Dr Helen Evan-Howells has shared the one habit that all her elderly patients who live the longest have in common – and it’s something that can also reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s
A GP has revealed that all her elderly patients share a common characteristic that has helped them live longer. It comes as a pharmacist disclosed the three things she would ‘never do’, including one that is shockingly common.
Writing in The i, Dr Helen Evan-Howells revealed that all her elderly patients exercise regularly and she suggests a three-step combination of healthy eating, exercising, and resting.
Whilst championing exercise, Dr Evan-Howells also recommended avoiding “direct contact with friends or relatives who are unwell and waiting those few extra days until their infections have cleared”.
She further supported mask-wearing, declaring that “we’ve all seen through the pandemic that there can be a benefit from this”.
On the topic of exercise, she observed: “In my GP work, looking after the elderly, the people who live the longest and in the best health have one thing in common – exercise.”
Whilst exercise can boost mental health and physical longevity, recent research indicates that physical activity could lower the risk of Alzheimer’s.
A study published in the British Medical Journal last year connected exercise to a reduced risk of dementia.
Speaking about the findings, the study’s lead author Dr Iyas Daghlas said: “Despite the steady increase in the prevalence, no effective treatments for this devastating disease exist.
“Prevention of Alzheimer’s through identification of modifiable risk factors is thus a key public health aim. Based on human genetics data, individuals randomised to lifelong higher lean muscle mass had a 12 percent lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and scored higher for cognitive performance.
“These analyses provide new evidence supporting a cause-and-effect relation between lean mass and risk of Alzheimer’s disease.”
Whilst the research didn’t detail exactly how much physical activity was required to effectively slash someone’s chances of developing dementia, separate findings suggested it could be as little as six minutes daily.
This study, featured in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, indicated that six minutes of vigorous exercise – otherwise known as moderate and physical activity (MVPA) – each day might be sufficient.
The study’s author, Dr John Mitchell, explained: “MVPA is typically the smallest proportion of the day in real terms, and the most difficult intensity to acquire.
“Perhaps partly for this reason, loss of any MVPA time whatsoever appeared detrimental, even within this relatively active cohort.”
