Megan Wroe, MS, RD, CNE, CLEC, registered dietitian and manager at the St. Jude Wellness Center, was recently featured in California Broker for her article, Three Ways to Train Your Brain. Read an excerpt below, and visit the link to view the full article. When I ask people what they think of when I say healthy aging, I hear a variety of ideas like strength, mobility, heart health, and independence. What’s interesting is that research shows when adults are asked what they fear most as they get older, the answer is consistently the same: cognitive decline.
Repeated surveys of adults age 65 and older show that losing memory, decision-making ability, or independence due to cognitive decline ranks higher than concerns about cancer, heart disease, or mobility loss. At the same time, the prevalence of neurodegenerative conditions continues to rise as our population ages and as metabolic diseases become more prevalent. More than six million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, and that number is projected to nearly double by 2050 if trends continue. Alzheimer’s disease is not the only cognitive condition on the rise, however. Parkinson’s disease, variations of dementia, and even cognitive decline as a symptom of medical treatments like chemotherapy are also steadily increasing.
Whether you’re a broker, a healthcare worker, an employer, or a family member, brain health is no longer a niche topic for specific groups, it is a central pillar of long-term health, independence, and healthcare cost containment. What’s cool is how responsive the brain is to its environment. Like anything else with physical health, there are plenty of opportunities to improve cognition through lifestyle strategies.
Continue reading at: 3 Ways to Train Your Brain Like a Muscle
