Preventing Alzheimer's Disease: Five Things You Can Do Right Now to Stop Alzheimer's

Double Whammy:
one cup of green tea each day can help
fight against getting Alzheimer's Disease
in two ways.
pix: Public Domain Photos

This weekend, a friend of mine talked with me for a long time about how hard it was to watch a friend of hers suffer from Alzheimer's Disease, and now that the disease had progressed to a certain point, her friend's husband was forced to face the fact that his wife would be safer in a 24/7 nursing facility than at home with him.

So this Saturday, my friend supported her two friends, this husband and wife, as they separated after living together for many, many years.  She'll sleep near nurses who can lift her.  He'll make his morning coffee for himself.

My friend cried and cried after leaving them.  Alone in her car.  It's something with which we can all empathize.

Avoiding Alzheimer's Disease: Can We Do It?  It's Worth a Try, Right?

Perhaps a failing brain is something that some of us must face because it's in our genes.  It's a tragic destiny that cannot be avoided.  Maybe.

However, many argue that there are ways to stop Alzheimer's Disease - or at least delay it.  In fact, more and more research is being done on ways to prevent this horrific disease, fueled in no small part due to the aging Baby Boomer generation and the skyrocketing care costs that the American economy will face if a cure or prevention isn't found. 

Is this a global threat?  Not really.  In India, for example, Alzheimer's Disease is rarely seen.  Many believe this is because turmeric is the national spice of India -- as prevalent as salt or black pepper is here in the United States. 

Five Ways to Prevent Alzheimer's Disease - Supported by Research Studies, Easy to Implement

You aren't doomed.  There are a great many easy things that you can do right now - things that research studies have confirmed, that will fight against Alzheimer's Disease in your future, including: 

1.  Caffeine.  I've already written about the studies on one cup of coffee each day.  Really, it's a daily dose of caffeine that is key here. 

2.  Red Wine. There's also a post about having one glass of red wine every week.  Seems research shows that this will cut the chance of dementia in women by 70%.  That's a big deal, and so easy to do, right? 

3.  Exercise.  A little bit of exercise will fight against dementia in your old age, too.  Fifteen minutes of exercise, just three times a week, will do the trick of lowering your risk by 30%.  That's nothing.  Walking the dog regularly gets you there. 

Other things that you can incorporate into your lifestyle, if you aren't doing this already:

4.   Green Tea.  Every day, drink green tea.  New research is revealing that green tea prevents Alzheimer's disease from developing.  Drink it without the caffeine taken out, and you've also covered the first tip on this list, as well. 

5.   Turmeric.  Eat lots of curry spiced with turmeric.  (Or tons of yellow mustard -- turmeric is what makes hot dog mustard so yellow.) Seems this yellow spice contains a chemical that may block a necessary component of Alzheimer's Disease -- studies continue to be done here, based in part upon the reality that India has 400 times less incidence of Alzheimer's disease than the United States.  You can check out the top 20 recipes using turmeric at AllRecipes.com, or maybe take it in a pill form. 

There's still more.  At the Alzheimer's Research & Prevention Foundation, they offer a three pillar fight against getting this terrible disease (their fourth pillar, medicines, deals with treatment after onset):

• Pillar One: Diet and Supplements (Vitamin C is really important but there's much more here)
• Pillar Two: Stress Management (One more example of how simplifying your life is smart)
• Pillar Three: Exercising Your Body and Your Brain (Fun stuff here, including one type of Yoga).

Raw Kale in a Salad? Yep. Tastes Great.

Kale is great for you.  Kale ranks as one of the "world's healthiest foods" primarily because it lowers cholesterol, fights cancer, and helps the body to detox.  Among other things.

I've always had kale steamed or well, ... steamed.  It's cabbage and I've always had it cooked the same way that I grew up with cabbage being cooked.  Which meant throw it in a pot or pan and basically boil it with some salt pork or bacon or something akin thrown into the pot for flavor.  Sometimes, some onion and garlic got in there. 

As I typed this, a light went off in my brain and I do recall using kale in a chinese-y sort of chicken soup awhile back.  Worked well, looked pretty. 

Raw Kale in a Salad Works Great

However, once again I was watching one of those televised cooking shows, and I stumbled upon someone using raw kale in a salad.  Now, they had to chop it into small shreds and then shruch it with their hands awhile to help break the cabbage down ... but it worked.

Now, a new and delicious way to make a salad, eat some kale.  Thought I'd share it with you:

1.  The recipe that got me started on this road:  Food Network Star Aarti Sequiera's Massaged Kale Salad.
(As of this post, this recipe has over 460 reviews and it's got a five star rating.  Guess other folk like this recipe as much as I do.)

2.  I also liked this raw kale salad from Epicurious, maybe it's the pine nuts -- and maybe it's the dried cranberries that I substituted for the currants b/c I didn't have any currants at the time. 

3.  Finally, I tried my own.  Did the marinade with lemon juice and EVOO like Aarti's recipe and the hands-on schmuching of the kale (julianned this time), then I added a touch of honey, along with a perfectly ripe avocado, a bit of red bell pepper, chopped in some scallions too.  Thru in some chopped walnuts because I had them.  This was addicting it was so good.   

Kale is really great stuff, I must admit.  It's colorful, it's good for you, it's cheap.    

Grocery Prices Going Up: What I Found Out Here in San Antonio About Food Costs

In January 2008, I wrote about how much I paid for certain items here in San Antonio (you can read that post here).

This past weekend, three years and one month later, I went back to the same store and priced the same list of items. Here is what I found in what admittedly is based only on my curiosity and isn't any formal statistical analysis at all:

[Prices that rose in red; prices that fell in blue.]

1. Dole Yellow Bananas .39/lb in 2008; in 2011, .38/lb.
2. Small Limes - 5/$1.00 in 2008; in 2011, 4/$1.00
3. Store Brand Cage Free Brown Eggs - 1 Dozen $1.99 in 2008; in 2011, $4.10
4. Silk Unsweetened SoyMilk 1/2 Gallon - $2.79 in 2008; in 2011,$2.76
5. Store Brand 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup - $0.75 in 2008; in 2011, $0.72
6. Store Brand Diced Tomatoes Canned 15 oz. - $.59 in 2008; in 2011, for a 14.50 oz., $.75
7. Regular Ground Beef Chuck 70/30 16 oz. - $2.08 in 2008; in 2011, $2.38
8. Suave Invisible Solid Powder Deodorant - $1.48 in 2008; in 2011, $1.72
9. Store Brand Frozen Green Sweet Peas 16 oz. - $0.92 in 2008; in 2011, $1.07
10. Barilla Plus MultiGrain Rotini Pasta 16 oz. box - $1.65. in 2008; in 2011, for a 14.50 oz box, $1.98

Of note: 

1.  some of the packaging had changed:  both the pasta and the tomatoes were in smaller packaging. 
2.  none of the items were on sale - either back in 2008 or this week - when I did my little survey.