Regular physical activity, as well as a healthy diet, can delay the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The management of cardiovascular risk factors too.
Today, 3 million French people are directly or indirectly affected by Alzheimer’s disease, including more than 850,000 sick people. With nearly 225,000 new cases diagnosed each year, the disease is progressing, if nothing changes, our country will have 1,275,000 sick people in just 8 years. So, on the occasion of the 20th edition of World Alzheimer’s Day which took place on Saturday, why actor sheds light on the simple everyday actions that can delay the progression of the disease.
Healthy eating is good
Various studies have been carried out on the impact of a certain diet in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Several observations were made in particular, concerning the Mediterranean diet, which favors the consumption of fish, fruits, vegetables and olive oil. For example, in subjects who consume fish two or three times a week, a reduced risk of cognitive decline has been observed. These are interesting avenues of prevention but which remain to be confirmed by further long-term studies.
In addition, uexperimental study was recently carried out on mice by researchers from Inserm and Université Lille 2 / Université Lille Nord de France. It provides proof of the relationship between obesity and pathologies linked to the Tau protein in a model of neurodegeneration of Alzheimer’s disease.
The track of physical and intellectual activities
In the context of prevention against Alzheimer’s disease, we talk more about physical activity than sporting activity. It is therefore advisable to maintain physical activity at all ages, whether it is walking or simply climbing the stairs instead of systematically taking the elevator.
A Scottish study of nearly 700 people in their seventies, who were given a brain MRI, for example succeeded in showing that those who had the least anatomical signs of aging in their brain were those who reported the most ‘physical activity. And other studies have even quantified these benefits, showing that 30 minutes of daily walking would be enough to slow the mental aging of 5 to 7 years.
In addition, there is evidence that Alzheimer’s disease progresses more slowly in people with a higher level of education and in those who maintain intellectual activity throughout their lives. This protective effect is probably linked to the fact that these people manage to better compensate for the intellectual difficulties caused by the disease.
Cardiovascular risk factors
We now know that cardiovascular risk factors are also risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases. ” When they remain untreated, it has been noticed that they tend to accelerate the progression of the disease a little. “, recently confided to why actor Prof. Philippe Amouyel, Director of the Plan Alzheimer Foundation.
The recommendations for preventing vascular lesions are: good control of blood sugar, arterial hypertension from 40-45 years old and cholesterol. Taking care of these risk factors is not only preventing cardiovascular complications, but also those linked to Alzheimer’s disease years later.
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