Five steps to living longer without Alzheimer’s (Roizon article)

A new study may make you feel that getting old is a great reward for a long, healthy life.

The research, published in The BMJ, reveals that if you stick with a healthy lifestyle you can reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s by 60% and live healthier, longer. The healthy habits were:

— A brain-healthy Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay; it contains whole grains, leafy greens and other vegetables, berries, beans, nuts, lean meats, fish, poultry and olive oil and reduced consumption of cheese, butter, fried foods and sweets.

— Late life cognitive activities (such as speed of processing games).

— Moderate or vigorous physical activity (at least 150 minutes a week).

— No smoking.

— Light to moderate alcohol consumption.

The researchers found that those healthy habits increased lifespan and made it so men and women lived a larger proportion of their remaining years without Alzheimer’s. At age 65, women without Alzheimer’s who followed four or five healthy factors had a life expectancy of 21.5 years, while those with zero or one of the healthy factors had 17 years. Men who followed four or five of the healthy habits had a life expectancy of 23.1 years — 5.7 years longer than men aged 65 with zero or one healthy factor.