The aldora 18: strategies for dementia prevention
Table of Contents
Are you worried about developing dementia one day?
Perhaps you know someone who is experiencing symptoms right now, or have had a sibling or parent with the disease.
The good news is that the science of dementia prevention is rapidly evolving.
Just 7 years ago, we thought only 30% of cases were preventable. In 2024, the latest evidence says a whopping 45% of dementia cases are preventable…
… and that’s just what we know right now. In our clinical experience, somewhere between 50 and 60% of people we see have preventable causes of their symptoms.
This article will introduce you to aldora’s 18 targets for dementia prevention of 45% of cases, based on leading research and real-world clinical experience.
Keep reading… secrets to health are close by!
What does the science say?
First things first. What things do researchers believe help people protect themselves from developing dementia?
The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention (the medical communities preeminent scientific journal) have found that 45% of dementias in the world could be prevented by tackling 14 causes, spread out across our lifetimes.
They published their most recent findings in July of 2024. If you want to read the paper, click here.
Causes of non-preventable dementia include age and genetic risks like the ApoE4 allele (for late-onset dementia) and certain inherited early-onset dementias like APP, PSEN1, or PSEN2.
Based on real-life clinical experience, we’ve added a few more essential causes of reversible memory problems to the list:
Getting enough sleep, including treating sleep apnea
Stopping certain medications with memory side effects
Anxiety / stress reduction
Positive mindset and anti-ageism
Eating a healthy diet (such as the MIND diet)
We have not included air pollution in our targets as it is largely outside the immediate control of most of us learning with aldora.
aldora’s 18 targets
By combining real-life experience and leading scientific research, there are 18 things that you can do to prevent dementia.
These can be organized into things that help build the strength of our brain (brain health), heart (heart health), or spirit (emotional health).
You can quickly see that dementia prevention requires a holistic approach to health - and through the process you can prevent MANY other chronic diseases (like heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers), not just dementia.
Holistic dementia prevention with aldora.
In more detail, the 18 targets are:
Hearing: protect your ears from loud noises and wear hearing aids if you need them
Vision: protect your eyes from sun damage and get cataracts fixed
Life-Long Learning: pursue more education, life-long learning, and push yourself to try new things
Alcohol: avoid excessive alcohol intake (<7 drinks a week)
Sleep: get 7-8 hours of sleep a night & treat sleep apnea
Medications: stop certain medications that cause memory problems
Fall Prevention & Head injury: prevent falls that cause head injury
Social Life: build a strong friend group & social life
Depression: treat depression with lifestyle changes and/or medication
Anxiety: treat anxiety with lifestyle changes and/or medication
Mindset & anti-ageism: build a sense of meaning and personal power in your life, and don’t believe in outdated views on aging
Exercise: get a mix of aerobic, strength, and balance exercises every week
Nutrition: follow a Mediterranean diet and make sure you are not deficient in B12, Vitamin D, or Thiamine
Smoking: stop smoking
High blood pressure: keep your number around 120/70 to 130/80.
Diabetes: treat with lifestyle changes and/or medications
High LDL cholesterol: keep your LDL in the optimal range with lifestyle changes and/or medications
Weight: keep your weight in the recommended range
STEP 1: Personalize for success
We tend to succeed when:
we do something manageable
we enjoy doing it
we feel rewarded
This is why it helps to organize aldora’s 18 into the following table based on how you feel about the different targets (Download it here).
Everyone's unique - some things that are easy for you might sound hard to others!
For example, Dr. Liv’s table looks like this:
STEP 2: Start with the easy things
Work your way through your personalized chart, going from FUN/EASY -> FUN/HARD -> WORK/EASY -> WORK/HARD.
The early success of checking the easy things off your list will give you the motivation to keep going, and the confidence to tackle some of the harder things!
You can do anything - but it sure helps to get some early confirmation of that fact.
Go in this order to successful tackle all 18 targets for dementia prevention.
STEP 3: Learn how
You now know WHAT you need to do. The next step is to learn HOW.
How do you get better hearing? How do you build your social life? What do you do to fight ageism?
If you have someone that’s an expert in one of these areas, lean on them for advice and suggestions.
If you prefer to read about how to achieve your dementia prevention goals, you’ll find answers to all this and more when you become a member.
In Closing…
There are MANY things you can do to lower your chances of developing dementia.
To get started, pick something that sounds fun and easy for you
Keep going until you’ve tackled as many of aldora’s 18 as you can.
Keep reading at aldora.ca to learn more
It is never too early or too late to start reducing your risk of dementia.
Disclaimer: The content on Aldora Health is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. For more read our Terms of Use.