Alzheimer’s Prevention Plan

Keep Sharp: Building a Better Brain at Any Age

 By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, MD 

I belong to several Facebook Family Caregivers Support groups, and so many caregivers of parents with dementia post about their fear of getting dementia themselves. And they should be worried because according to Alzheimers.org , more that 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, and by 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million. I worry dementia is coming for me also. My mother and both her parents suffered from Alzheimer’s.

But Dr. Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent says that we are not doomed by the genetics we are dealt at birth, rather we can change our fate by adopting a healthy lifestyle. His book, Keep Sharp lays out recommendations to optimize brain health and cites the research behind it.

Dr. Gupta starts out his book explaining that each of us has our own unique body profile, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution we can follow to stay healthy. Just like cancer, there are many pathways to developing dementia. And to complicate matters, dementia is thought to start decades before any symptoms begin to show.  

He does have a plan, however, that can positively impact our brain and body health, and may help stave off dementia. His overall mantra is that anyone can build a better brain at any age.

Dr. Gupta’s recommendations:

• #1 Most important thing we can do to protect and preserve brain function is to MOVE. Get up and move for 2-5 minutes every hour.  Aim for brisk walking of at least 150 minutes per week; adding interval and strength training is optimal.

• Keep challenging your mind- don’t stop working or learning new things – you can grow new brain cells and pathways in your brain
• Use your hands – activates motor cortex- playing an instrument, painting, gardening, cooking, etc.

• Change builds resilience –Break your routines– Try new activities to build and travel new paths in your brain instead of improving known pathways, – this builds cognitive reserves: in case one path gets blocked by plaques later on, you can use a new path- go for a swim or play tennis instead of jogging everyday.
• Do things in totally different way– brush your teeth or eat with other hand; take a new route to work

• Get good sleep – stick to the same sleep-wake routine, no electronics, stop eating three hours before sleep 

• Eat a Mediterranean style diet
• Keep hydrated- dehydration is bad for the brain and body
• No sugar– brain is very sensitive to sugar 
• Eat berries
• Reduce portions

• Build meaningful connections with family and friends– reciprocally share problems

• Stress relief is important- learn to recover from stress– meditate/yoga -Chronic stress can impair your ability to learn and adapt to new situations

Dr. Gupta’s book goes into a lot more detail on the research behind his recommendations, and includes more detail on specific ways to follow his plan.  I recommend this book for everyone trying to understand how dementia affects the brain or interested in preventing dementia.
*Listen to free podcast about his book on  “Next Question with Katie Couric”– Sanjay Gupta, MD  Episode aired on April 15,2021, iHeartRadio