06/07/2024

Changing Your Diet and Lifestyle May Slow Down Alzheimer’s

Making sustained lifestyle changes can also slow the progression of the disease

Lately, the biggest news in Alzheimer’s has been around a new drug treatment that can slow cognitive decline by nearly 30 percent among people in the early stages of the disease. In coming months, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to make a decision about another such promising therapy.

However, in addition to pharmaceutical interventions, which are expensive and require repeated infusions, making sustained lifestyle changes can also slow the progression of the disease, and possibly even prevent further decline, according to a new study.

In the trial, an intensive program of diet, exercise, stress reduction and social interaction slowed the progression of cognitive decline as measured on standard tests for dementia, and even improved some people's symptoms. The study was conducted by Dr. Dean Ornish, founder and president of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a team of scientists. It appeared in the journal Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy.

Please select this link to read the complete article from TIME.