How to reduce your risk of mild cognitive impairment

Have you noticed that you’re forgetting where you put your keys or shoes, losing your train of thought in a conversation or having trouble remembering how to navigate your way to a familiar place? Well, those are some of the symptoms of what is called mild cognitive impairment, and according to the American Academy of Neurology, it may affect 6.7 percent of folks 60 to 64, increasing to more than 25 percent of those 80 to 84.

But MCI may not be as scary as it sounds! Not only are there many causes, but there’s a lot you can do to reverse, halt or slow its progression, or to avoid MCI altogether. Plus, only about 15 percent of cases of MCI evolve into full-blown dementia in folks 65 and older — and it’s impossible to know how long that will take. (If Alzheimer’s disease is the underlying cause of initial symptoms, it could be two or three years or longer.)

There are two kinds of MCI: One’s called amnestic, meaning that you have memory problems; and the other is nonamnestic, which means you have other cognition problems that are more pronounced. These include problems with language (you can’t find the right words) and with decision-making and navigation (visuospatial difficulties).

What are the risk factors? Some are hard to control: Men may be more likely to experience problems than women, and there can be genetic predispositions (does MCI run in your family?). There are many factors you can control, including Type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, smoking, elevated lousy LDL cholesterol, cardio- and cerebrovascular disease, bodywide inflammation, depression and anxiety. Plus, we say age is also a risk factor that you have control over. Most places list it as a risk factor you cannot control, but they’re wrong. You can take steps to make sure you have a younger RealAge by five, 10 or even 20 years! Take your test at sharecare.com.

Those risk factors are why the direct causes of MCI may include medications (for those various conditions), stroke or other vascular disease (associated with Type 2 diabetes), a traumatic brain injury or an underlying health issue, such as sleep deprivation or mental illness (depression or anxiety).

Make fighting MCI your Major Capital Improvement — from top to toe.

1. Ask your doc about possible medication side effects that may interfere with your cognition. Explore alternatives, if needed.

2. Ask for a checkup to make sure you don’t have elevated glucose or LDL levels (get it below 70 mg/dL) or unidentified cardiovascular problems.

3. If you have high blood pressure (your target is below 125/85), Type 2 diabetes or other cardiovascular diseases, discuss medications and lifestyle changes that can reverse or control your condition. Act today to spare your brain tomorrow!

4. Embrace a healthful diet: Eat dinner for breakfast and take in most of your daily calories for breakfast and lunch. Try the Mediterranean diet; it’s plantcentered with minimal meats (mostly fish) and lots of healthful oils. If the doc says OK, have one to two glasses of wine daily. And bite into the life-changing “What To Eat When” Diet; go to WhenWay.com or DoctorOz.com (search for the What to Eat When Plan Cheat Sheet).

5. Exercise regularly: Five or more days a week, aim for 60 minutes of aerobics (some vigorous), and two days a week get strength training using stretch bands, hand weights or weight machines. Move often — get up every hour for 10 minutes!

Bonus tip: The British Journal of Nutrition has published a study that correlates waist circumference with reduced cognitive abilities that characterize both amnestic and nonamnestic MCI. That’s because the visceral fat packed around your internal organs (and increasing your waistline) triggers brain-damaging inflammation. So, battle the bulge by eating lean proteins and lots of veggies and getting regular physical activity, including strength-building and aerobics, and seven to eight hours of sleep nightly (sleep helps cognitive health and weight loss).

Tell protein powders to take a powder

People seem to love to use powders (and pills), even when they’re downright dangerous. Think of Lance Armstrong taking erythropoietin to boost his red blood cell production and baseball all-stars Steve Howe and Dwight Gooden, who ruined their careers with cocaine.

But we want to call your attention to the health-threatening powders used by millions of Americans who are concerned about eating enough protein as they age, or those who are pushing hard to bulk up their muscle mass and strength. A new lab study in Nature Metabolism found that mice (and the researchers say it applies equally to humans) who consume protein powders that are rich in branched-chain amino acids or BCAAs — and most are — put themselves at risk for everything from mood swings caused by shifts in serotonin levels to uncontrolled hunger, obesity and even early death.

Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic say that is in addition to the risk of getting too much protein in your diet (easy to do with protein powders), which can lead to elevated lousy LDL cholesterol and heart and kidney disease.

On top of that, last year a study found that some protein powders contain high levels of heavy metals including lead and cadmium, BPA (an endocrine disruptor in plastics) and even pesticides. (Check out cleanlabelproject.org to find which ones did.)

So, to boost your strength, stick with plant-based proteins from legumes, 100 percent whole grains, nuts, seeds and veggies such as broccoli and kale. Choose safe, lean, animalbased proteins from foods such as salmon and sea trout.