Eat green veggies to keep dementia away, says expert
We must start taking care of ourselves from our late 30s to build cognitive reserves and guard against dementia,” says leading Alzheimer’s expert and neurology professor at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Manjari Tripathi, flagging the challenges being posed by the disease that is progressively expanding.
A dementia epidemic is looming with one in eight Indians suffering from cognitive decline as of 2021 against 1 in 25 in 1990.
The government data on Alzheimer’s disease, the commonest form of dementia, shows a three-fold rise in the prevalence of cognitive decline over 1990, signalling the urgent need to address risk factors for the chronic neuro-degenerative disease which leaves patients and families broken on account of the massive psychological and medical costs.
Tripathi, associated with The Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI), an organisation that holds regular awareness workshops on the issue, defines dementia as a “change in the baseline that causes a person to become cognitively dependent on another”
The AIIMS expert emphasises the importance of awareness noting that many cases of Alzheimer’s are overlooked at the early stage, with people mistaking them for signs of ageing which these are not.
Listing actions necessary for avoiding dementia, Tripathi says lifestyle and daily routine play an important role in warding off the disease. She stressed upon the importance of social interactions. Engagement with society, according to her, is an important factor that can keep the brain active. Tripathi also says adequate sleep is important and so is controlling blood pressure and diabetes and eating healthy.
Delving into the role of stress in dementia progression, Tripathi says completely eliminating stress is not possible but she warned against ‘toxic stress’.
The AIIMS expert also said home-cooked meals should be preferred, specially green vegetables. She says passive activities such as television-viewing and smartphone use should be avoided for extended periods of time.