Brain Health

As research explores what role different lifestyle factors play in preventing Alzheimer’s disease, Being Patient covers the latest studies on brain health. We exam the science behind diet and exercise and report on the latest studies on preventing cognitive decline. We delve into research that focuses on what happens inside our brains when we learn a new language or play a new instrument. Because plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease can appear in the brain as many as two decades before a person experiences the first symptom, science points towards positive lifestyle changes to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Exercise Actually Slows Down the Aging Process

By Emily Woodruff | March 8th, 2018

If the fountain of youth does exist, it’s at the end of a cycling path, a new study suggests. A lifetime of vigorous exercise—cycling,…

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High Cholesterol Related to Better Brain Health Past Age 85

By Emily Woodruff | March 7th, 2018

There may be something to diets like 96-year-old Betty White’s preference for hotdogs and French fries. In what seems like a finding contrary to…

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Not Enough Evidence That Diet Affects Dementia, Report Says

By Emily Woodruff | March 1st, 2018

Health officials in England have determined there is not enough evidence to support a link between diet and dementia after reviewing studies on diet,…

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A DIY Cognitive Test to Measure Brain Health?

By Emily Woodruff | February 27th, 2018

When Donald Trump aced a cognitive test in January, scores of people tried to take it, too, based mostly on media reports that invited them to…

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To Delay Alzheimer’s, Researchers Recommend This Type of Exercise

By Emily Woodruff | February 26th, 2018

It’s easy to get lost in the advice for preventing Alzheimer’s: The research on prevention measures like brain games, alcohol intake and diet seems…

brainhealth lifestyle

How to Bolster Your Brain Health With Chores

By Emily Woodruff | February 23rd, 2018

While cleaning the house, walking the dog and gardening might sound like boring chores, a new study has found that these everyday activities have…

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Chronic Alcohol Use Is Bad for the Brain, Warn Researchers

By Emily Woodruff | February 21st, 2018

In recent years, researchers have found evidence that a daily glass of wine may bolster brain health, but scientists still debate whether alcohol, in any…

Podcasts

What is it like to live with Alzheimer’s disease? The Being Patient Podcast gives a rare account of what it’s like to live with Alzheimer’s from the patient’s perspective. The first of an ongoing series, we feature Brian Kursonis. Diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s in his fifties, Brian explains why it took a year to get a diagnosis and how he’s fighting a declining memory.

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