FOUR-tify your brain

DEMENTIA experts taking part in a global summit reckon there are four easy ways to cut your risk of the condition by half.

A combination of fish oil, vitamin B supplements, more activity and less sugar is the key to protecting the brain, they say.

And specialists taking part in the worldwide Alzheimer’s Prevention Conference say adding another four actions could reduce the threat of dementia by as much as two thirds.

China’s leading dementia prevention expert, Professor Jin-Tai Yu, told the conference that a study of half a million people showed “higher blood levels of omega-3, and supplementing fish oils, is associated with less risk of dementia”.

Professor Yu added that Vitamin B was “a most promising treatment” for lowering levels of an amino acid called homocysteine, which has been linked to cognitive impairment.

The results are even better when you combine the two, according to Professor David Smith from Oxford University. He said: “Research shows impressive results if you give omega-3 and B vitamins together rather than on their own.”

Tommy Wood, from the University of Washington, told the conference that exercise is important because “it makes the brain do things that keep it healthy, such as growth and repair”.

“When they aren’t stimulated, the health of brain tissues deteriorates, with a knock-on effect on memory and thinking.”

It’s not just physical activity that does this, we also benefit from the mental exercise involved in things like solving puzzles or learning a language.

“For many people the worst thing they can do for their brain is to retire,” said Mr Wood. “They lose much of the stimulation that kept it healthy.”

The conference was told that sugar levels can also affect the risk of developing dementia.

A US study concluded that “a high level of sugar and insulin in the blood – linked with a high carbohydrate diet – is definitely a driver for Alzheimer’s.”

Hosted by UK charity foodforthebrain.org, the audience heard that four other actions can further reduce your risk of dementia – eating antioxidants from fruit and veg; having a healthy gut; sleeping well; and controlling stress.

And they agreed that targeting all eight risk factors earlier in life may reduce risk by two thirds.