A LEADING dementia expert says if we fail to truly take care of our diet and health for any other reason, we should do it for our brains.
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Deakin Associate Professor Mark Yates said dementia was far from one-size fits all prevention approach, but long-term studies were starting to show the benefits of a good diet, exercise, cognitive challenges and social interaction in warding off or slowing the onset of the disease.
Dr Yates broke down the latest dementia findings for a community forum to help people be more dementia aware and ready. The talk was in partnership with Alzheimer’s Victoria Ballarat, which delivers dementia support and awareness through Ararat and the Grampians region.
“...Exercise, social engagement, cognitive engagement are all appearing to look like important factors to reducing dementia risk. It’s a sensible, good health message,” Dr Yates said.
“Genetic risks are relatively small compared to environment and lifestyle risks. In saying that, I’ve cared for lots of people who live well, eat well and still get dementia.
“I don’t think you can say this on an individual level, but to a community level we all need to be careful in weight, blood pressure and managing high cholesterol, particularly for middle-aged people.”
More than 70 per cent of people in western Victoria – including Ararat, Ballarat. Horsham and Warrnambool – are deemed overweight or obese, according to an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report late last year. It is the third fattest region in the nation.
Alzheimer’s Australia’s 5 Simple Steps to Maximise Your Brain Health and Dr Yates state it was never too late to start being brain healthy – while there were no guarantees, new evidence showed a healthy lifestyle could reduce dementia risk and just as reduced risk for other chronic diseases.
The five steps to promote brain health are: looking after your heart health; do some physical activity; mentally challenge the brain by tackling something it does not know; follow a healthy diet; and, stay social and chat with friends.