Over the years, I have studied many reports which indicated that regular, moderate exercise is not only an important factor in living a long and healthy live in general, but that it also helps delay, reduce, and prevent many conditions associated with aging.
However, there have also been many reports, which appear to indicate that exercise is also valuable in the same way in relation to degenerative cognitive function, and Alzheimer's Disease.
Once such study, begun in 1986 and lasting through 2006 concluded that participating individuals who exercised on a fairly regular basis saw a decreased risk of around 40 percent of contracting dementia. On the other hand, those who barely exercised, or did not exercise at all, experienced a risk increase of 45 percent.
Additionally, according to the Alzheimer's Association website, there seems to be a growing body of evidence from various studies and research showing an apparent, and significant, link between heart health and brain health. The brain, which has one of the richest networks of blood vessels in the body, depends on a healthy heart to send it the resources it needs for optimal mental function.
High blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol, all at least partially controllable with regular exercise, can also contribute to the onset of dementia and/or Alzheimer's disease. Again, a regular exercise program can help prevent, or reduce the effects of, such conditions, thus lowering the risk of Alzheimer's.
The same risk/reduction of risk situation seems to exist in relation to body weight, or, more specifically, excess fat on the body. Making the effort to burn fat through exercise and appropriate nutritional choices is simply a part of the overall process which produces the huge general health benefits, and specific Alzheimer's risk reduction, already associated with a lifestyle of sensible diet and regular physical activity.
While there is, at this time, no guarantee that any one lifestyle choice, medication, or supplement, will "prevent" Alzheimer's, there is quite a lot of agreement among researchers that regular exercise does produce positive results against the disease, and the mental degeneration of aging, such as dementia.
This beneficial effect can actually have several levels.
For example, not only does the exercise itself seem to produce direct benefits in relation to mental acuity and faculty, it gives the individual purpose, allows them to concentrate on tasks, and maintain an interest in life which can have its own beneficial effects. Additionally, it gives the aging individual the energy and strength to deal with many of the other aspects of aging which combine to accelerate all areas of the aging experience.
Donovan Baldwin is a 65-year-old amateur bodybuilder, freelance writer, certified optician, and Internet marketer currently living in the Atlanta, Gerogia area. A University Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a BA in accounting, he has been a Program Accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, the Business Manager of a community mental health center, and a multi-county Fiscal Consultant for an educational field office. He has also been a trainer for a major international corporation, and has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes original articles online His blog on senior health issues, Fitness After 40 can bee viewed at http://fitness-after-40.blogspot.com.
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