MIND the cognitive decline

Dr Santhosh N S suggests a healthy lifestyle and a good diet like MIND that comprises brain-healthy food groups which can help prevent Alzheimer's and slow its progression

A neurological disorder that gradually impairs memory, behavioural, social, and thinking abilities, and the ability to do simple everyday activities, Alzheimer’s causes the brain to shrink and the brain cells eventually die. Most Alzheimer’s patients experience their first symptoms later in life (65+ age).

Risk factors

The present strategy to fight against Alzheimer’s disease lies in the prevention of the known modifiable risk factors. This includes managing hypertension, stroke, diabetes, epilepsy, coronary disease, brain injuries, and depression, as well as changing one’s lifestyle and avoiding unhealthy habits. Increasing longevity without dementia can be achieved by incorporating these lifestyle changes into our day-to-day lives.

5 low-risk lifestyle changes

The prevention of Alzheimer’s dementia through lifestyle changes has received a lot of attention recently due to mounting evidence showing that it can potentially slow cognitive decline and lower the risk of its progression. Researchers concentrated on five low-risk lifestyle choices, in particular, which are a healthy diet, 150 minutes of moderate to intense exercise per week, no smoking, less alcohol consumption, and engaging in intellectually stimulating activities.

Study participants found that patients who adopted four or five healthy behavioural patterns had about 60% lower risk of Alzheimer’s dementia when compared with participants who didn’t follow any or only one of them. A higher risk of developing the disease is linked to heavy drinking, whereas consuming light to moderate amounts of alcohol is found to be associated with a lower risk. The study concluded that people who consumed 1-15g/day of alcohol (women) and 1-30g/day (men) were regarded as healthy or had a low risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia. It has been proposed to be protective against AD by reducing amyloid burden, decreasing mortality, and reducing the risk of dementia.

The exercises that can be incorporated into our day-to-day life include walking, gardening or yard work, callisthenics or general exercise, bicycle riding, and swimming. People who spent at least 150 min/week doing these activities are at less risk of developing dementia. Aerobic exercise intervention is effective at increasing hippocampal volume and offsetting normal decline associated with ageing. The late-life cognitive activities are reading, visiting a museum, and playing games such as cards, checkers, crosswords, or puzzles.

MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) is a diet for brain health as it reduces the incidence of dementia. MIND includes brain-healthy food groups (green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, seafood, poultry, olive oil, and wine) and excludes unhealthy food groups (butter, cheese, red meats, sweets, and pastries, fried/fast food, etc.). With a diet that is low in saturated fatty acids (meat and poultry); moderate in dairy products (cheese and yoghurt); moderate in alcohol and high in vegetables, legumes, fruits, cereals, fish, and unsaturated fatty acids, dementia and cognitive decline can be avoided. One must involve oneself in cognitively active tasks like reading as one grows older.

Nowadays, adherence to a healthy lifestyle is low, and therefore promoting these lifestyle factors becomes the prime goal in achieving increasing longevity without dementia. The healthier the habits that a person adopts, the lower the risk of cognitive decline.

(The author is a consultant in neurology.)