5 Ways to Reduce the Risk of Dementia

By 2031, it is estimated that more than three million people will be suffering from either early or advanced symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer’s. Care for people suffering from this disease comes at a cost of over $220 billion in the United States. These figures are staggering, especially when there are ways in which you can reduce the risk of it happening to you. 

Below are five ways you can reduce the risk of getting Alzheimer’s or a related form of dementia. 

Believe it or not, it’s all down to how well you look after your body and mind.

 

Keep your mind active

As we hit the age for retirement, we’re often not required to think as much as we used to. Our day-to-day tasks within a working environment have all of a sudden come to an end. Don’t let the end of your working life be the end of your mental stimulation. 

Now, more than ever, it’s important to think and be motivated and challenged. Take up a new language, get involved in trivia, do puzzles, crosswords or sudoku. Do anything that will stimulate your mind. You could even take up a new form of study. The options are endless.

Reduce your sugar intake

While it’s a contributor in many illnesses, it’s not widely known that overindulging in sugar is also linked to Alzheimer’s. By reducing your sugar intake, you are vowing to keep your brain healthy.

Try to exclude those fruit juices that you see in the grocery store because they are loaded with sugar.  You will also feel healthier for it, while reducing the risk of diabetes in the process.  There are many other food ingredients to be aware of and you can take a look more here. 

Reduce your stress levels

While your everyday work or home life might come with its own set of challenges, it’s time to let stress take a back seat. By allowing yourself to become anxious or stressed, your risk of developing 

Alzheimer’s can be increased by up to 135%. If you’re already at risk for the disease, it’s best you undertake stress-reducing exercises to take back control.  

Exercise regularly

The first part of your brain to be attacked by Alzheimer’s is the hippocampus. If you choose to make regular exercise a part of your everyday routine, you are preserving the current hippocampal volume. 

This can help reduce the risk. Why not go for a walk or take up dancing? Even gardening is a good form of exercise. If you run 15 miles per week, you can also reduce the risk by as much as 40%.
 

Quit smoking

It has been a long time since smoking was ever considered beneficial. In fact, it’s now considered the cause of many diseases and deaths. If you’re a smoker, you have a 45% higher chance of developing Alzheimer’s than someone who doesn’t smoke. It’s claimed that up to 14% of all dementia cases could be attributed to smoking. If you weren’t planning on quitting any time soon, this might encourage you to do so.

Alzheimer’s is a disease that can take away your freedom, your independence and your mind. Because there are so many ways you can reduce the risk of it affecting you and your family, why wouldn’t you give some of them a go? Leading a much healthier lifestyle means you can be with friends and family for far longer. 

Image source - pexels.com

Healthy Food Tips to Know

While browsing the websites in my daily morning routine I came upon a interesting article from the telegraph.  The article interviewed a botanist named James Wong who had some interesting knowledge on super foods.  Before I jump in on what he has to say, there is a trend going on right now in America where food is getting expensive.  Anything that is healthy is expensive and anything unhealthy is very cheap.  This is a huge gap and it correlates with people being overweight in the lower income brackets.  It is difficult for many to avoid some of these ingredients because they are so much cheaper.

Reading this new article on James Wong he had some interesting tips that may help those who are struggling to eat healthy on a lower budget.  One tip he mentions is very interesting because it involves pasta.  Now we know that it is heavily loaded with carbs but it is even worse when apparently you reheat leftovers.  It will increase the blood sugar levels by up to 50% because when the pasta is reheated it turns to a form that is difficult for the human body to process.  In other words it may be best to avoid reheating pasta.

Spicy Flakes

If you like spicy food then adding some chili flakes to your food may be a great idea.  According to some research it has been shown that adding some chilies to your daily meal will in fact reduce any spikes of your insulin.

Increase Antioxidants Levels

Another aspect is interesting from the article is that plants will increase its antioxidant levels at a much higher rate when in this tear or sliced apart.  This type of injury to a plant will heighten its antioxidant levels.  The people who understand to do this will often slice or tear their lettuce or any greens and leave them in a container.  This container is left overnight in the fridge where the levels of antioxidants will increase by up to 50%.  The thing is, we already pretty much tear the lettuce when we put in salads so why not do it the night before.

Fibers in Potatoes? 

It is also recommended to eat potatoes that are smaller in size because they contain more rich fibers.  A good way to cook a potato is to slice him up in very thin pieces(5mm) and storing them in the fridge for two days.  This will increase the antioxidant levels by doubling it.  You can then start using potatoes in your meals by baking it.

Different Type of Apples 

Did you know different types of apples have different levels of antioxidants?  Red apples tend to have the highest levels but it is not always the case, so make sure to do your research.  Why not try those granny smith apples and check out our article here on why you should eat this kind.

Steam Kale

One last interesting tip to know before I end this article is that kale is better to be consumed when it is steamed.  You can do this in many ways by purchasing a steamer for vegetables.  You could also purchase units that can steamed vegetables either on the stove top or in the microwave.

Green Apples are Excellent source of Everything Healthy?

If you of apples like I do, that I’m sure your favorite kind of apple are the red ones.  I’m talking about the sweet ones right?  Yes they are top of my list but I also like the Granny Smith apples also known as the green apples.  I like its tartness and the crispiness of it.  It is delicious and is great with peanut butter as weird as that may sound.  The other benefit is that granny apples last longer than those of the red kind because they are high in acid content.  Furthermore, there are great for salads because they have that sour element that just makes it extra better with any salad dressing that you add.  This is for sure one of the fruits that you want to eat raw but you can also cook.

Cook in a Pan!

The best way to have it is to caramelize it.  This is pretty easy but does take time because you have to wait for everything to absorb into the apple slices.  The way to do it is to slice the apple up and throw it into a pan with cinnamon and butter.  When done caramelizing, you can top it on mostly any desert you like such as ice cream or yogurt.  

Now let’s look at the benefits

Most apples are rich in flavonoids but Granny Smith apples take it to a whole new level because it is loaded with it, even more than your average apple.  Just think of flavonoids as an antioxidant that helps your system fight any intruders that are harmful to your system such as those free radicals as they call it.

By fighting off these intruders your healthy cells will continue to do their job by helping you feel good and make your skin looking younger.  If you do not help your system fight this then there is long-term issues or risking your healthy cells to be damage as you age, such as the increase risk of having some sort of chronic illness.

Many people do not like the green apples not because for its flavor but for its tough skin.  What is interesting is the skin actually helps keep your teeth healthy.  If you gone camping and forgot your toothbrush and you happen to have a Smitty apple in your backpack then start chewing on its skin.  One experiment you can try while camping is adding slices into your quick oatmeal mixes.

The fibrous component of the skin helps increase the saliva production which helps decrease any bacteria that attack your gums and teeth.  You will also be less prone to cavities!

So go out to your local market and do not discriminate against the greens!

Fruit Juices – to Drink or to Eat?

The everyday foods that we consume are sometimes not healthy but many of us know that.  There is a big concern that some of these foods may cause a larger issue than we expected.  The same goes for ingredients in cosmetic where I wrote an article on(read it here).  

 Yes we all know that fats and sugar can be bad if he consume too much of it every day.  The question becomes how much do most common food have of sugar or bad fats.  Another thing that we tend to overlook is that sometimes the food may contain things much worse such as growth hormones, antibiotics and pesticides commonly used in agriculture.  

 Right of the bat, I can say that the best way to avoid this is to grow your own vegetables and purchase locally if possible.  I understand that sometimes you may be living in a colder climate where growing your own garden year-round is not possible.  One way to combat this is to have a garden in the summer and to store the leftovers for the winter in freezer bags.  There are many tricks to do this.  Another viable way of having a good amount of vegetables for the winter is to have a community garden.  This is a good set up to have in your community.

Juice troubles

Many of the so-called healthy foods you find in the supermarket may not be in fact healthy at all.  The confusing issue is that sometimes these are misleading because of how advertising works in America.  Just because it says the word healthy on a package does not mean that everything in the ingredients is good for you.  The one thing that I truly recommend you doing is to eliminate process fruit juices.  I’m specifically talking about the commercial brands because they are loaded with too much sugar.  Sometimes the sugar is more than any sort of drinks.  

How is it processed?

Another issue is that the juices are pasteurized and this will actually remove any of its healthy good minerals.  Furthermore, many of this liquid from the actual fruit which are stripped of his minerals already is stored in a tank and it can be in their depending how much the company’s is selling.  Because of this, the oxygen’s will be removed in order to preserve it but the taste of the actual juice is essentially gone.   

What happens next, is that these companies will add artificial flavour’s as well as aromas to help it simulate the taste and smell of the real stuff.  And you guessed it, one of the main ingredients to enhance the flavour is the syrup of fructose corn.  The best way to have your fruits is eating it.  Be aware that fruits on its own does have a lot of sugar but is loaded with so much minerals and vitamins.  When you’re making a smoothie and adding fruits, tried to add more leafy green vegetables to counteract the amount of sugar and fruits.  A good combination is bananas and spinach.

Be Careful of some Ingredients in Products

The dangers of some ingredients used in the cosmetic industry is something that many people overlook.  We sometimes think that because the products are on the shelves, they automatically assumed because they are there that they should be safe.  This is true in a way because every product has to go through the FDA, as they provide the strict guidelines to approve or disapprove a product.  Sometimes though, some ingredients are safe that meet just the minimal guidelines of passing and they have no chance of harming us because of the research and testing over X number of years.  These ingredients are safe for the general public but they can be actually be harmful to the few who may be allergic or have others health conditions.  For example, if you’re suffering from Eczema, then some of these ingredients may make your skin worse or better depending on the lotion/moisturizer or shampoo you are using, so make sure to pick the best ones by researching the ingredients your product. Hope this article will help a bit.

Here are some ingredients that are known to be somewhat in the grey area in terms of safety but if you suffer from a skin condition than you may need consider doing more research.

The Smell?

Many cosmetic products especially lotions make you smell good.  You have the ever so popular strawberry or coconut fragrance that have been around for ages in perfumes or even in food products.  What is interesting to note is that these fragrance are not natural at all.

They are a combination of different chemicals that give off that smell.  One particular ingredient is called diethyl-phthalate, it’s something to be aware of and is found in every product out there.  Apparently according to researchers, this chemical has toxic disruptors and can have a negative effect on your organs.  The smell of this chemical can cause those with allergies or asthma to react badly.

BHA

According to David Suzuki this chemical can provoke that allergies and is known to disrupt the hormones.  It could be classified as a carcinogen according to the research agency of cancer.  The research has shown that there is some long-term issues with exposure which can cause problems to our blood circulation and lungs.  In the country of Canada BHA is not restricted, but is categorized as a health priority according to its health regular (Health Canada) because some of its chemicals have known to be scrutinize based on studies.  In Europe, using BHA is not allowed to be used in products as fragrance.  This means you will not see any cosmetics across Europe with BHA.  In the United States, it is a state-by-state case because in state of California, it is used as fragrance but is labelled on products.  This is a requirement by the state in order to let consumers know that there is fragrance and in labelled that it has the possibility of causing cancer.

How does our body break down BHA

When we consume products with this ingredient, it does break down and absorbed. Because of this, it could pose an effect on our biological system which can be harmful but according to other research could be slimly beneficial.  Supposedly in some research, the benefits is that it could help fight against free radicals or provoking the enzymes in our bodies to help detoxify some of the bad stuff.  Other studies shows that it could be toxic to the cells in low doses, meeting that you could be very bad in high doses.

What does this all mean?

The studies are leading towards a negative view of BHA.  The fact that is banned in Europe means that individual living in North America should be cautious because it is still found in our products.  It is up to you, the consumer to make that decision and it is easy since it is clearly labelled having this ingredient depending where you live.

The deficiency in this vitamin is linked to many deaths?

Living in the northern hemisphere has its perk such as well nothing much.  I mean the winters are long, which leads to less sunlight throughout the day.  Can’t go outside as much especially when you’re older and not a kid.  The only reason why you go outside is to go work and take of the garbage, oh and lets not forget to shovel the driveway and walkway.  What is dangerous I found out through a family member is going back to my first point of having less sunlight in the winter, is the point of lacking vitamin D.

You get most of vitamin D apparently from the sun naturally.  The problem with living up north is that we don’t get as much sunlight in the day and we’ll stay out too long because of the cold.  This leads too many conditions that are caused by the lack of this vitamin.  I found out that many millions of people die from this because they didn’t get the right amount of the vitamin.  This crucial vitamin is important in helping fight against osteoporosis, straightening of the bone and helping with regulating our blood pressure.  Apparently the list goes on forever on the benefits and not it does not help with hair health, but you can read more on that here.

Other ways to get vitamin D

You could get vitamin D from plants but it isn’t comparable to the sun.  The alternative is to take your vitamin D supplements now this is the tricky part.  How much IU should the supplement have?  This is huge debate but if you follow this chart as a guideline you will be in good shape.

What I learnt further is the fact that many people who live in warm climates still have a deficiency.  It could be many reasons such as nowadays people are staying indoors more because of technology but the main culprit is apparently that you can get the daily vitamin D only through a certain timeframe in the day.  If you go out in the morning to get your daily intake, well sorry to say this but this is the worst time to get it.  During the time of the afternoon, which is the best time, people tend to avoid the sun because it is too hot.  

IMPORTANT – DON’T STAY OUT TO LONG IN SUN

Yes it is important that we do not stay out too long in the sun because of cancer risk which is actually really scary and apparently it is gone up in the number of cases each year.  The point is to go out to get sun for only a couple minutes because that is all is needed.  This is dependent also on the skin type.  For example, for you, you may need to stay out just for five minutes in the sun versus someone with a different skin tone who only needs to be in the sun for two minutes and will receive the same amount of vitamin D.