Lifestyle Changes That Can Prevent Dementia

Mediterranean nutrition helps maintain a healthy lifestyle and prevents diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases, and dementia.

Mediterranean nutrition components:

• Fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors
• Legumes and whole grains
• Diverse protein sources: fish, chicken, dairy products, eggs, and legumes
• Vegetable fat, mainly olive and canola oil, avocado, and nuts
• Drinking plenty of water
• Low consumption of red meat, processed food products, products containing a large quantity of sodium, saturated fat and sugar, sugar-sweetened beverages, and sugar substitutes

Further information about nutrition in older age

• Excessive alcohol intake increases the risk of heart diseases, cancer, and stroke, all of which increase the risk of dementia
• Excessive drinking is defined as consuming more than two alcohol drinks per day for men, and more than one drink per day for women
• Even moderate alcohol intake impairs memory, concentration, coordination, and judgment. The effect increases as the concentration of alcohol in the blood increases
• However, drinking up to 50ml of red wine per day has been shown to be effective in preventing dementia

Being overweight increases the risk of chronic diseases, including hypertension, and type 2 diabetes, which are risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and Vascular Dementia.

Maintaining a healthy weight also contributes to vitality and helps maintain an independent function in older age.

Maintaining healthy weight in older age – important highlights:

• Combine at least three food groups in every meal
• It is recommended to consume foods that contain dietary fibers
• It is recommended to reduce salt and oil intake, especially saturated fat and trans fat
• Physical activity, as explained in the previous paragraph, helps maintain a balanced weight in every age, and especially in older age

• Smoking causes arterial stenosis which increases the risk of hypertension. Quitting smoking may help reduce the risk of dementia
• The HMOs offer smoking cessation programs, and it is recommended to contact your HMO and join such a program in your area of residence
• Some HMOs also offer personal counseling and a telephone hot line for smoking cessation. Check with your insuring HMO and your family doctor about your options

Further information about smoking cessation in older age

• Diabetes accelerates aging processes. Cognitive decline and dementia are among the severe complications of the disease
• Diabetes is one of the factors which increases the risk of dementia, therefore, it is important to keep it balanced. Please note that the guidelines for the old age are different from the guidelines for diabetics at an early age. Glycated haemoglobin level (HgBA1C%) of around 6-7 is reasonable
• Hypertension is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. These diseases also increase the risk of dementia
• Balancing diabetes and blood pressure: diagnosing and treating these diseases play an important role in preventing dementia

Further information about diabetes and hypertension

There are several hypotheses on how hearing impairment increases the risk of dementia, including one hypothesis that suggests that poor hearing increases cognitive load. Hearing impairment can also impair inter-personal communication, and reduce participation in social activities, consequently, increasing the risk of dementia.
Presently, there are measures to treat hearing impairment, therefore, if necessary, it is important to diagnose the impairment as early as possible, and adjust a hearing aid, or any other device that is appropriate for hearing loss.

Further information about funding hearing devices

Cognitive and social stimulation
A decline in cognitive and social stimulation increases the risk of dementia, however there are some actions in the social sphere that can be carried out immediately to improve brain functions and help prevent dementia.

For example:

• Social connection: social connections should be continued and interaction and daily or weekly talks with family and friends should be maintained
• Social events: it is recommended to participate in social and intellectual activities, such as volunteering, classes, lectures, studies, etc.
• Brain training: brain training helps renew brain cells. Strengthening brain functions through brain training is like muscle strengthening through physical activity. It is recommended to train your brain with comprehension and memory games, sudoku, etc. as well as perform activities such as sorting and arranging objects. The games can be purchased in stationery and game stores. You can also download games on your mobile phone

Further information about cognitive training

If your mood has been low for a while, if you find it difficult to enjoy things or suffer from appetite loss and sleep difficulties, you may be suffering from depression. It is possible and important to treat depression. Depression not only impairs your quality of life, but also increases the risk of dementia in the future.

Further information about depression in older age

It is recommended to avoid engaging in areas with increased risk of head injuries, such as boxing, for example, to avoid increasing the risk of dementia.