7 Things Doctors Want You To Know About Alzheimer’s

You don't have to be old to get it.

It's true that your risk of Alzheimer's goes up dramatically as you enter your senior years, but about 5% of people who have it get hit with a certain type (called younger-onset or early-onset) that strikes before age 65—and sometimes as early as your 30s.

This type of Alzheimer is generally linked to three genes, APP, PSEN 1, and PSEN 2. Although it's possible to get tested for mutations to these genes, it's not always a good idea, warns Heather Snyder, PhD. “There’s no way to prevent Alzheimer’s, and knowing the gene is present can cause anxiety, or discrimination in obtaining long-term care insurance,” she says. If you're considering testing, talk to a genetic counsellor first to be sure you understand the pros and cons.

If you forget someone’s name, don't panic.

Most memory lapses, particularly in people in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s, are caused by a combo of natural age-related changes as well as lifestyle factors such as multitasking or stress, says Snyder. If you're in your 60s or 70s and occasionally forget to make a monthly payment or struggle to recall the name of a friend of a friend, that's pretty normal, too, she says. In contrast, being suddenly unable to balance your checkbook after doing it for years or forgetting important events like your child's birthday could be a sign of Alzheimer's.

Aluminum pots and pans aren't the problem.

Following the MIND diet may lower your risk.

The MIND diet—a combo of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet—could slash your risk of Alzheimer's by as much as 53%, according to a 2015 Harvard study. And research presented this past July at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London found that people who followed this plan were more than a third less likely to develop all types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s.

The key tenets: Eat lots of brain-boosting foods—including green leafy vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and wine—and avoid red meat, butter and stick margarine, cheese, pastries, sweets and fried and fast food.

Keep using your noggin.

The more educated you are, the lower your overall risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published this past December in the British Medical Journal. “The theory is that going to college or even graduate school forces your brain to build up a higher level of reserves, so it takes longer to see brain changes associated with dementia or Alzheimer’s,” explains neurologist Dr David Perlmutter.

If you don't have a PhD, that's OK: Just keeping your mind active by auditing a local college course, learning a new language or instrument, or simply picking up some more high-level reading material (Nietzsche, anyone?) can go a long way. Also consider joining a book or running club, or volunteering: Research shows that social engagement—anything that forces you to be out and about and with others—helps lower the risk, especially among those at higher genetic inclination for the disease, according to a Duke study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Get your zzzs.

Just one night of poor sleep in healthy, middle-aged adults causes an increase in amyloid beta, a brain protein associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a study. And a full week of tossing and turning leads to an increase in another brain protein, tau, also linked to Alzheimer's.

“Both lack of sleep and poor-quality sleep lower levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that prevents the death of existing brain cells and helps build new ones,” explains Perlmutter. Make sure you’re getting seven to eight hours of shut-eye a night, and see your doctor if you snore, feel excessively sleepy during the day, or wake up not feeling rested or with headaches. All can be signs of sleep apnoea, a nighttime breathing disorder that's linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s.

There’s no cure.

While the FDA has approved two types of drugs, cholinesterase inhibitors (Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne) and memantine (Namenda) to treat the memory loss and confusion associated with Alzheimer's disease, these meds only slow down symptoms for six to twelve months, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. There are several promising new drugs in development, including Aducanumab and JNJ-54861911, both of which target the beta amyloid plaques that causes many of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, but these drugs are still at least five to 10 years away.