Medical Questions » Mental Health Questions » Question No. 1549
| Question: | My mother has Alzheimer' s. Is this hereditary? |
| Answer: | The genetic predisposition to Alzheimer' s is probably less than 10 per cent of the cause: this form of dementia is, like cancer and heart disease, largely preventable. We do, however, inherit bad habits! In fact, much of the same diet and lifestyle factors linked to heart disease apply to Alzheimer' s as well. So, cut back on saturated fat, fried foods, alcohol, sugar and stress.
One of the best predictors of Alzheimer' s risk is your blood level of the amino acid homocysteine. If you are 65 and have a high level, this doubles your risk. This sounds like bad news, but isn' t: you can lower your homocysteine in as little as two months by taking large daily amounts of B6 (1OOmg), B12 (1OOmcg) and folic acid (800mcg). Everyone would do well to supplement either a B complex or a multivitamin. Pick one that has the highest levels of these vitamins. Of course, the best thing is to know if you do have high homocysteine. |
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