Almost two million people in Germany are currently suffering from dementia. As society ages, the number of people suffering from dementia will rise to three million by 2050. Therefore, we give you seven tips to reduce your risk and prevent dementia.
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What is dementia?
Dementia encompasses various diseases in which the mental capacity decreases significantly and this severely restricts those affected in everyday life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common. Within a few years, those affected lose their mental abilities and change their personality. Alzheimer’s leads to mental and physical helplessness and neediness. The organization estimates that up to 82 million people will be diagnosed with dementia by 2030 and 152 million by 2050. The greatest risk is in old age: According to the German Alzheimer Society , every fourth person aged 85-89 in Germany suffers from dementia.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and exercise should help reduce the risk of dementia. The WHO has published guidelines for dementia prevention for the first time and establishes a connection between obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and dementia. Since there is still no cure for dementia, the WHO advises states and the health sector to take preventive action.
Prevent dementia: 7 tips against Alzheimer’s & Co.
1. Move more
Sport is the best medicine and should also effectively protect against cognitive decline. The WHO recommends moving a lot in everyday life and doing sports. Even in people who are already mentally handicapped, it is assumed that moderate sport and exercise reduce the symptoms.
Tip: Build small, low-threshold exercise units into your everyday life, eg a 20-minute walk after lunch, the bike ride to work or a 10-minute workout every morning. In this way, you can do something good for your entire body without having to pull yourself together for large sports units.
2. Give up cigarettes and alcohol
According to the WHO, tobacco consumption should be avoided completely, as it increases the risk of mental decline in addition to other health disadvantages. Excessive and regular alcohol consumption is also said to promote the development of dementia .
3. Watch your diet
The traditional Mediterranean diet has proven to be particularly healthy. It consists of lots of vegetables, fish and good fats. In general, a healthy and balanced diet should be the basis for every adult, so that food supplements are not required. These should only be used if your doctor has diagnosed a specific deficiency, e.g. of vitamin D, iron or vitamin B12. Otherwise, it is important to eat as fresh, unprocessed food as possible, to avoid refined grains and sugar as far as possible and, ideally, to eat 500 grams of vegetables every day.
Tip: The 7 best foods to prevent Alzheimer’s dementia >>
4. Stay socially active
While there is still insufficient evidence that social activities reduce the risk of dementia, social participation and support are closely linked to good health and well-being. The healthiest 100-year-olds in the world in the so-called Blue Zones show again and again how important social interaction and belonging to a community is.
5. Avoid being overweight
It is expressly recommended to reduce overweight and above all obesity (obesity) in order to preserve mental activity and performance. At the same time, a normal weight reduces the risk of other diseases that can occur in old age, such as cardiovascular diseases or type 2 diabetes.
6. Fight high blood pressure
The WHO assumes that high blood pressure increases the risk of dementia, which is why it is important to treat it. In addition to a low-salt diet, regular exercise and certain medications also help to lower blood pressure.
7. Control your blood sugar well
Whether through medication or a change in lifestyle, such as healthy eating and exercise, diabetes must always be treated – also to prevent dementia. Because diabetics have an approximately 50 percent increased risk of suffering mental deterioration. The reason for this has not yet been finally clarified, but researchers assume that the sugar metabolism in the brain could be disturbed in diabetes, which promotes the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
