Thursday, May 31, 2012

Brain Activities to Lower Alzheimers Risk

One of the greatest fears of many Baby Boomers is that we will begin to develop senile dementia or, worse, Alzheimer's Disease.  The thought that one day we will no longer be able to remember the past, or even recognize our loved ones, is horrifying.  Consequently, many of us are looking for practical ways to decrease our Alzheimer's risk factors.

Famed television host, Dr. Oz, recently presented an Alzheimer's prevention plan, and reprinted it on his website, doctoroz.com.  Below is a summary of the suggestions he has for reducing our Alzheimer's risk.

The Dr. Oz Recommendations to Reduce Alzheimer's Risk

1.  Take 600 mg. of DHA a day.  This omega-3 fatty acid will reduce your brain inflammation, combat plaque, and increase the blood flow to your brain.

2.  Use the opposite hand to cross-train your brain.  If you are normally right handed, try using your left hand to eat, brush your teeth, comb your hair, etc.  If you are left-handed, do the opposite.  This will stimulate new parts of the brain.

3.  Practice deep breathing three times a day to lower your stress, which is very damaging to the brain.  Dr. Oz calls this system 7-7-7.  Inhale for 7 seconds; hold it for 7 seconds; exhale for 7 seconds; repeat 7 times.

4.  Practice remembering lists of items by using silly word associations.  Try to work up to 20 or even 30 items.

5.  Do push ups.  That's right, this floor exercise, which builds your core body muscles, is apparently also good for your brain.  Doing seven push-ups a day will stimulate blood flow to the brain and generate new brain cells!

6.  Follow a brain building diet which includes elderberries, pecans, chicken giblets, clams, vegetable juice (up to 8 oz. a day), and beets.  All of these foods contain nutrients that are helpful to the brain.

These actions are all generally good for our overall health, and they are easy to do at home, without a doctor's prescription.  If we can radically reduce the number of Baby Boomers who will develop Alzheimers in the future, these easy steps will be well worth it.

If you are interested in learning more about Alzheimer's and how to reduce your risk of developing this dreaded disease, use the tabs or pull down menu at the top of the page.  They will link you to hundreds of additional articles on health issues, as well as where to retire, financial planning, changing family relationships and more.

You are reading from the Baby Boomer blog:  http://www.baby-boomer-retirement.com

Photo courtesy of www.morguefile.com  

2 comments:

  1. These are wonderful ideas. I love the cross training idea. I'm mostly left handed and resist using my right even though I sometimes can. I'm going to start forcing myself. I may end up ambidextrous! Thanks for a terrific article.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome! I especially like #5. :)

    -Kurt
    Seniorly.com

    ReplyDelete

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