Should Women Be Worried about Alzheimer's ?

Current statistical studies indicate that at age 80, there is a one in five chance of suffering from Alzheimer's disease (20 out of 100).

At age 85, the odds rise to one out of every two (50 out of 100). I call this the Alzheimer's danger zone.

It is well known that women live longer than men. But, I don't think it is well known that healthy women live much longer than healthy men, and live into the Alzheimer's danger zone.

Women who reach the age of fifty without suffering from cancer or heart disease can expect to live nearly ninety-two years (92).**

Men who live to age sixty-five without suffering from cancer or heart disease, can expect to live to eighty-one (81).

I believe most men and woman would find these aging statistics startling. Especially women marrying older men.

I doubt that 50 year old women are thinking or worrying about Alzheimer's if they have not seen it in their family. It seems to me that they should be very worried. Without a treatment or a cure, 50 percent of the woman in the group described above can expect to suffer from dementia or Alzheimer's.

Here are some things that women can be doing to stay healthy, protect their brain, and decrease the chances of suffering from Alzheimer's.

The list.

• Exercise. Note, you need to get sweaty when you exercise. This means getting the heart rate up.
• Proper nutrition. Less Baby Ruth bars, Mediterranean style diet.
• More mental activites. Games, Wii, Puzzles, search the Internet.
• Kindness. Believe it or not, kindness and being conscientious help ward off dementia (reduces risk by 89 percent).
• Drink Apple Juice, Fruit or Vegetable juice , they are anitoxidant rich.
• Get the blood pressure and cholesterol down.

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Bob DeMarco is an Alzheimer's caregiver and editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room. The Alzheimer's Reading Room is the number one website on the Internet for insight into Alzheimer's disease. Bob taught at the University of Georgia, was an executive at Bear Stearns, the CEO of IP Group, and is a mentor. He has written more than 600 articles with more than 11,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.

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**Davidhizar, R. (1999). Caregiving from a distance. Hospital Topics: Research and Perspectives on Healthcare

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