Dementia: 4 surprising ways of reducing your risk of this cognitive disorder

As WHO recently sets new guidelines to help you bring down your risk of developing dementia, we tell you other ways of doing the same.

Editorial Team | Published: May 20, 2019 9:48 pm

Factors like high copper levels in your drinking water and improper sleeping position can increase risk of developing dementia. © Shutterstock

Currently around 50 million people are suffering from dementia globally and approximately 10 million new cases of dementia is reported every year from around the world, says a report by the World Health Organization (WHO). This international body has recently released a set of new guidelines to help you reduce your risk of developing dementia. It states that doing regular exercise, avoiding drinking, smoking, maintaining healthy weight and blood pressure levels, and adopting a healthy Mediterranean-like diet can help with dementia. According to the WHO’s current estimates, the number of people with dementia is expected to triple in the next 30 years.

If you find yourself forgetting things, having difficulty in communication or experiencing behavioural changes, you may be suffering from dementia. It is a progressive cognitive impairment that is characterised by reduced cognitive functions like memory, comprehension, learning capacity, thinking, calculation, orientation, judgement, etc. Usually, it affects the older population affecting their functional life. However, it can affect the younger generation as well. Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common cause of dementia.

Dementia occurs either due to loss of nerve cells or damage caused to the brain cells. A person with this condition will lose the ability to perform functions associated with the injured part of his brain. Apart from age, there are other risk factors behind this disease: Family history, excessive alcohol consumption, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, high cholesterol levels, etc. Cognitive and neuropsychological tests, neurological evaluation, brain scans, blood test, and psychiatric evaluation are used to diagnose dementia. Sadly, this condition cannot be cured. But there are medications and therapies that can make the life of people with this condition better. Also, you can reduce the risk of dementia with the help of some new as well as old guidelines (involving lifestyle adjustments) of WHO.

Monitor copper levels in your water

Though copper is needed for your bone development, excess amount of this element in the body can be detrimental for your health and especially brain. According to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, excess copper in the body can trigger the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. The standards set by the US Environmental Protection Agency state that in drinking water, the levels of copper should be only one-tenth of the water quantity. Even this much copper can cause a toxic accumulation of the pro-Alzheimer’s protein called amyloid beta, says another study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. So, you should go for filters that can reduce the copper levels in your water and therefore bring down your risk of developing diseases or conditions like dementia.

Sleep in a brain-friendly position

This may sound weird to you but sleeping position does impact your brain. When it comes to your brain functions, you are advised to sleep on your sides instead of sleeping on your belly or back. Doing this may improve your brain’s waste-clearing processes and reduce your risk of developing diseases like Alzheimer’s Diseases and Parkinson’s.

Your brain’s glymphatic pathway, a system whose function is to clear wastes and other harmful chemicals from the brain, works most optimally when you sleep on your sides and not on your belly or back, says a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience. This pathway works by filtering cerebrospinal fluid and replacing it with interstitial fluid. Cerebrospinal fluid contains waste like amyloid β and tau proteins that are known to negatively affect the brain function if they build-up, says the same study.

Avoid brain-damaging pesticides

A chemical compound like DDT, which was initially thought to be safe, but banned now in many countries, is a risk factor for dementia. In India, DDT as a pesticide for agricultural use has been partially banned. However, it is still in use as an insecticide for controlling malaria. According to a study conducted at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, higher levels of DDT in your blood make you more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease than those with low or normal levels. During the study, it was found that people with this condition had around 3.8 times higher levels of a DDE (a DDT breakdown product) in their blood compared to those who did not have Alzheimer’s disease. You can be exposed to DDT if you are working in the agricultural sector you consume where it is being non-organic vegetables, meat, fish, and dairy products.

Maintain vitamin D levels

A 2015 study published in the journal Neurology states that severe deficiency of vitamin D in your body can put you at a 122 per cent risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease. However, those who are moderately deficient can have a 69 per cent higher risk of developing this condition. A blood test will tell you about your vitamin D levels. A count of 20 ng/mL to 50 ng/mL is considered normal. However, a level below 12 ng/mL indicates vitamin D deficiency. In case your body is deficient of this important vitamin, you need to expose yourself to sunlight frequently and eat fatty fish including tuna, mackerel, salmon, mushrooms, cheese, egg yolk, etc.

Published: May 20, 2019 9:48 pm

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