Over the last few weeks, we’ve spent many hours getting the right level of care sorted for my mother-in-law, who has dementia.
This is round two, as my adopted mum also went on this difficult journey. As everyone knows, it is not an easy or fun road for anyone; the person with dementia or their loved ones.
Why am I telling you this?
Because I’m passionate about letting people know they can reduce their risk of getting dementia. It might not show up until you’re in your 60’s or 70’s, but 30 years or even earlier before, things could be ‘getting underway’.
What’s good for your heart is also good for your brain – there’s loads you can do to reduce your risk.
Thanks to Alzheimer’s NZ and The Lancet Commission report for outlining 12 modifiable risk factors which they say could prevent or delay up to 35% of dementia cases.
The risk factors are:
- less education
- hypertension
- hearing impairment
- smoking
- obesity
- depression
- physical inactivity
- diabetes
- infrequent social contact
- excessive alcohol intake
- head injury in mid-life exposure
- air pollution in later life
Is it genetic? According to the National Institute of Ageing, there is a gene that can increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. It is so important to remember your lifestyle is how you load your genes, it influences the way your genes are expressed.
Food for thought.
Ensuring you get the right nutrients for your brain is also important, along with the way you fuel your body. Our brains are amazing, but they are hungry things. They need the right nutrition to support our cognitive functioning. Your lifestyle and diet have long-term effects on your health and wellbeing, which is super important when it comes to healthy ageing.
Luckily there is plenty you can do to reduce your risk of dementia and cognitive decline.
Sometimes making a lifestyle change isn’t as simple as it sounds.
Think of me as your life coach with a holistic health and wellbeing approach. I’m here to support you to level up your wellness in a sustainable way.
A Right Fit Session is a free 20-minute phone or video chat to discuss what’s going on and feel out the options for working together. This is your first step towards connecting – take it now!
It never occurs to me that there are things that I can’t do.
Whoopi Goldberg