Degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Dementia can creep up on you without warning, so it's important to know the causes and how to prevent these debilitating dis-eases before they take hold.

Symptoms of these diseases include memory loss, personality changes, issues with language, delusions, agitation, and so much more. 

Prevention is your best bet to protect yourself from developing them as you age, and it starts now. The risks for Alzheimer’s and dementia increase as you get older, but you can help lower those risks. 

By using the below five easy ways to protect yourself and your mind, you can improve your brain function, memory, coordination, mobility, and independence.

With just a few simple tweaks to your diet and lifestyle, you’ll live a healthier life and minimise or even eliminate the risk of these terrible diseases.

1. Eliminate Aluminum Exposure

One of the first things to do when working to prevent Alzheimer’s and early onset Dementia is to eliminate your exposure to aluminium.

Aluminium has been linked as a major culprit of degenerative brain dis-eases and it has snuck into many different parts of our lives from personal care products to cookware and accessories. 

Sources that should be avoided include:

• Aluminium cookware, utensils and foil
• Bid brand deodorants and antiperspirants
• Municipal drinking water
• Packaged drinks in aluminium-lined cartons or cans. 

These small tweaks make almost no difference in your day-to-day life, but they can make a huge difference in protecting you from dis-eases of the brain.

Residues of aluminium in the body can be helped out with the regular consumption of apples and grapes. Apples have powerful pectins that bind metallic waste in the body and brain for removal from the body, whilst grapes are very effective at cleansing the blood stream due to their richness in malic acid.

Additionally, juice fasting periodically for a number of consecutive days can be a very beneficial way to cleanse and detoxify the body of aluminium and other toxic metals in the body.  Try preparing your own Cabala Juice at home, which is a powerful an healing blend for all round detoxification.  Read about it here

Finally, raw nuts like Walnuts and Almonds should be included in your diet regularly because they provide vital nutrients and oils that help to protect and break up lipofusin plaque and accumulated metallic residues in the brain.

Find natural, aluminium-free deodorants in our store. 

2. Eat Blueberries

A great reason to fill up on juicy blueberries is the fact that they can actually help prevent Alzheimer’s and early dementia. Blueberries are known to stem and even reverse age-related memory loss. 

What’s their secret? 

Anthocyanins. These nutrients increase communication between ageing brain cells and fight off free radicals. According to the USDA, blueberries have the highest occurrence of anthocyanins power of the 20 most common fruits and berries. 

Blueberries - like all berries - are nature's protector-inhibitors, so they should be consumed in different varieties regularly whenever they're in season.  The nutritional compounds consumed seasonally, help to boost the immune system and protect the cells year round. 

Try and incorporate a handful of blueberries into multiple meals a day, from oatmeal to smoothies, salads, snacks, and more. 

3. Exercise Daily

There’s no underscoring the importance of regular exercise in a healthy lifestyle, but what if it could also help you prevent Alzheimer’s and Dementia?

Moderate exercise can help prevent the development of any brain related disease, including strokes because it delivers crucial oxygen to the brain.

Even the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation confirms regular exercise can reduce the risk of alzheimers by up to 50%.

You don't have to go over the top: Just 30-40 minutes of brisk walking per day is a quality base to work from.  Additionally, exercises like swimming, pilates, yoga or light weight training - which help stimulate balance, strength and coordination - is a beneficial layer you should consider adding on top a few times each week.

4. Avoid Plaque-Forming Foods

Much research has been dedicated to revealing how plaque buildup can help lead to Alzheimer’s and early dementia.

The simplest solution is to eliminate foods that cause the build up of plaque from your diet. 

These include foods like:

• Fatty Fast Food
  
• Food Colourings and Preservatives
• Artificial Sweeteners
• Processed Meats e.g. bacon, salami, sausages, corned meats
  
• Sodas and Sports Drinks
  
• Packaged processed foods like cakes, cereals, cookies and frozen meals
  
• White bread and white flour
• Mass-produced Dairy products from factory farms.

Instead, concentrate on a whole food diet by eating foods as close to their natural state and sourced locally as much as you can to support a healthy digestive system and quality nutrients for the body and brain.

Also, research has shown that spices like turmeric and everyday staples such as garlic and onions have disease-preventative and anti-inflammatory powers and should be a regular inclusion in your diet also. 

5. Eat Vitamin Rich Foods

Vitamins not only improve your overall health and wellness, but could help prevent or delay Alzheimer’s and early dementia.

In particular, foods that are rich in vitamins E and C have been shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s dis-ease. 

You can get vitamin E from green leafy vegetables, nuts, legumes, oatmeal, seeds, sweet potatoes, and whole grains.

Vitamin C is plentiful in citrus fruits, avocados, berries, kale, spinach, green peas, broccoli, and more. 

Vitamin B12 could also be a possible nutritional prevention or treatment.  B12 is mostly found in quality animal products, but can also be found in the following plant-based foods:

• Soybeans and soy products
  
• Tempeh
  
• Mushrooms
  
• Algae/seaweed
  
• Fortified plant milks
  

The important part is to get your vitamins from whole food sources, rather than supplements.

Supplements are not only expensive they simply aren’t as effective as real foods and they’re more likely to add residual toxins to your body rather than heal you.  

Learn more in our blog The Truth About Vitamin Supplements. 

More Ways to Prevent Alzheimer’s and Early Dementia: 

• Drink plenty of pure water every day - a minimum of 2 litres which is the weight of the brain, or 1 litre per 22 kilos of body weight if you're particularly active or suffering from poor health conditions;
• Daily sunshine and walking for Alzheimer’s can never be stressed enough.
  
• Eat omega-3 foods like walnuts, flax seeds, chai seeds, kidney beans and olive oil 
  
• Keep yourself engaged mentally in activities that are stimulating for your brain
  
• Limit alcohol as too much can be toxic for the liver and brain.  Choose preservative-free wines and beer where possible and avoid cocktails and spirits 
  
• Avoid refined sugar and refined carbohydrates as much as possible as Alzheimers and dementia have been linked to insulin resistance, commonly caused by eating these foods  
  
• Use quality essential oils like frankincense and rosemary oil to help stimulate brain function.
  
• Avoid unnecessary medications and supplements as much as possible as they can leave toxic residues in the body.  Let nature be your medicine through whole foods, sunshine, fresh air, and water etc.
  
• Get plenty of sleep every night to ensure your brain has a chance to rest and recover. 
  

The Main Take Away

Alzheimer’s and early dementia can be scary dis-eases that take you by surprise and change your entire life for good.

While the medical world does not have any known cure once these diseases develop, prevention can help fend them off and slow down their progression. 

For this reason, when you have a self care approach and embrace the 7 principles of health, you will go a long way to protecting yourself from these degenerative dis-eases so that you can stay active, healthy and happy for many years to come.

Tolman Self Care.