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July 22, 2004:
Keeping
Your Memory Sharp II
Interview
with Dr. Gary Small author of the book, The
Memory Prescription.
Mike
Carruthers:
Whether or not you get Alzheimer's disease has a lot to
due with your overall health, for example….
Dr. Gary
Small:
Diabetes does increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease;
it's a recent finding.
Dr. Gary
Small director of the UCLA Center On Aging and author of the
book, The
Memory Prescription says exercise is also important.
We know
that people who are more physically active have a lower risk
for getting Alzheimer's disease. And mental activity too, people
who do crossword puzzles, play board games even if they do dancing
they have a lower rate of getting Alzheimer's.
Typically
Alzheimer's shows up in older people, but not always.
Usually
it strikes people over age sixty-five but we've seen cases in
relatively young people. We saw a family where the average age
when it began was in their early thirties. What we do see as
we age are these milder memory slips, I'll walk into the kitchen
and forget why I went in there. So it's a very common part of
aging but there's a lot we can do about it and we've found that
in a very brief period of time you can show dramatic improvement.
And for
family members who may already be showing signs of forgetfulness…
For a
normal person with mild age related memory complaints, crossword
puzzles, board games, if you read novels, try reading biographies.
What you want to do is challenge the brain in a new way.
You can
link to Dr. Small's website from ours, somethingyoushouldknow.net,
I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.
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