SLOWING cognitive decline may need a MULTI-PRONGED approach [1+1=3]
Friend, it’s normal to worry about your memory as you get older.
And many older folks are looking for ways to support their cognitive health…
Perhaps in the hopes of STAVING OFF Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia.
A conventional doc might tell you that there’s NOTHING you could’ve done – that it’s not your fault, that it’s just bad luck.
But that’s just not true.
No, there’s no “magic pill” for keeping cognitive decline at bay.
But there ARE ways to make a difference.
And the latest science shows what you could do.
If anyone tells you that you could keep your cognitive function from taking a NOSEDIVE by doing just “this one thing“…
Don’t believe them.
Because there are SEVERAL factors that contribute to cognitive decline…
And that means there are MULTIPLE ways of fighting it off.
A recent meta-analysis out of Canada shows that among folks with mild cognitive impairment, the BEST improvements didn’t come from any ONE intervention alone…
But a COMBINATION of strategies.
I’m not talking about medication – because the study ONLY looked at non-drug alternatives.
Besides, we know that NONE of Big Pharma’s Alzheimer’s drugs do much for the condition anyway.
Instead, the study looked at lifestyle interventions… like getting a little extra movement in, or socializing a bit more…
Learning opportunities, including “brain games“…
And taking supplements.
Study subjects who’d taken on more than one of these approaches scored BETTER in 4 major measurements:
- overall cognition
- executive function
- memory, and
- verbal fluency.
This is a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts…
Because it could be that physical exercise and brain exercise, for instance, work together in a way to benefit cognition MORE than either one would on its own.
And according to this latest research, finding the RIGHT combo of interventions could help STOP or at least SLOW the progression of cognitive impairment!
Fortunately, NONE of them included in the studies the researchers looked at were associated with adverse events.
Some of the supplements taken included folic acid and omega-3 fatty acids (including DHA on its own)…
And those are good. I’d add some antioxidants in the mix, too.
The physical activity in the studies included tai chi… resistance training… balance training… aerobic exercise… and more.
Whichever methods you choose… the key to success appears to be two-fold.
Start early… and keep it consistent.
To your cognitive health,
Sarah Reagan
Source:
“Some Interventions Improve Cognition in Older Adults More Than Others” – MedPage Today (5/3/22)
www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/dementia/98526
