Approximately 3 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. As of yet there is no cure, but there are steps you can take to minimize the risk. There has been much written about mental stimulation, such as crossword puzzles, suduko, reading, etc., for staving off dementia. Results from these techniques have been mixed. Studies over the past several years have found one surefire method to hold off mental decline. In a word, EXERCISE. A Mayo Clinic Review of more than 2,000 thousand scientific papers determined. "The one thing you can do to do prevent the onset of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease is exercise."
Harvard pyschiatrist Dr. John Ratey says, "Exercise is the one thing we've proven again and again that prevents the ravaging of aging on our brains. If you exercise 3 to to 6 months on a regular basis, your brain actually grows." And for those of you who haven't exercised in a long time, or who have never exercised regularly, take note. Dr. Ratey says, "You get the most bang for your buck if you haven't been exercising. The biggest changes are seen there."
As a bonus regular exercise can fend off obesity and Type 2 diabetes. So get moving and strive for 150 minutes of exercise a week. It could be walking, running, swimming, weight training. The idea is to get the heart pumping and the blood circulating to the brain. The less fat on the ass, the more cells in the brain.
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