THE SLOW BURN

NEUROLOGISTS now believe Alzheimer’s develops decades before any infuriating memory lapses and episodes of forgetfulness appear. It’s during those apparently healthy, vibrant, younger years that the brain becomes increasingly vulnerable to a number of factors. They include what we eat, how much we exercise, our ability to manage chronic stress, the quality of our sleep and the ways in which we challenge our cognitive abilities. It is only much later on — often when we reach our 60s or 70s — that the brain becomes unable to compensate for our less-than-healthy lifestyle choices. That is when we notice those first tell-tale changes in thinking and memory. In Alzheimer’s patients, cognitive symptoms emerge only after there is so much damage that the brain’s innate resilience can no longer cope.