Mike
Carruthers:
Whether or not you get Alzheimer's disease has a lot to do 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 their average age when it
began was in the 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, try 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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