SARAH DI LORENZO: Brain food and exercise to prevent deadly dementia

Dementia is the second leading cause of death in Australia and the leading cause of death for Australian women with the figures predicted to double by 2050.

Dementia not only affects the person with it but has a massive impact on family and friends who end up being full-time carers.

But first dementia is an overarching term used to describe the symptoms of a large group of illnesses that cause a slow and progressive decline in a person’s functioning where they lose memory, mood, personality, behaviour, intellect, social skills, physical functioning and rationality.

Dementia has many different types including vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body disease, dementia due to Parkinson’s disease, mixed dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

While dementia can happen to anyone it is most common after the age of 65.

The onset of dementia is slow and one of the first signs to look out for is a loss in sense of humour.

Other symptoms are forgetfulness, repeating comments in a short period of time, misplacing common items, moodiness, struggling to find the right word in conversation and not knowing the day of the week, season or month.

Many family members overlook this and put it down to things like old age, stress and poor sleep.

Signs dementia is getting worse is where sufferers can’t make decisions, complete daily tasks like paying bills, cooking, making a cup of coffee, using a remote control.

As well a noted change in sleeping patterns, anxiety, frustration, confusion, agitation, and depression.

One of the worst signs is suspiciousness that can really traumatise family members and hallucinations.

As well needing assistance to groom, bathe and eat. These are common symptoms while everyone who has dementia will present differently.

Dementia is caused by damage to the brain affecting the brain’s nerve cells destroying the brain’s ability to communicate with its various areas.

It can also result from blocked blood flow to the brain therefore depriving it of nutrients and oxygen, resulting in brain tissue death.

With dementia the cortex overall becomes thinner and this results in losing memories and the brain gradually shrinks.

Damage to the left hemisphere is linked to problems with memory and language.

In most dementias, build up of toxic proteins is a key part of brain degeneration.

This causes a loss of the contact points between neurons as well as a loss of the neurones themselves and the cause is still unknown.

So what are the preventative measures we can take? Well there is excellent evidence showing that regular physical activity is one of the best things you can do to reduce your risk of developing dementia.

A lack of physical exercise is one of the main factors where the evidence is strong enough to actually show that it increases the risk of dementia.

Exercise improved thinking and memory and reduced rates of dementia.

Aim for 30 minutes per day of cardiovascular exercise this can be walking, hiking and even lots of housework up and down stairs.

If you live a health focused life you can reduce risk factors for certain types of dementia.

Staying as healthy as you can in life to keep blood vessels clear of cholesterol buildup, managing stress weight to help maintain a normal blood pressure, eating whole foods and foods with a low glycaemic index to maintain healthy blood sugar levels, getting to and maintaining a healthy weight and a healthy lifestyle.

We want to keep our brains fuelled with oxygen and nutrients to keep it functioning optimally.

Other key changes you can make are to stop smoking and vaping.

As we follow a mediterranean diet for all the wonderful whole grains, fruit, seafood, vegetables, beans, olive oil and keep red meat to a minimum.

Exercise is essential, non-negotiable, aim for around 30 minutes of cardio per day, just do your best and do what you can, be sure to build on it.

Another excellent tip is to keep your brain active, play word games, solve puzzles, do crosswords and read every day. This is the brain’s exercise, all these kinds of activities can slow down the onset of dementia.

Be sure to continue to be socially active, interact with people, be a volunteer, join a group or community or take up a hobby.

All of this interaction and discussion with other people will keep your soul, mind and heart healthy and engaged.