Nutrition And Balanced Diet

For the person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease who has lost memory, your compassionate touch may be the one thing with which he or she connects. Hold your loved one’s hands, give a gentle massage to his or her feet, legs, or arms. Even if the one suffering from Alzheimer’s does not recognize you and cannot communicate verbally, this is one way of reassurance and love. Alzheimer’s massage decreases physical agitation and improves sleep patterns in people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s sufferer will often forget or not bother to ask for a drink. As fluid is an integral part of anyone’s diet, it is important that special attention is paid his or her adequate fluid intake. Drinks should be offered frequently and regularly and orange juice is one brilliant way of ensuring consumption of vitamin C.

There is a growing pool of evidence that suggests that what you eat is very important to your brain. A range of recent studies has reported a link between dietary habits and specific nutritional factors to the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and/or cognitive decline.

Dementia is a set of brain illnesses that damage a person’s mental functioning, especially memory, thinking, and behavior. Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia. It is imperative that we understand the cause of Alzheimer’s disease for more effective and targeted treatments.

At least it is known that there is likely to be more than a single cause for Alzheimer’s and that it develops due to the biological processes in the brain. Research into Alzheimer’s cause has been enhanced by the discovery of genes associated with it. A person’s genetic make up can directly influence the chances for the onset and development of Alzheimer’s. A person’s genes are inherited from their biological parents and passed along family lines to their biological children.

There are many different forms of dementia and each has its own causes. Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia, accounting for between 50% and 70% of all dementias. The effects of the different types of dementia are similar, but not identical, as each one tends to affect different parts of the brain.
Vascular Dementia

Vascular Dementia is the second most common cause of dementia, after Alzheimer’s disease. Previously, this form of dementia was known as multiinfarct dementia. Vascular Dementia is associated with problems in the circulation of blood to the brain causing a deterioration of mental abilities as a result of multiple strokes, or infarcts, in the brain. A stroke refers to the death of a piece of brain tissue because the blood vessels which supply it are blocked or interrupted.

These strokes may cause damage to specific areas of the brain responsible for speech or language as well as producing generalized symptoms of dementia. Therefore Vascular Dementia may produce similar symptoms to Alzheimer’s Disease. A mixture of Alzheimer’s Disease and Vascular Dementia is a common cause of dementia, and it can sometimes be difficult to separate the two.