Memory Loss should NOT be a Symptom of Growing Older
Senior Living can be as enjoyable as any of our many stages of life. Even if assistance is required to accomplish life’s daily activities, it is often the later years when we have the time to travel and enjoy leisure activities. For many, this cannot happen because of the brain disease called dementia. What makes dementia such a debilitating condition is the loss of independence and recognition – two of the most important aspects of life.
Living without the cognitive ability to make our own decisions and to recognize and relate is quoted by most seniors as “worse than living with cancer or heart disease”.
Genetic dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease, are characteristic of a gene called APOE e4 & Glutathione S-transferase where more toxins accumulate in the brain than normal. Common patient symptoms include lapses in memory, communication problems, difficulties with decision making, the loss of cognitive skill and an inability to perform everyday activities
The occurrence of dementia is expanding exponentially every year – impacting people from all walks of life!
MEMORY LOSS CAN START MUCH EARLIER THAN OLD-AGE.
Currently in Canada, one in ten people over 65 has some type of Dementia. Research is working to understand the gender, racial, ethnic and other disproportionate cultural differences in the incidences of Alzheimer’s – to assist in finding a cure. Although there is no known cure today, studies show that lifestyle has a large impact in the severity and onset of memory loss.
Cardiologists have found that most cardiovascular disease is caused by lifestyle. For example, vascular ischemia is the narrowing of blood vessels due to plaque, mainly because of lack of exercise and proper nutrition. Our organs and cellular tissues require oxygen to remain healthy and produce new cells. The same goes for our brain which suffers similar damage as a result of the abuses to which we subject our body including that which comes from the environment.