A person may seem physically healthy yet have trouble making sense of his or her surroundings. This happened to my maternal grandmother in her early sixties. She looked perfectly fine but we noticed that she kept repeating questions and had difficulty recalling recent memories and information. The worst thing happened when she wandered on her own and didn’t know how to go home. This odd behavior progressed to mood swings, changes in personality, aggression and eventually anxiety and depression. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at a time when research about the disease was limited and medications were scarce. It was heartbreaking to lose someone even before their actual death. She could no longer recognize anyone and has lost her speech. She can’t even perform activities of daily living such as eating and bathing on her own.

Alzheimer’s disease is a major type of dementia. It is characterized by progressive memory loss and cognitive decline. Cognition is the process of learning or acquiring knowledge, information and understanding through thoughts, senses and experiences. When one loses cognition, that person will be unable to make sense of threat even when faced with danger. That person may not even recognize his or her spouse. They simply won’t understand what you are saying even if you scream your hearts out. They will be like an empty shell of the person they once were.

Alzheimer’s disease has nothing to do with aging. It is a disease that affects the part of the brain that controls thought, memory and language. More research is being done to determine the causes and to, hopefully, find cure. Studies have also shown that there are modifiable risk factors to prevent this dreadful disease.

In 2019, John D. Omura and colleagues conducted a study on adults beyond 45 years old in 31 states plus DC in the US. Their study concluded that the most common modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease is high blood pressure and inability to meet the aerobic physical activity guideline. 

The physical activity guideline recommends a minimum of 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous or high intensity exercise. This is preferably spread throughout the week instead of having just one workout per week. In addition to aerobic physical activity, moderate to high intensity muscle strengthening exercise like resistance or weight training must be done two days a week. If you exercise for at least 300 minutes or five hours a week, you will gain more health benefits. 

Exercise is medicine. Combined with proper diet and stress management, it will help with weight management and disease prevention. That includes hypertension or elevated blood pressure, a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. 

As a registered dietitian nutritionist practicing integrative and functional nutrition for over two decades now, I do not agree that having high blood pressure is simply hereditary. You may have genes that increase your risk for heart diseases but you have the ability to not manifest your genes. You can manipulate your environment, lifestyle, and behavior to prevent yourself from activating those genes.

If you want to keep your blood pressure from rising, watch your salt intake. It contains the mineral sodium which impacts blood pressure. Whole food like vegetables, whole grains, and even fruits contain low amounts of sodium inherently. This sodium content is beneficial to maintaining balance in our body. Unfortunately, in this modern world, our diet is composed of high sodium content in the form of preservatives and additives. Highly processed food like instant noodles, fast food, packaged snacks, and the like are quite high in sodium. Our daily allowance of sodium intake must be under 2,300mg or approximately one teaspoon of table salt. 

Did you know that one pack of instant noodles can contain as high as 1000mg of sodium? That is about half of your daily allowance! What about the other sodium sources like processed or canned meat, soy sauce, ketchup, and other condiments used in cooking food? It is very easy to go overboard with sodium intake, and you’re wondering how come your blood pressure doesn’t stabilize despite being on anti-hypertensive medication? Watch your salt intake. Choose fresh, whole food and minimally processed food most of the time, if not all the time. Avoid table salt and other condiments during meals, except for vinegar as it does not contain salt. 

In addition, consume potassium-rich fruits and vegetables. Potassium is a mineral that can help prevent sodium retention. Do not take potassium supplements or drinks. It is best to naturally obtain potassium and sodium from fruits and vegetables.

Don’t end up with Alzheimer’s disease. Be mindful in being physically active, schedule your exercise and consume less salt by avoiding highly processed food.

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