There's good news and bad about Alzheimer's disease, which affects more than five million Americans. Current medications only minimally delay progression of the disease, says Lon S. Schneider, MD, who directs the Alzheimer's Disease Research and Clinical Center of California at USC. But evidence is piling up that you can lower your risk of Alzheimer's by making some simple changes in your life, researchers say. What matters most:
- Skip the chips. Eating too much fat and cholesterol seems to hasten the onset of Alzheimer's, at least in a recent mice study; in human studies, being obese in midlife raises the risk of later memory problems, dementia, and Alzheimer's. The flip side: A 2006 study of more than 3,700 older adults found that those who ate plenty of vegetables slowed the decline of their mental abilities by 40 percent, compared with those who skimped on their greens.
- Take a walk in the sun. A study of nearly 2,000 people last year suggests that vitamin D -- the "sunshine vitamin" -- could help keep your brain sharp. Among volunteers 65 years and older, those with the lowest levels of the vitamin were more than twice as likely to have cognitive impairment as those whose levels were optimal. Your skin makes vitamin D when it's exposed to sunlight, but because the process gets less efficient with age, some researchers also recommend supplements; talk to your doctor.
- Exercise your brain. Two recent studies found that people who had spent more years in school or had worked in mentally demanding jobs stayed sharper, even when their brains were damaged by the plaques and tangles of Alzheimer's disease. Lifelong hobbies such as playing cards or doing crossword puzzles might also help protect against the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
Try a couple of our favorite mind-sharpening games, Word Power and Ken Ken.
- Make time for friends. A little chatting can have a big payoff: A Harvard study last year found that socially connected people kept more of their memory intact as they aged -- up to twice as much, according to one measure.
- Keep moving. In a study of middle-aged and elderly adults with mild memory problems, those who started walking several times each week scored significantly higher on memory tests after just six months.
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译文:
降低患老年痴呆症风险的5个小提示
老年痴呆症的好坏消息影响着500多万的美国人。医学博士Lon S. Schneider说：“目前的药物治疗只能最小程度的减缓疾病的发展，”他管理美国南加州大学的加州老年痴呆症临床及研究中心.研究人员说：“一大堆证据证明只要你改变日常生活中的一些习惯，就可以降低患老年痴呆症的机率。”那么最重要的是：
- 不吃甜点。摄入过多的脂肪和胆固醇似乎更容易得老年痴呆症，至少最近在对老鼠的研究得出这种结论；对人体的研究发现，中年人中,发胖群体患记忆力减退、痴呆和老年痴呆的风险较大。另外：2006年，对于3700多位老年人的研究发现那些食用大量蔬菜比那些少食用蔬菜的人在记忆力的减退方面缓慢40%，
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- 经常晒晒太阳。 A去年对将近2000人的一项研究表明维生素Ds -- “阳光维生素” --
- 可以让你的脑袋保持灵敏。在年龄为65岁或更老的志愿者中，维他命摄入量最低在认知损害部分是摄入量最高的两倍。如果你暴露在阳光下，你的皮肤就会获得维生素D，但是随着年龄的增长，这样的效果就会越来越差，有些研究人员建议使用维生素补品；告诉你的医生。
- 锻炼大脑. 最近的两项研究发现，如果一个人在学校的时间很长或从事脑力工作，即使他们的脑部受到损伤或老年痴呆的影响，他们的头脑还是比较灵敏地。打牌或填字谜之类的爱好有利于预防老年痴呆症。
尝试几个我们喜欢的智力游戏 , Word Power and Ken Ken. - 交朋友。 小小的闲聊可以带来大大的好处：哈佛大学去年的一项研究发现，随着年龄的增长，那些善于 社会交际的人 ，他们的大部分记忆保持完好无损—根据某一标准,他们记忆的完整度是其他人的两倍多。
- 保持运动。最近一项对于有轻微记忆问题的中老年人的研究， 让他们每周步行 几次，发现他们在六个月后的记忆测试中，分数有很大的提高。
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