Based on the questions and comments I get, many of you want to know how to protect your brains. Your memories and the ability to make new ones are what make you you. There are many programs and even more books written about the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s. In my opinion, they’re premature because we just don’t know enough yet.

That doesn’t mean that there’s nothing we can do to protect our brains and our memories. I recently watched an interview with Lisa Genova, a neuroscientist who wrote the book “Still Alice.” That prompted me to watch her TED talk, which I strongly recommend.

Genova’s suggestions are simple but absolutely based on the current science. Here they are:

• Get good sleep—that’s critical. When you get into a deep sleep, the brain flushes out those molecules that can destroy neurons.
• Exercise regularly, especially aerobic exercise for the exact same reason as getting good sleep. Exercise clears the molecules that cause destruction.
• Eat a diet that reduces inflammation: more vegetables, more fruit, healthier fats, and fewer refined carbohydrates. With a brain-healthy approach, you might just lose a few pounds as well—which also reduces inflammation.
• Keep your brain engaged in learning new things. In data from the Nun’s Study, autopsies showed some nuns had brains that had shrunken and looked like brains from Alzheimer’s patients, but they had exhibited few symptoms of memory loss associated with the disease because they never stopped learning. That helps you create what Genova calls a cognitive reserve: your brain makes so many extra connections that it can work around the ones that are broken.

That’s it. Eat your veggies. Get some exercise. Get good sleep. Never stop learning. It’s as simple as that. I’ll have a special New Year’s Day Memo for you so after the celebration, check it out.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

Reference: http://bit.ly/2lkoXYv