Part UT Health San Antonio

Reducing Your Risk of Alzheimer Disease

by Cynthia M. Johnson, MA
Main Page
Risk Factors
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
Screening
Reducing Your Risk
Talking to Your Doctor
Living With Alzheimer Disease
Resource Guide

The cause of Alzheimer disease is not known. Living a healthy lifestyle may help lower the risk. Here are some tips:

  • Exercise regularly. Aim for 150 minutes or more of physical activity each week.
  • Eat a healthful diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, seeds, olive oil, and fish.
  • Drinking alcohol may help decrease the risk, but it should be used in moderation. This means no more than 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men. Drinking too much can increase the risk of dementia.
  • Stop smoking.
  • Reach or maintain a healthy weight.
  • Manage high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
  • Cognitive training programs may maintain brain function.
REFERENCES:

Alzheimer dementia. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at:https://www.dynamed.com/condition/alzheimer-dementia. Updated August 9, 2019. Accessed October 8, 2019.

Alzheimer's disease medications fact sheet. National Institute on Aging website. Available at: https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/alzheimers-disease-medications-fact-sheet. Updated April 2, 2018. Accessed October 8, 2019.

Atri A. The Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Spectrum: Diagnosis and Management. Med Clin North Am. 2019 Mar;103(2):263-293.

Risk factors. Alzheimer’s Association website. Available at: http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_causes_risk_factors.asp. Accessed October 9, 2019.

What is Alzheimer's? Alzheimer’s Association website. Available at: http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp. Accessed October 8, 2019.

Last reviewed September 2019 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Rimas Lukas, MD  Last Updated: 10/27/2020