What Can We Do to Reduce the Risk?

• Physical Exercise: Getting regular exercise may lower the risk of AD. You don't have to be a serious athlete to benefit: walking or jogging at least 30 minutes several times a week appears to be effective. In other words, move it or lose it.
• Brain Fitness: Ongoing education and mental exercise plays an equally important role in maintaining brain health and preventing cognitive decline. The ways to keep your brain sharp are to learn something new, practice memorization, solve riddles, do crossword puzzles and practice the 5 Ws: keep a “who, what, where, when and why” list of your daily experiences.
• Brain-Healthy Food: What’s good for the heart is good for the brain. Foods rich in antioxidants are brain-healthy. These include salmon, walnuts, flax seeds, dark-skinned fruits and vegetables such as blueberries and broccoli. Green tea, red wine, chocolate and some vitamin supplements, such as vitamin E and vitamin B12, are also believed to help preserve and improve memory, as is a Mediterranean diet. Download Cleveland Clinic Chief Wellness Officer Dr. Michael Roizen’s Foods for Brain Health.
• Sleep and Stress Management: Sleep deprivation and psychological stress have been linked to increased risk of AD. Your brain needs regular rest and restful sleep to process and store information. Establishing healthy sleep habits and managing daily stress by practicing yoga or Pilates have been shown to have long-term benefits on overall brain health and reduce the risk of cognitive decline.

Current thinking about prevention in Alzheimer’s disease takes the form of attempting to modify “risk factors” for the disease.

We would all like to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, postpone its onset and slow its clinical course. Often, before diseases can be prevented, they must first go through a phase in which treatments are developed. Here's how you can participate