Alzheimer’s is a
condition when a patient faces a memory loss problem. The symptoms of
Alzheimer’s grow slowly and get worse over the period of time.
Imagine after few
years down the line you are not able to remember yourself and your dearest one.
How does it feel? Heart-breaking and painful right? Do you know why we are
discussing this? Well, this is exactly what happens in the USA when more than
5.5 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). And according
to a study, this number is projected to grow to 13.8 million by 2050.
Sadly, we need
to say there is no cure for this lethal disease. The most important and best help
you can offer to those Alzheimer’s survivors is emotional support. Here in this
article, we will discuss all the possible information you need to know about
Alzheimer’s. Keep reading.
What Is
Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s
disease is the most common cause of dementia (a continuous failure in thinking,
social and behavioural skills that disrupts a person’s ability to function
independently). Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological disorder that causes the
death of brain cells, leading memory loss and cognitive decline.
What are the causes
and risk factors?
The exact cause
that triggers Alzheimer’s disease is not yet found. However, the study says a
few other factors could be responsible for increasing the risk of developing
Alzheimer’s disease. They are:
Genetics: Carriers of certain
genes
Heredity: A family medical history
of the condition
Severe or repetitive traumatic
injuries to the brain
Advancing age
Exposure to certain
environmental pollutants like toxic metals, pesticides, and industrial
chemicals.
Signs and
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s
In the initial
stage, the symptoms of Alzheimer’s are usually mild and may become severe with
time. Hence, if you are aware of symptoms you can help the person in time by
offering medical help or treatment for
Alzheimer’s.
A decrease in the ability to
remember new things, which may lead to misplacing personal belongings,
repetitive questioning, or forgetting appointments.
Reduced ability to recognize
faces or common objects (Impaired visuospatial abilities)
Impaired ability to reason and complete
complex tasks
Impaired ability to read,
write, understand or speak anything
Behavioural and personality
changes
The MIND
Diet- Best Science-based Diet to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease:
Like we have discussed above, more than 5.5 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). You must be surprised to know the fact that this disease ranks third as a cause of death after cancer and heart disease. To lessen the incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease, Dr. Morris and colleagues created the MIND diet for Alzheimer’s. After so many researches, this diet has shown to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s by 35% – 53% depending on the adherence to it.
You must be keen
to know the secret behind the success of this diet? Keep reading to find out
how the MIND diet helps to protect you and your loved ones from brain
degeneration.
What Is the
MIND Diet?
“MIND” stands
for Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. This diet
for Alzheimer’s is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH diets. Both these
diets help in weight loss and improving heart health.
How Does It
Work?
MIND diet works effectively
by combining two healthy diets, the Mediterranean and the DASH diet. The
Mediterranean diet is known to lower the incidences of chronic diseases like
cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer and improving metabolic health. The
DASH diet, also known as Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension was created
about 20 years ago to lower blood pressure in prehypertensive and hypertensive
patients.
Both these diets
promote the intake of low-salt, lowf-sugar, lean proteins, minimally processed
foods, healthy fats, limited alcohol, and regular physical activities to
improve overall health and well-being.
Scientific
Evidence
The MIND diet is based on
scientific research, experimented by Dr. Morris and her colleagues on 923
participants between the ages of 58-98 and followed up for four years and six
months. The research team determined that even a modest observance to the MIND
diet led to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Agnes Berendsen et al. from
Wageningen University, Netherland had conducted another study on the MIND diet.
The diets of 16,058 women aged 70 and over, were observed for 14 years
continuously (from 1984 to 1998). This experiment was followed up by assessing
cognitive abilities from 1995 to 2001 through telephonic interviews. Through
this experiment, the research team found that long-term observance to the MIND
diet led to better verbal memory.
The MIND diet works
best for people over 50 years. Before following MIND diet, discuss with your
doctor for their suggestion. So, find out next which foods should you eat and
avoid.
MIND Diet
Foods to Eat:
Veggies – According to the MIND diet, minimum of six servings of leafy
greens like spinach and kale per week and one serving of non-starchy veggies
per day is highly recommended.
Olive Oil – Olive oil is an essential part of this diet. It is a healthy fat
containing a good dose of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids as well. You must
use it as your main cooking oil.
Whole Grains – you must consume at least 3 servings of brown rice, oats, quinoa and
whole-grain bread per day.
Nuts – You must be knowing nuts are great sources of protein, dietary
fibre, vitamins, and minerals. So, you must have five servings of nuts like
pistachios, almonds, walnuts, macadamia, and pine nuts every week.
Legumes – You must take4 servings of lentils, soybeans, and beans per week.
Fish – Include fatty fish like salmon, trout, and tuna in your diet as
they are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and also known to lower inflammation and
oxidative stress.
Poultry – You can consume poached or steamed chicken breast and ground
turkey at least twice a week. Avoid fried chicken completely.
Berries – Dr. Morris says, “(the MIND diet) specifically includes foods and
nutrients that medical literature and data show to be good for the brain, such
as berries.” So, following his words, consume at least, servings of 2-3 types
of berries such as strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries per
day.
Wine – Research says red wine helps to protect the heart risk and from
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Consuming half a glass of red wine per
day could be beneficial for Alzheimer’s patients.
You should avoid some foods completely from your
MIND Diet. These foods are such as fried foods, butter, margarine, cheese,
high-salt foods, high-sugar foods, and red meat, etc.
Alzheimer is a neurological disease
which means loss of cognitive ability, diminished memory, dementia, and loss of
ability to work or to perform the simple task of life. People with Alzheimer’s
disease starts forgetting how to perform daily simple activities like eating,
cleaning, drinking, washing, and eventually lead to complete memory loss.
Consult neurologist to know the right treatment for
Alzheimer’s for your loved one.
People with an age group of 60-65 and
above are most likely to be affected by this brain disorder. There are no
specified causes of Alzheimer’s, but it can be due to loneliness, depression,
and old age. Over some time, the condition leads to dementia, decreased
thinking and working ability. In the medical world, there is no proper treatment
for Alzheimer’s; however, medications are there to slow down the progression of
the disease. But one can make certain effort to improve the Alzheimer condition
by including a healthy diet, right medication, meditation, yoga, making patient
social to the society can help the patient to recover gradually.
Home
Remedies for Alzheimer’s
Meditation-Meditation is an old Indian Vedic process to cure many diseases. Alzheimer is one of them; it a method to relax the mind and get the feeling of peace. Meditation is a perfect exercise for the mind, and it helps the mind to create a new connection and restore the damage and reactivate the nervous system. Meditation boosts the brain towards positive sign like regaining the cognitive ability, help in restoring the old memories, provide peace and happiness, send a positive sign to the brain.
Healthy diet-A well-balanced diet is essential for a healthy and fit body. Once the body is physically fit, the brain start function well, enhancing our neurological system, thereby increasing the thinking ability. A healthy diet should include nuts, berries, and soaked almonds.
Exercise or workout-Exercise and workout release many happy hormones in the body and brain. It keeps one in shape as well as provide a positive sign to the brain.
Social or meeting people-Social involvement is always a good sign of a healthy brain. When we are happy, we want to be social, and when sad, we don’t feel like even hanging with our besties. But being socially active helps releases stress, relax mind, make you laugh, make you cry. Loneliness is the biggest illness once your mind is habitual of being alone; it starts making your body feel sick, tired, and grumpy. Being social make you feel happy, surrounded by people, is always joyful.
Avoid alcohol and tobacco-A study shows that excessive smoking and alcohol increases the risk of dementia, a type of Alzheimer. This reduces the blood supply to the brain. By reducing the intake of alcohol and smoking, one can increase the blood supply and provide an adequate amount of blood and oxygen to the brain, consequently letting it function optimally.
Absorbing sunshine-Sunshine is rich in vitamin D. Most of the people complain that they have pain in legs, their mind is not relaxed, they feel tiredness in the body; the reason is they don’t go in the sun. Means leaving your comfort level like couch bed and sitting in park bench is important. Vitamin d helps in reducing stress and protecting one from neurodegenerative disorder.
Aromatherapy-Therapy is good for the overall body. Aromatherapy comprises essential oils that help enhance well-being. People taking Aromatherapy are found more relaxed, calm and fresh, and these all things improves the thinking ability of a patient.
There are home remedies for Alzheimer’s disease, but above mention prevention is not the core solution to rely on. A patient should be given the treatment for Alzheimer’s along with these home remedies.
Alzheimer’s disease is a brain
disorder that progress with time and causes brain cells to degenerate and die.
Alzheimer’s disease is the starting phase of dementia, which is a continuous
decline in thinking, behavioural and social skills that interfere with the
person’s ability to function independently. The early signs of the Alzheimer’s include forgetting of recent events and
the disease slowly lead to severe memory impairment and lose the ability to
carry out everyday tasks. No treatment cures Alzheimer’s or alters the
progression of disease in the brain. But there are medicines for Alzheimer’s
to help stop the disease progression and restore brain function. People with
advanced stage Alzheimer’s experience complications from severe loss of brain
function- such as dehydration, malnutrition or infection- result in death.
Every individual with Alzheimer’s experience the disease differently, but
people tend to experience a similar disease pattern from the beginning of the
illness to its end. Some experts suggest a simple three-phase model (early,
moderate and end period), while others have found a granular breakdown to be a
more useful aid to understanding the progression of the illness.
Stages of Alzheimer’s disease-
Stage 1- it’s the stage where this disease is
not detectable, and no memory problems or the other signs
of Alzheimer’s are evident.
Stage 2- Very mild impairment
The elders may notice memory issues
that are minor or lose things around the house. The patient will be still good
on memory tests and loved ones or physicians will not detect the disease.
Stage 3- Mild Decline
At this stage, the family and friends
of the elders may notice the memory degeneration. Performance on memory tests
will degrade, and physicians will be able to detect cognitive function
impairment.
Patient in stage 3 will have problems
in many ways, including:
Finding
the right word during conversations
Organizing
and planning
Remembering
names of few family and friends
Forgetting
material that one has just read
Losing or misplacing objects
Stage 4- Moderate Decline
In this stage of Alzheimer’s disease,
clear-cut signs of the Alzheimer’s
are apparent. People with stage four of Alzheimer’s disease:
Have
difficulty with simple arithmetic
Have
poor short-term memory which means one may not even recall what they ate for
breakfast
During this stage of the disease,
individuals with Alzheimer’s need help with many simple daily activities. Alzheimer’s
patient in stage five of the disease may experience the following symptoms
of Alzheimer’s:
Difficulty
dressing appropriately
Difficulty
recalling even your phone number
Significant
confusion
During this stage, people in stage five
maintain functionality, and they can do daily activities by themselves. They
typically can still bathe and toiled independently. They still know their
family members and some details about their personal histories, especially
their childhood and youth. This is the longest stage of the disease and can
last for many years. As the disease progress, the person with Alzheimer’s
disease will require a greater level of care.
Stage 6- Severe decline
People with this stage of Alzheimer’s need constant supervision and frequently professional help and care. They need to be adequately examined, and the symptoms of Alzheimer’swhich appear during this stage are as follows-
Confusion or unawareness of environment and surroundings
Inability to recognize familiar faces except for the closest friends and family
Inability to memorize details of personal history
Loss of bladder and bowel control
Significant personality changes and potential behavior problems
The need for assistance with simple activities such as toileting and bathing
Forgetting address and wandering
Stage 7- a Very severe decline
This is referred to as the final stage of
Alzheimer’s disease. This disease is a terminal illness, people in stage seven
are nearing death, and during this stage, people lose the ability to
communicate or respond to their environment. They are only able to utter some
words and phrases; they have no insight into their condition and need help with
all activities of daily living. In this stage of Alzheimer’s, people may lose
their ability to swallow. People at this stage become prone to infections,
especially pneumonia, and they experience changes in physical abilities. The
people in this stage require the constant presence of family near them to take
care of them.
Exercising the brain is an integral
part of everyday life for everyone. Just like physical exercise, it has a part
to play in a positive, healthy lifestyle. In recent years, scientists have
researched the role that mental exercise plays in reducing the risk of dementia
and other associated benefits of a mental workout for people living with
dementia.
Dementia symptoms include confusion
and memory loss, sudden mood changes, difficulty concentrating, and struggling
to follow conversations. One could lower the risk of Alzheimer’s
diseaseby doing plenty of brain exercise. Dementia involves a group of
symptoms that are often associated with a decline in brain function. Certain
brain exercises could improve the brain’s processing speed, and the amount of
time it takes to complete a task.
Role of Mental
Exercise in Reducing Dementia Risk
Keeping the brain active is thought
to build reserves of healthy brain cells. Several researchers have suggested
that engaging in more brain activities stimulates the brain function throughout
life. Participating in more mentally stimulating activities is associated with
improved cognitive function and a reduced risk of developing dementia symptoms.
Activities that exercises the brain
contributes to the building of brain reserves that repairs the damage caused by
Alzheimer’s disease. The onset of dementia may be delayed as this way it can
compensate and keep functioning well.
Brain Exercises
for Boosting Brain Function
Mental exercises are a vital part of
life. Any type of brain activity could be beneficial, but they should involve
interesting, engaging, and should be reasonably complex. Activities like
reading, listening, learning a new language, visiting museums, playing musical
instruments, board games, sudoku, crosswords, and board games. Also,
participation in leisure activities such as dancing, cultural events, sports,
hobbies, groups, and conversation.
Many of these activities involve
physical activities and social interaction. People who are just diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s or those with early stages of dementia may choose from a range of
brain function that can relate to their interests and capabilities. Research
studies suggest that the combination of mental, physical, and social components
offers the greatest benefits when it comes to reducing dementia risk. These
brain activities have not been proven to prevent dementia, it may help reducing
or to delay the onset of dementia, and other general health benefits of these
activities are well established.
Do Mental Exercises
Benefit People With Dementia?
Research also took place to identify
whether exercising the brain can improve the memory of people who have dementia
and how these brain activities contribute to a better quality of life or people
living with dementia. Because there is evidence of decreased function in people
with dementia who continue to participate in mentally stimulating activities,
therefore, such people should be encouraged by their caregivers to maintain
their usual hobbies and activities. Keeping yourself mentally and socially
active is essential for cognitive function and healthy brain.
Keeping yourself engaged and active
in things that you enjoy is extremely beneficial for people living with
dementia. Rather than giving up the activities, you can try breaking it down to
manageable parts. Try choosing activities that you are capable of; otherwise,
this may result in frustration and a sense of failure. Try something new,
creative or something you enjoyed and contribute to mental stimulation.
Learn Stress
Management Technique
It is essential for everyone to
reduce stress as much as possible. Excessive stress can add to reduced memory
or sleeping issues. For people with dementia, preventing stress can help cope
with dementia symptoms. Both physical and mental exercises are very good at
dealing with stress. Engaging in challenging tasks may remove attention from
some of the causes of stress.
Conclusion
Research is still going on to identify risk reduction and the role of brain activities in dementia treatment. More research is being done to understand the link between brain exercises and reduced dementia risk. In the meantime, regular mentally stimulating activities are recommended to keep the brain function well and reduce the cognitive decline. In addition, there are health and lifestyle factors that indicate a higher risk of developing dementia symptoms. Along with brain activities, regular physical exercise and improved diet help in the prevention of dementia.
A safety plan is important for a
person living with Alzheimer’s as the disease progresses. Numerous changes take
place in the brain as a result of Alzheimer’s
disease. The stages of brain disorder depend on the individual’s age, and
the symptoms include:
Forgetting how to use simple household appliances
Memory deficits
Behavioural changes such as confused,
suspicious, or fearful
Physical disability like trouble with balance
Changes in vision, hearing, and sensitivity to temperature
Those having trouble with balance and
vision changes are more likely to fall or lose his/her balance. Taking safety
measures can prevent injuries and helps to make a person more relaxed by making
his/her independence for a longer period.
Safety
measures at home
People with this brain disorder can
stay in their homes if safety measures are in place. With the progression of
the disease, the person’s abilities changes. But by adding flexibility and
creativity, you can make home support the individual’s need and encourage
independence.
Assess your environment
A person with dementia may
be at risk in certain areas of the home inside or outdoors. Give special
attention to basements, garages, and areas where there are more tools, chemical,
and electric appliances and other items
are kept that require close supervision.
Avoid injury during home
activities
Most accidents happen to
occur in the home during simple operations, like walking, eating, bathing and
using toilets. It is important to take proper precautions especially at these
times:
Avoid serving hot food and beverages because the person with
Alzheimer’s disease may not remember to check the temperature.
Use walk-in showers- It allows for independent, safe
movement.
Remove any carpet or floor cloth that may cause a tripping
hazard
Don’t forget to monitor the temperature in the shower or
bath. Installing an automatic thermometer is quite a good idea.
Vision changes are a part
of Alzheimer’s disease which makes it difficult for an individual to
differentiate between colours.
Add extra lights especially in the entry gate. Stairways,
bathrooms or areas between rooms. To create an even level.
Use night bulbs in bedrooms, bathrooms, and hall.
Be cautious of household
objects and substances
For people with dementia,
even the basic appliance can become dangerous. Exercise precautions to ensure
safety.
Make sure you have
appliances with an auto shut off feature.
Install safety measures in
the kitchen, Place a gas valve on the stove so a patient with Alzheimer’s
disease cannot turn it on. It is a wise decision to remove the knobs. Install
appliances with an auto shut off features. Consider placing them away from
sinks, and water purifier. Do not keep fruits and seasoning on the table and
counters.
Safety devices should be
in working position, keep working smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and
carbon monoxide detectors at your home.
Keep knives, cleaning
products, and power tools in a secure place.
Keep the medications in a
locked area.
Firearms at home
Firearms can pose a
significant risk for people living with Alzheimer’s.
Do not keep guns at home
to make sure the family’s protection from an accident.
Be prepared for an
emergency
During a hurricane or
fire, or other emergency situation can significantly impact everyone’s safety
include the one with dementia. The situation can be confusing for these
individuals. Emergency preparation is crucial. One should prepare an emergency
kit that includes:
A pair of extra clothing
Water bottle
Extra medications
A folder with important
documents
Foods or beverages
Incontinence products
People with dementia should keep a list of emergency phone numbers and address for the hospital, poison control helplines, local police, and fire departments. Buy best medicines for Alzheimer’s online at cheap rates from reliablerxpharmacy.com.
If an emergency occurs, make sure your precautionary measures or safety plans are compatible with the person with dementia.
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