One key thing that often gets overlooked when it comes to dementia risk is diet. Eating poorly and consuming a lot of processed foods can be bad for your brain. Research shows that a diet rich in whole foods, like the Mediterranean diet, can help keep your brain working well and lower your risk of dementia. These diets focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts to help your health.
As always, the key is learning. A healthy brain diet, like a simple ketogenic diet, can help your brain quickly. You need to learn how to practice these healthy eating plans. My suggestion would be to read one, or even better, several books on the topic. That way, you’ll really boost your knowledge about healthy eating.
So, what else can you do? First, you need to take active steps. Some suggestions include:
Regular Medication Reviews: Doctors should regularly check and adjust your medicines, especially if you’re older, to make sure you’re only taking what’s truly needed.
Alternative Therapies: When possible, look into non-drug treatments for anxiety, trouble sleeping, or long-term pain. Things like cognitive behavioral therapy, physical therapy, and herbal remedies can be helpful.
Education and Awareness: Patients and their caregivers should learn about the brain risks of certain medicines and be encouraged to look for other options.
Diet Changes and Good Supplements: Eating well and taking the right supplements will help you stay healthy and functional.
Sadly, very few older people today don’t take medicines and eat healthy. Older people who didn’t take medicines, tend to live healthy lives, have a normal weight, sleep well, and were generally healthy. All the others who died much earlier and were seriously sick usually got sick over 10 to 20 years by taking lots of medicines and eating very harmful foods. Then, dementia and other diseases show up.
