This lecture explores the crucial role of lifestyle choices in shaping the trajectory of brain health and functionality with an emphasis on prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, a disease for which there is no meaningful treatment and for which lifestyle factors play a powerful role. Our daily lifestyle choices directly modulate key influencers of metabolic functionality, including uric acid and nitric oxide as we will explore. By embracing the fundamental role of metabolic dysfunction in this now epidemic condition, practitioners can utilize proactive lifestyle centered measures to promote brain health and dramatically reduce Alzheimer’s risk.
Learning Objectives:
- Summarize the influence of lifestyle choices on brain health, including physical activity, diet, cognitive stimulation, social engagement, and sleep, as supported by peer-reviewed scientific literature.
- Identify specific modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, smoking, and recognize how these and other factors threaten systemic and brain metabolism.
- Recognize the central role of nitric oxide (NO) in metabolic health and disease and how it impacts the brain.
