Cloud Hosting

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most mysterious and tragic diseases, and scientists are still grappling to understand what causes it, and how to avoid it.

But a new review of Alzheimer's research has identified 10 suggestions backed by "strong evidence" that could reduce your risk for the disease, including reading, and avoiding stress and trauma.

The paper,published today in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, listed another nine tips backed by "weaker" evidence, including getting sufficient sleep and working out.

In the most comprehensive meta-analysis of Alzheimer's research to date, the researchers in China analyzed 395 previous studies, including randomized controlled trials (the gold standard of scientific research) and observational studies.

"Over time, there will be more evidence," Lei Feng, a co-author of the study, told Insider. "This is the best evidence we have now for prevention. We cannot wait until we have the perfect solutions."

Here is a run-down of the preventative measures Feng and the team identified, and why they could be effective:

Exercising your brain is one strong strategy for reducing your risk of developing Alzheimer's.

Mentally stimulating activities such as reading, playing chess and doing puzzles help preserve brain structures and cognitive functions that are implicated in dementia.

Additionally, the review found that people who received a strong formal education early in life had a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's. Although your own early education is out of your control, parents can consider their children's schooling as an investment for their brain health later in life.

The review recommends physical activity and healthy eating behaviors in order to achieve a BMI in the 18.5 to 24.9 range, which is considered normal weight. You can calculate your BMI here.

Adults aged 65 and over should make sure they are not underweight and closely monitor any unhealthy weight loss, which can be an early predictor of Alzheimer's disease.

While some supplements and diets have been advertised to promote brain health, these claims are not necessarily backed by scientific evidence.

The review considered studies of vitamin C, and found it might help reduce your risk of Alzheimer's but is not as strong as other interventions.

More important are your homocysteine levels. High homocysteine is a risk factor for both Alzheimer's and heart disease, and it can be treated with vitamin B and folic acid supplements.

You've heard this advice before, but getting sleep and not smoking can seriously improve the overall quality of your health.

Getting sufficient, high quality sleep was found to decrease the risk of Alzheimer's disease, while smoking tobacco increases that risk.

Yielding these common public health recommendations is also helpful for decreasing your risk of other preventable diseases that could further harm your brain health.

Head trauma was among the 10 strongest suggestions to reduce Alzheimer's risk.

That means taking seriously concussions, head collisions in contact sport, and falling or slipping.

Staying physically healthy can affect your brain health, so it's no surprise that preventable health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease were associated with high Alzheimer's risk.

Blood pressure is also considered a risk factor depending on age. Adults younger than 65 should avoid high blood pressure. Older adults with orthostatic hypotension (or, low blood pressure), or who have suffered a stroke, should be monitored for cognitive decline.

"The brain health behaviors and heart health behaviors that reduce the risk of getting high blood pressure or obesity in the first place are behaviors that people should do earlier in life in order to reduce these comorbidities," Seth Gale, a behavioral neurologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the study, told Insider.

Stress and depression were both found to be strong risk factors for Alzheimer's.

They point to the importance of understand the impact your mental health can have on your physical health.

Whether you experience stress and depression may be out of your control, but you can try to mitigate their effects with mindfulness practices such as guided meditation or by seeking professional help.

Read more:

15 common misconceptions and surprising realities about dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's could be caused by bad oral hygiene, according to new research

Read this article:
19 science-backed ways to reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease, from reading to playing chess - Insider - INSIDER