"La Boqueria" by vgm8383 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.
By Margaret Mackay
Some people avoid thinking about dementia as they fear a loss of control. Just ignore the topic. But at Age in Spain, we know from our casework that dementia is a major cause of disability and later life dependency among older people.
What can we do?
The good news is that small changes in your diet and lifestyle bring many health benefits. A study in The Lancet (2022) identifies three significant risk factors of dementia: obesity, diabetes and smoking. When these risks are controlled, we can slow down the advance and even prevent the onset of dementia.
A healthier heart protects your brain, improves your quality of life and keeps dementia away (Wade, Smith & Mellow, 2022). Here’s how to follow a better diet and active lifestyle to maintain your independence.
Adopt these five habits
Eat 2-3 servings of oily fish each week
Enjoy vegetables, fruits, pulses, nuts and olive oil of a Mediterranean diet
Eat less processed food
Get physical and make it fun
Quit smoking
It’s never too late to be proactive! Recent studies show that 40% of dementia cases can be prevented by a healthier diet, more exercise and no smoking. Medical experts warn of dementia cases tripling across the world by 2050, if the risk factors are ignored. To read more, click on link to The Conversation 24 January 2022
Margaret Mackay is a trustee of Age in Spain and volunteers with our Friendline Service.
She lives in Madrid.
Before you go: can you support our Friendline Service ?
Margaret is one of our thirty Friendline volunteers who make a regular weekly call to an older person. This way we help isolated older people to develop new Friendships and the opportunity to share their experiences and memories.
Our Friendline service provides a regular weekly call to help people who feel alone, including people with early stage dementia and carers.
To make this happen - we need your help.
Your regular donation of just €10 per month will enable us to provide a weekly friendship call to an isolated older person, every week of the year.
Your one off donation of €50 will enable us to make a home visit to a vulnerable person who is struggling to access vital services and needs hands on help when telephone and email support are just not enough.
Please help.
Here's how: https://www.ageinspain.org/donate.
Thank you.
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