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I do these videos every week, and it's hard for me to believe that I've done almost 50
of them now.
But the information that I have for you today is I think going to be some of the most valuable
that I've ever offered.
It's the best advice from one of the very best Alzheimer's doctors.
And I think you're going to want to hear what he says, because these are all things that
have really been shown to slow cognitive decline and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.
The are things that he does with his patients, and you can do them too.
Hi, I'm Tony Dearing of GoCogno.com, the website for people with mild cognitive impairment.
This video is the second of 2 parts focusing on Dr. Richard Isaacson, the founder of the
Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.
His practice is focused on people with MCI or early stage Alzheimer's, and he's doing
truly pioneering work.
Isaacson's message is that based on the best evidence that we have right now, about one
in three cases of Alzheimer's could be prevented if the person does everything right.
As someone with MCI, I know you want to be that person.
So what should you do?
Here are Dr. Isaacson's answers.
He says when it comes to your risk of Alzheimer's, there are some things you can't control.
They include your family history, or things like past head trauma, or past medical problems.
There the good news is, there are plenty things you can control, that have a direct bearing
on your Alzheimer's risk.
Here they are, and there are a lot of them.
So where do you start?
Well, based on the best science, three good places to begin would be exercise, cardiovascular
risk and nutrition.
On the question of exercise, Isaacson couldn't be more blunt.
Here's what he says: “If there is one thing you can do today, right now, exercise is literally
the only thing someone can do to reduce amyloid in the brain.
Another way you can dramatically cut your risk is by addressing cardiovascular risks,
in particular things like high blood pressure, Type II diabetes or high cholesterol.
If you have any of those things, Isaacson says addressing them should be the top priority.
“If you have diabetes, you have twice the risk of Alzheimer’s,” he says.
“You are pushing the fast-forward button on Alzheimer’s.
I also think high cholesterol pushes the fast-forward button on Alzheimer’s.”
Another area that Isaacson puts a lot of emphasis on is diet and nutrition, and there, he has
a very specific recommendation.
“If I had to choose one type of dietary pattern with the best evidence, a Mediterranean-style
diet would be my top choice,” he says.
Again, that super clear advice and I offer a link below on where you can find out more
about the Mediterranean diet.
The Mediterranean diet is a good overall eating plan, but based on some really important recent
studies, Dr. Isaacson has some other things he advocates as well, so let's look at those.
The first of those is something I talked about recently in another video -- and that's the
cognitive perils of the American diet.
In a study published 2011, Suzanne Craft, a professor at the Wake Forest School of Medicine,
assigned about half of 50 older adults to a Western diet high in saturated fat and sugar.
The other half ate a more heart-healthy diet.
An analysis of their spinal fluid found the Western diet increase inflammation and levels
of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain.
Craft said: "If you think of the impact of eating with these kinds of patterns over years
and years, it's not hard to see how diet can have a profound effect on your risk of Alzheimer's."
Second, let's talk about counting carbs.
In a 2012 study, researchers took 23 people with MCI and put them on either a high carbohydrate
diet or very low-carb diet.
After just 6 weeks,they showed improve verbal memory performance.
The verdict, according to researchers: "Dietary ketosis by means of carbohydrate restriction
can improve neurocognitive benefit for older adults with early memory decline and increased
risk for neurodegeneration."
And here's one more for you.
In 2012, the Mayo Clinic looked at about 1,200 older adults between the ages of 70 and 89,
and followed them for a period of about four years.
It found that those who ate more than 2,142 calories a day had double the risk of developing
mild cognitive impairment.
Now Dr. Isaacson is careful when he talks about Alzheimer's prevention.
We don't have a cure, and we don't have any way to guarantee you won't get it.
He's not saying anything otherwise.
However, until that first big breakthrough drug comes along, or until we have some surefire
method of prevention, all of these things are actions you can take right now to significantly
reduce your risk.
You can learn more about these things and many other prevention strategies by going
to a website that Dr. Isaacson and his team have developed, called Alzheimer's Universe.
It's a free, educational site where Isaacson offers you the same information he gives to
his patients.
It's at alzu.org and there's a link below.
I encourage to go to the Alzheimer's Universe site and spend some time there.
I also look forward to seeing you here again next week.
Until then, as always, be kind to your mind.