4. VITAMIN D
Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most widespread deficiencies in modern times, affecting 40-75% of all adults worldwide. The vitamin is produced by your body when your skin is exposed to direct sunlight.
This vitamin is crucial for mental health and cognitive function. In fact, in a 6-year study examining 1,600 seniors, found that vitamin D deficiency was linked to Alzheimer’s Disease.
“…those who were severely deficient in vitamin D were more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s and dementia than those who had adequate levels,” writes Alzheimer’s.net on the study (12).
To get your share, walk outside and expose your skin (no sunscreen) for at least 15 minutes a day.
5. TRAIN YOUR BRAIN
Learning new information forces your brain to reorganize itself to make room for new knowledge. It also has to create new neuropathways to connect new and existing information (13).
In fact, a Canadian study found that being bilingual supports cognitive function and even delays the onset of dementia in patients with probable Alzheimer’s Disease by 4 years on average. For other varieties of dementia, the onset was delayed by 3 years on average.
For more benefits, practice brain-stimulating games like crossword puzzles and sudoku or play challenging games like scrabble and chess. Better yet, learn to play a new instrument or take a class at your local community college.
6. PREVENT HEAD INJURIES
Injuring your head causes short-term dementia-like symptoms like confusion, memory loss, and changes in speech, vision, and personality. Some head injuries can actually increase your risk of developing dementia later in life, especially if it causes 30 minutes to 24 hours of unconsciousness after initial injury (14).
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina examined 548 veterans with a head injury and 1228 without head injury to yield these results (15).
Protect your head by wearing a helmet while cycling, skating, skiing, or water sports to reduce your risk of dementia.
7. CONTROL YOUR ALCOHOL INTAKE (NEXT PAGE)
CLICK THE ORANGE NEXT BUTTON BELOW TO CONTINUE READING … >