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.

To learn more specifics about each target, join aldora.

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:

1. Getting enough sleep, including treating sleep apnea

2. Stopping certain medications with memory side effects

3. Anxiety / stress reduction

4. Positive mindset and anti-ageism

5. 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.

In more detail, the 18 targets are:

1. Hearing: protect your ears from loud noises and wear hearing aids if you need them

2. Vision: protect your eyes from sun damage and get cataracts fixed

3. Life-Long Learning: pursue more education, life-long learning, and push yourself to try new things

4. Alcohol: avoid excessive alcohol intake (<7 drinks a week)

5. Sleep: get 7-8 hours of sleep a night & treat sleep apnea

6. Medications: stop certain medications that cause memory problems

7. Fall Prevention & Head injury: prevent falls that cause head injury

8. Social Life: build a strong friend group & social life

9. Depression: treat depression with lifestyle changes and/or medication

10. Anxiety: treat anxiety with lifestyle changes and/or medication

11. Mindset & anti-ageism: build a sense of meaning and personal power in your life, and don’t believe in outdated views on aging

12. Exercise: get a mix of aerobic, strength, and balance exercises every week

13. Nutrition: follow a Mediterranean diet and make sure you are not deficient in B12, Vitamin D, or Thiamine

14. Smoking: stop smoking

15. High blood pressure: keep your number around 120/70 to 130/80.

16. Diabetes: treat with lifestyle changes and/or medications

17. High LDL cholesterol: keep your LDL in the optimal range with lifestyle changes and/or medications

18. 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).

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.

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

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.