Alzheimer’s and exercise are the new focus of studies all over the world. Everywhere people are looking for ways to prevent the onset and slow the progression of this heartbreaking disease.
Present day medications and supplements are failing miserably. Nothing seems to slow Alzheimer dementia or prevent it from taking away the personality of millions of older people, type 2 diabetics among them.
What Does Alzheimer’s Do?
Alzheimer’s wipes out memory and eats away at mental abilities. A woman who has been cooking all her life can no longer follow a simple recipe. A concert pianist can’t remember how to play the piano.
There are problems finding words and following conversations. Alzheimer’s victims repeat themselves a lot because they can’t remember what they said. And they ask the same question over and over, unable to keep the answer in their minds.
Depression hits many with diabetes and Alzheimer’s, and they stop doing the things they used to love – hobbies, work, their social life. In the early stages, they are aware of what they are losing, and it frightens them.
This is why the link between Alzheimer’s and exercise is so exciting to those who research it. Watching the slow erosion of personality from sufferers has spurred them to prove that exercise slows down the disease.
What Is Alzheimer’s?
Alzheimer’s steals everything that makes us who we are by erasing memories and destroying the ability to think. Brain scans of Alzheimer’s patients show brain plaques and tangles. The farther the disease has progressed, the more brain plaques are present.
These plaques in the brain show up long before the cognitive decline that signals Alzheimer’s. Doctors know this because they have scanned the brains of normal people who are at high genetic risk of having Alzheimer’s someday. Plaques were already forming.
If your parents had Alzheimer’s you are high on the risk charts. But heart disease and diabetes also add to your risk. High blood pressure and out of control blood sugar both lead to the loss of brain cells. The causes are clogged arteries, lower oxygen and insufficient insulin.
And the brains of diabetics show an increase in brain plaques as they age. This may be the reason diabetics are twice as likely to get Alzheimer’s as non-diabetics.
Type 2 Diabetics, Alzheimer’s and Exercise
Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and exercise have a strong link. The best hope for curing type 2 diabetes right now is exercise. Now research is showing that the same exercise may slow down the onset of Alzheimer’s dementia and improve the memory of Alzheimer patients.
One out of every eight people will have Alzheimer’s as they get older. But staying active, and even becoming active, changes the outcome. And it does not matter how old you are when you start.
Physical activity that raises your heart rate for 30 minutes or more slows the decline in mental function in people diagnosed with MCI (mild cognitive impairment). Doctors believe MCI is the first sign of Alzheimer’s.
In one study a group of MCI patients worked out with 45 minutes of aerobic exercise by biking or using a treadmill. They did this four days a week. Another group used stretching and balancing exercises for the same amount of time.
Those in the aerobic exercise group gained in mental agility. The other group continued to decline in their performance on mental tests.
No medication or supplement has shown that kind of change in the effects of MCI. This is why diabetic Alzheimer’s and exercise are a hot topic right now.
Exercise is Key in Alzheimer’s and Diabetes
Mice that were bred to have a high chance of developing Alzheimer’s are proving the link. Active mice had half the number of brain plaques as their sedentary brothers.
Other human trials are showing benefit from all kinds of activities. That means gardening, housework and other things that keep you physically active will slow the decline into Alzheimer dementia.
Since exercise also improves the stability of blood sugar and insulin, you will also have fewer of the complications of type 2 diabetes in your heart, arteries and brain. You will also lose weight and keep it off.
Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and exercise – the link is proven. So we have more incentive than ever to put physical activity at the top of our to do list. Bike, swim, dance, walk, do whatever you enjoy, and keep doing it.
If chronic pain is keeping you from being active, there are some things you can do about that, too. There is even a list of foods that will help fight chronic pain. Stay active, and if you are not doing anything right now, it’s not too late to start.