Engaging in mental or social activities may help to build up your brain's ability to cope with disease, relieve stress and improve your mood. This means doing these activities may help to delay, or even prevent, dementia from developing. Find activities you enjoy that challenge your brain, and do them regularly.
In the CAIDE study, coffee drinking of 3-5 cups per day at midlife was associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD by about 65% at late-life. In conclusion, coffee drinking may be associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD.
Phytochemicals found in bananas help preserve nerve tissue against neurotoxins, which deteriorate nervous tissue when exposed to its substance. This may also help in preventing neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
Vitamins B6 and B12 are critical because they team up to form one of the best compounds for slowing down the effects of dementia. There is proof that memory-deteriorating genes can become more active due to a deficiency of these vitamins.
There is currently no cure for dementia, and current treatments cannot reverse the damage. However, if symptoms arise due to vitamin deficiencies or drug use, there may be options to prevent the condition from progressing.
In contrast, the brain has a limited capacity to regenerate and repair itself. Even when brain cells begin to die off in Alzheimer's or other types of dementia, there aren't nearly enough new cells dividing and surviving to repair the brain.
Donepezil (also known as Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon) and galantamine (Reminyl) are used to treat the symptoms of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Donepezil is also used to treat more severe Alzheimer's disease.
Avocados contain B vitamins, which have been studied for their potential role in brain health because of their role in homocysteine metabolism (5, 8). Elevated homocysteine level is a risk factor for AD and dementia. B vitamins can help to lower homocysteine levels (47).
For men and women with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, it can be especially beneficial. Watching movies and TV shows can help keep their brain active, which can stimulate positive memories, improve mood, and even increase socialization.
Certain fruits such as oranges, bell peppers, guava, kiwi, tomatoes, and strawberries, contain high amounts of vitamin C. Vitamin C helps prevent brain cells from becoming damaged and supports overall brain health. In fact, a study found that vitamin C can potentially prevent Alzheimer's.
Additional studies indicate that dehydration can accelerate cognitive decline in people with dementia [7]. Decreased water levels in cells can cause proteins to misfold and prevent the clearance of these toxic proteins, causing them to build up in the brain.
In populations with low intake of milk and dairy, such as the Japanese, a “high” intake of these foods is considered to reduce the risk of dementia.
They found that study participants who routinely drank black, green or oolong tea brewed directly from tea leaves were 50 percent less likely to experience cognitive decline and were at a decreased risk for developing Alzheimer's. “Our findings have important implications for dementia prevention,” said Dr.
As for the benefits of olive oil on its own, a 2021 study suggests that it could play a role in reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers note that oleuropein aglycone, a polyphenol found in high levels in extra-virgin olive oil, reduced the formation of amyloid deposits, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.
Terminal lucidity is not an official medical term, but it refers to people with dementia unexpectedly returning to a clear mental state shortly before death. Experts do not know exactly why a person may experience this lucidity, and more research on the neurological mechanisms involved is necessary.
Over time, the disease causing the dementia spreads to other parts of the brain. This leads to more symptoms because more of the brain is unable to work properly. At the same time, already-damaged areas of the brain become even more affected, causing symptoms the person already has to get worse.
A 2019 study published in Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, showed among 165 participants (45 with diagnosed neurodegenerative disease, 120 controls) a supine sleep position (on back, head at body level) for more than 2 hours per night increased the risk of dementia by almost four times (3.7 times greater).