Be smart, take heart—through moderate exercise
I wrote to you yesterday about exercise, such as walking, keeping your heart muscle mass from deteriorating. It can also prevent your suffering from vascular dementia, as well.
Researchers analyzed 749 people over the age of 65 who were regular walkers or were committed to another form of moderate exercise. Over a period of four years, they were less likely to develop this form of dementia than those who didn't have a moderate exercise plan in place. Their risk was only about 25 percent compared to those who didn't exercise.
At the beginning of the study, participants went through an interview process about their level of exercise activity and their medical history. None of them had any sign of dementia.
By the end of the study, 86 of the 749 participants were diagnosed with dementia. Of those, 27 had vascular dementia in particular, which is caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. This can occur due to the same kind of blood vessel blockages that lead to heart disease and stroke. In fact, vascular dementia is often the result of many small strokes over time that neither the patient nor his or her doctor recognize at the time.
Those who walked the most fared the best as well. Participants who walked the most were 73 percent less likely to develop the blocked blood vessels of vascular dementia.
But participants didn't have to walk to reap the benefits: those who rode their bikes or worked in their gardens also lowered their risk—by 76 percent.
Let's go back to basics: Exercise improves blood flow. And that means throughout your body, not just in a pumped-up bicep. By adapting to exercise, the enzyme systems that run your body learn how to work better and more efficiently. Also, exercise releases all kinds of feel-good chemicals in your body— a reward within itself.
A lot of my patients tell me they have good intentions when it comes to keeping up with a walking program, but it sometimes gets pushed to the wayside due to other competing obligations.
I'll tell you what I tell them: Buddy up. It sounds simple enough, but with all of these well-intentioned people out there, it should be a piece of cake (better yet, fruit) to find someone to make a date with every day to "take the air." You're more likely to feel "obligated" if you know someone is counting on meeting you each day.
And if you can't buddy up with a friend or family member, get yourself a pedometer. You'd be surprised at how much easier it is to get involved with a regular walking program when you start keeping track of the steps you take every day. Good things start happening to your fitness level, overall sense of health and well being when you get your daily steps up to the 5000 to 7500 range.
