According to new research published in the journal Alzheimer’s Research and Therapyadopting certain healthy lifestyle habits can significantly improve brain function in patients with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.
This is the first time that a sustained lifestyle intervention, without drugs, has been shown to have an impact on the progression of Alzheimer’s.
For the study, 51 people between the ages of 45 and 90, diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease, were randomly assigned to an intensive intervention-style group. life or a control group. Those in the control group were asked not to make any lifestyle changes during the 20-week trial.
The lifestyle group participated in an intensive program with four components: (1) a minimally processed, whole-food, plant-based diet low in harmful fats, refined carbohydrates, alcohol, and sweeteners (mainly fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes); (2) moderate aerobic exercise and strength training for at least 30 minutes per day; (3) stress management, including meditation, stretching, breathing, and imagery, for one hour per day; and (4) support groups for patients and their spouses for one hour, three times a week.
Results after 20 weeks showed significant improvements in cognition and function as well as several key blood-based biomarkers between the intervention group versus the control group. In contrast, patients in the control group showed overall worsening in all four measures of cognition and function.
The measure of amyloid protein, which accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, improved in the lifestyle group, but worsened in the control group. In addition, the gut microbiome of the lifestyle group showed a significant decrease in organisms that increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and an increase in organisms that are protective against Alzheimer’s disease. The more closely these patients followed lifestyle habits, the greater the beneficial impact on cognition and function.
Several patients in the intervention group reported being able to read again, which they had been unable to do because they could not follow the stories and retain the information.