{"id":169,"date":"2011-09-26T06:56:29","date_gmt":"2011-09-26T10:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/medicinetomoveyou\/?p=169"},"modified":"2011-09-26T06:56:29","modified_gmt":"2011-09-26T10:56:29","slug":"diabetes-linked-to-alzheimers-disease-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/09\/diabetes-linked-to-alzheimers-disease-risk.html","title":{"rendered":"Diabetes Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alzheimer’s\u2026the word alone is enough to scare most people over 50.\u00a0 Whether it be because we know someone or some family that has been effected by this condition or whether we fear it for ourselves, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has become a popular concern for my older patients.\u00a0 By the way, many of my patients in their 30’s\u00a0 also fear it when they walk into a room and can’t remember why they went in there.\u00a0 This luckily is not the cardinal sign of Alzheimer’s; otherwise, we would be in real serious trouble.\u00a0 Ok, back to the stats.\u00a0 It affects 10% of Americans over 65 and nearly 50% of those over 85.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of the more genetically studied diseases and while several genetic markers have been identified, the reality is that less than 1 in 1,000 of people with Alzheimer’s has these genetic markers.\u00a0 So when it\u2019s unlikely to be caused by genetics, the medical community starts digging for another cause.\u00a0 Well, diet & lifestyle are back in the medical news because of some very impressive findings recently.<\/p>\n

Here are a few tips from the world of Functional Medicine known to support both the prevention of Alzheimer’s and also the improvement of early stage cognitive function issues (‘cognitive function’ is just medical fancy for your brain’s ‘thinking abilities’).<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Watch \u2018Therapeutic Lifestyle Change\u2019 on LivingWellnessUniversity.com \u2013 learn how a lifetime of smoldering inflammation impacts your health, and more importantly, how you can stop it.<\/li>\n
  2. Watch \u2018The Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid\u2019 \u2013 develop your personalized action plan for getting good fats, antioxidants and whole foods into your diet.\u00a0 Additionally, eating this way will keep your blood sugar and insulin levels stable, which leads me to\u2026<\/li>\n
  3. Get your diabetes under control ASAP – current research published just this week in Neurology<\/em>, a respected medical journal, has shown a significant<\/em> link between type 2 diabetes and the development of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.\u00a0 This is huge with diabetes affecting so many families and likely going to get much worse with childhood obesity on the rise.<\/li>\n
  4. Get moving! \u2013 A recent study at the Mayo Clinic showed that exercise promotes better brain health as you age and reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.\u00a0 Set the goal of 150 minutes per week (in divided sessions) of moderate exercise.\u00a0 Be sure to start low and go slow if you haven’t been exercising and check with your physician to be sure you are safe to start.<\/li>\n
  5. Play Smart! \u2013 That\u2019s right, play games.\u00a0 Studies have shown that our brains have a \u2018Use it or Lose it\u2019 function.\u00a0 In the infamous Nun Study conducted in the early 2000\u2019s, research had proven that exercising your brain frequently is protective.\u00a0 What a great excuse to grab that Sudoku or crossword puzzle, or just engage in a good old fashion debate with a friend.<\/li>\n
  6. Quit Smoking! \u2013 For many, many reasons, but regarding dementia and Alzheimer’s the data show that individuals who have experienced a stroke significantly increased their chances of getting Alzheimer’s.\u00a0 Smoking any amount doubles your risk of stroke and the longer you smoke, that risk increases even more.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Remember, your genes load the gun, BUT your lifestyle pulls the trigger!\u00a0 If someone in your family has dementia or Alzheimer’s, you are not doomed like so many believe.\u00a0 You can change the course of your future by making smarter lifestyle choices now.\u00a0 Get educated, get your diet and exercise on track (the way you know is really best for your body),\u00a0 and keep that brain active!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Alzheimer’s\u2026the word alone is enough to scare most people over 50.\u00a0 Whether it be because we know someone or some family that has been effected by this condition or whether we fear it for ourselves, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has become a popular concern for my older patients.\u00a0 By the way, many of my patients in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":220,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11,4,5,10,6],"tags":[106,107,108,13,31,17,30,16,15,14,36],"class_list":["post-169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-everyday-health-tips","category-get-moving","category-healthy-eating","category-medical-tips","category-mindful-medicine","category-womens-health","tag-alzheimers","tag-alzheimers-disease","tag-dementia","tag-diabetes","tag-functional-medicine","tag-healthy-living","tag-holistic-medicine","tag-integrative-medicine","tag-lifestyle","tag-obesity","tag-therapeutic-lifestyle-change"],"yoast_head":"\nDiabetes Linked to Alzheimer's Disease Risk - Medicine to Move You<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/09\/diabetes-linked-to-alzheimers-disease-risk.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Diabetes Linked to Alzheimer's Disease Risk - Medicine to Move You\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alzheimer’s\u2026the word alone is enough to scare most people over 50.\u00a0 Whether it be because we know someone or some family that has been effected by this condition or whether we fear it for ourselves, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has become a popular concern for my older patients.\u00a0 By the way, many of my patients in…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/09\/diabetes-linked-to-alzheimers-disease-risk.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medicine to Move You\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-09-26T10:56:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Diabetes Linked to Alzheimer's Disease Risk - Medicine to Move You","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/09\/diabetes-linked-to-alzheimers-disease-risk.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Diabetes Linked to Alzheimer's Disease Risk - Medicine to Move You","og_description":"Alzheimer’s\u2026the word alone is enough to scare most people over 50.\u00a0 Whether it be because we know someone or some family that has been effected by this condition or whether we fear it for ourselves, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has become a popular concern for my older patients.\u00a0 By the way, many of my patients in…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/09\/diabetes-linked-to-alzheimers-disease-risk.html","og_site_name":"Medicine to Move You","article_published_time":"2011-09-26T10:56:29+00:00","author":"Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/09\/diabetes-linked-to-alzheimers-disease-risk.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/09\/diabetes-linked-to-alzheimers-disease-risk.html","name":"Diabetes Linked to Alzheimer's Disease Risk - Medicine to Move You","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-09-26T10:56:29+00:00","dateModified":"2011-09-26T10:56:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/#\/schema\/person\/807f82bfba5364ad865f1d8b7f3fc6c6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/09\/diabetes-linked-to-alzheimers-disease-risk.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/09\/diabetes-linked-to-alzheimers-disease-risk.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/2011\/09\/diabetes-linked-to-alzheimers-disease-risk.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Diabetes Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease Risk"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/","name":"Medicine to Move You","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Shilpa P. Saxena","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/#\/schema\/person\/807f82bfba5364ad865f1d8b7f3fc6c6","name":"Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/cea\/ceaf5cd6e90a1416112a550fb68870c6x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/cea\/ceaf5cd6e90a1416112a550fb68870c6x96.jpg","caption":"Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena"},"description":"A physician grounded in education, respect and patient service, Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena is leading a movement to bring Integrative Medicine to the masses. As a Board Certified Family Practice physician specializing in functional and integrative medicine, she helps patients and doctors understand that the only successful way of treating chronic illness is by correcting the underlying causes. As the founder of the SevaMed Institute and the Center for Living Wellness, Dr. Saxena connects with her patients through her compassionate style and lectures nationally to spread lifestyle-based solutions to our healthcare crisis. Her passion is contagious and audiences thrive on the energy of learning complex medical topics to bring about real, meaningful life-long change. Her latest personal and professional growth step: the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, founded by Dr. Andrew Weil.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/author\/ssaxena"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/220"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions\/180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/medicinetomoveyou\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}