Here are recommendations to stave off Alzheimer’s disease, courtesy of Harvard neuroscientist Rudolph
Tanzi.

• Sleep at least seven hours a night. As you sleep, your brain flushes out waste material and toxins, including amyloid-beta.
• Use stress reduction techniques. Stress activates brain areas that internalize emotion, and cells in those brain areas may make more amyloid and undergo more inflammation under stress.
• Interact with friends. If solitude causes stress and loneliness, it increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Exercise daily. Aerobic exercise promotes the birth of new brain cells.
• Learn new things. This creates new brain cell connections.
• Eat a healthy diet. Sugary, salty, and processed foods promote inflammation.
• Floss teeth frequently. Flossing, along with brushing, reduces gum disease risk. Gum disease increases amounts of potentially harmful mouth bacteria.
• Get immunizations. Vaccines greatly reduce the risk of serious infections, and people with serious infections have a greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

From the Harvard Health Letter. Submitted by Nancy
Rasmussen, Parish Nurse