevent Dementia of All Kinds

Few things are more upsetting than the thought of developing dementia.

I’ve told you in the past that some cases of dementia are just misdiagnosed cases of nutritional and/or hormonal deficiencies. In these cases, just correcting the deficiencies can cure the condition.

But in the majority of cases, particularly Alzheimer’s dementia, there is no cure. So this puts the onus of therapy on prevention.

Did you know that the latest data shows that if you have made it to the age of 70, your statistical chances of getting dementia are 1 in 8! What are the factors that we can focus on that may be predisposing us to dementia?

One study offers some good answers to this question.

Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco conducted a study to help doctors determine who was more likely to develop dementia. This is what they did.

The researchers looked at 3,375 elderly men and women with an average age of 76. None of these people had any signs of dementia. They followed all of them for the next six years. During that time, 14% of the participants (there’s your 1 in 8) developed dementia within that timeframe. Then the researchers looked at all of the possible reasons that could have caused their dementia. They came up with eight factors.

The first six factors had equal weight. They were:

1. The blood test for the genetic marker for Alzheimer’s called the apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 alleles.

2. Evidence of cerebral white matter disease on an MRI of the brain.

3. An enlarged heart (ventricular enlargement).

4. An increase in the thickness of the internal carotid artery found on ultrasound.

5. Evidence of slow physical performance.

6. And the last one might surprise you — a lack of alcohol consumption.

These factors all rated one point each on a 15-point scale. I’ll discuss these in detail in a future article. Today, I want to focus on two other factors that, taken together, had almost as much predictive weight as the first six factors combined.

The higher weighted factors were: a poor cognitive test performance, which was rated with four points (on the 15-point scale), and a low body weight, which was rated with two points. And here’s how the overall results came out. Those people with scores in the middle of the scale had six times the risk of getting dementia than those with the lower scores. Those with the higher scores had 12 times the risk! These are startling numbers. They reveal some significant ways to protect yourself from developing dementia. So let’s take a good look at what the data tells us.

First of all, consider the highest ticket item in the group, poor cognitive test performance. It was the single most influential factor these researchers found in their study. Now this is important for two reasons: First, you can easily determine your own cognitive test performance all by yourself. And second there are a number of easy methods you can use to improve cognitive test performance. This is one of these cases in which you can often be your own best doctor.

The testing process is easy. I’ve described it in previous articles. You can find this test on my website (www.secondopinionnewsletter.com). If you score five or below on this test, you should start working to improve your score.

Even if you score well, it’s not a bad idea to practice a little preventive medicine. Here are some of the easy things that will improve your score.

First, make sure that you’re exercising your brain. Reading is one of the best ways to do this. I’m not talking about romance novels. I’m talking about instructive articles or books that require paying close attention to what you’re reading. A great way to do this is to take a course. Whether it’s a home study course or one that involves going to class makes no difference.

Another technique is memorization. I like to memorize verses from the Bible. I’ll put them on an index card and carry them with me while I drive to and from work. I’ll just study them until I can repeat them easily word for word. Then I’ll go on to another one. And then a week later, I test myself to be sure that I can still remember the verses I memorized in previous weeks. It’s fun. And it’s a really good way to impress your grandkids with how smart you are. Other good activities for exercising your brain are puzzles, such as crossword puzzles, and games that challenge your concentration and focus, such as chess or bridge.

The second factor may come as a surprise — low body weight.

Low body weight (a body mass index less than 18.5) carries twice the risk as each one of the first six factors I mentioned earlier. So why is that?

The major cause for weight loss (other than from a disease) in the over-60 category is loss of lean body mass. Lean body mass refers to muscle and bone tissue. As you get older you’re going to lose lean body mass. That is unless you do something to keep these in place — such as exercising every day, replenishing deficient hormones, and keeping to a diet skewed toward protein and away from carbohydrates. People who do these things not only don’t lose lean body mass, they actually put it on — even when they are in their 90s.

So let’s put these two factors together. Maintaining optimal cognitive test scores (greater than seven) and maintaining your lean body mass can reduce your risk of dementia by almost 50%. Best of all, these are cheap and easy ways to prevent memory loss. In fact, everything I’ve mentioned for these two factors is free.

So let me encourage you to take the test now and every year. If you test well, great! Just keep it up. If you don’t, then please take the time to protect your brain while you can still remember to do so.