Doctor shares five things he would never do after seeing thousands of brains and Alzheimer's scans
A neurologist who claims Alzheimer's is 'significantly preventable' has revealed five things people should avoid to help reduce their risk of developing the disease.
The 'pioneering researcher' who has seen thousands of brain scans has outlined the most important things people can be doing to keep their brain healthy, after noting that women are twice as likely to develop the brain disease.
Dr. David Perlmutter, the author of numerous scientific books, explained that while 'genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger', and that many people have been led to believe they have little to no control over their risk of developing Alzheimer's.
"The destiny of your brain is really based upon how you are choosing to live you life today," he said, during a recent episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast, after losing his own father to a battle with the disease.
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The doctor urged that people ought to know they are in control to a certain degree, listing the top five things that our damaging our brains.
The neurologist admitted that 'being sedentary' is a 'huge' problem for brain function, and ranked it as the number one habit to avoid.
Dr. Perlmutter added: "Exercise and movement is a multi-tool for the brain. It targets the function of insulin. It targets inflammation. It targets mitochondrial function. It targets blood flow. These are all hugely important mechanisms in keeping the brain healthy."
In at number two is social isolation, as he explains: "When we connect to people and when we develop a relationship, our bodies, our brains, increase the output of a chemical called oxytocin. It's called the love hormone.
"And this oxytocin stimulates our good brain immune cells, these microglial cells, and helps keep them in their supportive, loving, nurturing role as opposed to letting them drift to becoming what I call the evil twin, increasing inflammation, increasing the destruction of our synapses."
His third warning centres on non-restorative sleep, which he says is important to look at when it comes to Alzheimer's prevention.
The expert notes that restorative sleep is 'so important', allowing us to consolidate memories from the day, and experience REM sleep.
He says: It allows activation of the glymphatic system that allows us to take out the garbage basically, which new research indicates happens when we move as well."
Eating a poor diet is another risk factor he highlights, urging that we 'should do our best to avoid sugar' in particular.
Dr. Perlmutter further warned that young people should not expect the developments of medicine to protect them from the disease, but should instead try to prevent it as much as possible on their own terms.
Mia Williams
