Can Alzheimer’s disease be reversed?
Dr. Heather Sandison, a renowned expert Alzheimer’s disease and Related Dementia Care, believes that reversal is not only possible — but it is already happening in many patients.
Sandison, who lives in California, offers step-by-step guidance to help Alzheimer’s patients improve their overall brain health in her new book, “Reversing Alzheimer’s: The New Tool Kit to Improve Cognition and Protect Brain Health,” published June 11 by HarperCollins.
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One of the main elements of Sandison’s program is Focus on exercise Lifestyle is considered one of the most important factors in the prevention and control of dementia.
Research has shown that physical activity can reduce the likelihood and progression of Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Heather Sandison, left, He is a naturopathic physician who specializes in neurocognitive medicine and the founder of Solcere Health Clinic, San Diego’s premier brain optimization clinic, and Marama, the first residential memory care facility whose goal is to return cognitively impaired residents to independent living. (Dr. Heather Sandison/iStock)
In the excerpt below, Sandison offers some specific recommendations for types of exercise that may be beneficial to patients suffering from this disease.
Read an excerpt from ‘Reversing Alzheimer’s’
Dr. Heather Sandison: Do you need new motivation to stay active? Exercise is medicine for the brain and offers many wonderful benefits.
Most obviously, exercise increases blood flow throughout the body, including to the brain. This means that moving your body will deliver more oxygen and nutrients to your brain as well as flush out more waste products.
Exercise also builds strength Heart and cardiovascular systemThat helps improve blood flow even when you’re not exercising; it also reduces the risk of arterial plaques that can impede blood flow to the brain and contribute to dementia.
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The biggest reason why exercise is so important Powerful health protector This is because it is known as a hormetic or beneficial stress factor.
Basically, when you put your body through its paces, the body is forced to use resources, and your tissues may even break down a bit. (This is what happens when you lift weights: your muscles tear a bit.)
Dr. Heather Sandison, an expert in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia care, believes that reversing the disease is not only possible, but it is already happening in many patients. (Dr. Heather Sandison)
In this sense, you’re introducing stress into your system, but this stress is a force for good, because it prompts your body to use its resources more efficiently and make your tissues even stronger. In other words, exercise makes your body—including your brain—more resilient.
Benefits of exercise Many of the root causes of neurological disease.
it improves structure By increasing your cardio-vascular capacity and improving blood circulation, which delivers oxygen and nutrients to the brain.
It reduces Tension In a number of ways – by giving you an outlet for anger, producing feel-good hormones such as endorphins and lowering blood pressure cortisol the stress hormoneAnd, depending on which type of exercise you choose, it gets you outside and into nature, which is a well-known stress reliever.
It can also be social, and a great way to spend time with friends or meet new people, helping to ease loneliness and social isolation, which the Lancet lists as one of the modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.
In his new book, “Reversing Alzheimer’s: The New Tool Kit to Improve Cognition and Protect Brain Health,” published June 11 by HarperCollins, California-based Sandison offers step-by-step guidance to help Alzheimer’s patients improve their overall brain health. (HarperCollins)
it improves Sleep By tiring you out.
It strengthens the immune system, thereby reducing the risk and impact of cancer. Infection – Contracting all the muscles and moving against gravity improves the flow of lymphatic fluid, which carries immune cells and flushes out invading cells.
“Exercise benefits many root causes of neurological disease.”
it promotes DetoxThrough increased blood circulation and sweating.
it improves NotationChallenging and strengthening your muscles triggers the release of several signaling molecules, known as exerkinins, which have demonstrated neuroprotective functions.
“The main reason exercise is such a powerful health protector is that it is known as a hormetic, or beneficial, stress factor,” Sandison writes in his new book. (Dr. Heather Sandison)
If you just do one thing: change up your current exercise routine so that it challenges your brain and increases its intensity.
If you’re a walking enthusiast, find a new route that includes hills or stairs. If you’re ready for something different, try a new exercise class you’ve been wanting to try.
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There are four types of exercise you should prioritize. Four might seem like a lot, but they are not mutually exclusive.
You can combine at least two types of exercise in one session — you can turn strength training into cardio by doing your strength activities in high-intensity intervals, or you can make your cardio a double-duty workout by doing something that requires more energy. mental focus When you walk.
aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise is what we know as “cardio” — it gets your heart and blood pumping faster and includes exercises like walking, jogging, biking, dancing and swimming.
Aerobic exercise strengthens your heart, and what’s good for your heart is good for your brain, because your heart sends the brain the blood, oxygen, and nutrients it depends on to function.
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Your first goal for incorporating more exercise into your life is to do 150 to 200 minutes of aerobic exercise each week, so that your heart rate reaches the intense zone of 70-85% of your maximum heart rate.
Listening to your body and adjusting your intensity level based on your perceived exertion is the best way to know if you’re pushing yourself hard enough.
strength training
Strength training — also known as resistance training — is exactly what its name implies: using weights or other forms of resistance to build muscle tissue.
Building muscle mass – especially in the large muscle groups of the legs, hips and torso – is directly related Brain HealthBecause these muscles produce brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a “fertilizer” for the brain, signaling to form new neuronal connections and promoting neuroplasticity.
The author of a new book says Alzheimer’s patients should aim for at least two strength-training sessions per week. (iStock)
You should aim for at least two strength-training sessions per week. Strength training doesn’t have to involve your standard barbell and bench pressing your body weight.
You can use resistance bands, light dumbbells or even your own body weight in exercises like squats, lunges and planks.
Even climbing stairs or climbing a mountain counts as both strength training and cardio in the same activity, since they not only get your heart rate up, but they also keep the muscles in your legs and hips strong.
Dual-task training
This next level of exercise combines physical activity with a cognitive challenge. The simplest form of this is walking and talking.
What the cognitive challenge is will vary from person to person, but if you’re in prevention mode, listening to a foreign language lesson or a nonfiction book while taking a walk outside or riding a stationary bike, and then pausing the recording every few minutes to review what you’ve learned, is a good option.
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For some people, going to a Pilates or yoga class or other class where you really have to pay attention to the teacher’s cues constitutes dual-task training – but if it’s something you’ve been doing for a long time and you can take your attention away from it, it’s not.
“Exercise is such a powerful health intervention that if we embrace it, we can potentially get rid of chronic diseases.”
And if you’ve already begun to experience measurable cognitive decline, dual-task training could include going for a walk while naming plants you come across, or quizzing someone on the names of family members, or reminding someone of their names. Family Stories or important dates.
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Wherever you are, you want to work to your fullest potential – you may feel your brain spinning to stay focused.
Contrast oxygen therapy
This relatively unique form of training changes the amount of oxygen in the air you breathe while exercising — an approach that encourages the smallest blood vessels (known as the microvasculature) to open up throughout the body, including your brain, resulting in significantly increased blood flow.
It’s similar to going to altitude to train and develop your aerobic capacity, and it’s incredibly valuable for cognitive function.
“Exercise takes time and effort, but making this one activity a regular part of your life can overcome so many causal factors of dementia that it can substantially reduce your risk,” Sandison says in her book. (iStock)
This type of exercise requires special equipment. You can buy the equipment, or try it out by visiting a clinic near you. It requires you to wear a mask attached to a machine while exercising, and when oxygen saturation is low, it can be intense because you have to work harder to bring in enough air.
In other words, contrast oxygen therapy isn’t for everyone. But if you’re willing and able, it can help dramatically.
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Honestly, exercise is so powerful. Health Interventions If we could bottle it up, we could potentially get rid of chronic illnesses.
Exercise takes time and effort, but making this activity a regular part of your life can overcome so many causal factors of dementia that it can significantly reduce your risk.
Excerpted with permission from the new book, “Reversing Alzheimer’s: A new tool kit to improve cognition and protect brain health” (HarperCollins) by Dr. Heather Sandison, Copyright © 2024 by Dr. Heather Sandison. All rights reserved.
