Time to Sweat

There is an increasing body of evidence that exercise helps protect the brain from Alzheimer's.  The newly released study titled "Longitudinal Relationships between Caloric Expenditure and Gray Matter in the Cardiovascular Health Study," finds that exercise increases the volume of gray matter.

Gray matter volume decreases with a sedentary lifestyle as well as with Alzheimer's.  Increasing the volume of the gray matter, allows for more neurons to be present.  More neurons means more connections which can be maintained even if there are plaque tangles in the mix.

Unless you're exercising daily, you've probably heard your doctor recommend that you incorporate exercise into your daily routine.  I know I have.  Thirty (30) minutes of daily exercise has substantial health benefits such as reducing high blood pressure and reducing your risk for certain cancers, stroke or heart attack.  If those don't motivate you, then let the potential protection from Alzheimer's be a motivator.  I have and am now up to 40 minutes on average 6 days a week.


Additional Information:

Exercise and Physical Activity - Alzheimer's Society  
Physical Exercise and Diet - Alz.org
Alzheimer's and Dementia Prevention - HelpGuide

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