Basics of Alzheimer’s Disease

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Alzheimer’s disease is a frightening ailment that affects thousands of people every year. While studies are still being done to determine why exactly this disease hits, research is also being done on methods that may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Much of this research is quite fascinating and shows that there may actually be ways that the average person can prevent this disease from occurring.

One of the more interesting studies was recently conducted at the University of California Irvine. It showed that keeping your mind active while you were young can actually prevent Alzheimer’s disease in the future. In this study mice were used and they were tested throughout their lives from the age of two months through 18 months of age. The study focused on training specific mice to do tasks such as swimming to a specific spot in the tank. The other group was not taught the task was just allowed to swim without having to do anything else.

In the group that was trained to do that specific activity the study found that their brains did not have as much plaque as the mice that were not trained. According to one of the researchers, Kim Green, this shows that learning new things while the mind is still young can help prevent deterioration and plaque buildup which is believed to be responsible for many of the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. More studies need to be done of course, but this does seem to indicate that exercising the mind is as important as exercising the body.

In the September issue of the American Journal of Medicine a study was published that showed drinking fruit and vegetable juices may actually help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. In this study one group drank at least three servings of fruit and vegetable juices a day while the other group had less than one a week. The study showed that those who have the juice more frequently lowered their risk for developing Alzheimer’s by more than 76%.

More than 1800 people were studied over the course of 10 years for this project. While the study did take into effect other factors that can impact Alzheimer’s, the results were startling in the group that did drink fruit juices and vegetable juices more often. There are many different theories as to why this happened, but the researchers feel that it may have something to do with the vitamins that are contained in those fruit juices. Vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A may play a part in helping reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

The researchers were quick to point out that more research is necessary to determine whether or not these juices may actually help but in the meantime it certainly doesn’t hurt to add more of these juices to your diet.

We may never understand exactly why Alzheimer’s strikes but by keeping your mind active and getting the right vitamins, you may have a greater chance of avoiding this terrible disease.

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