Global Wellness Digest

Dementia is expected to afflict about 80,000 people in Singapore by the year 2030. However, the National Neuroscience Institute Singapore estimates that about 150,000 people in 2018 have pre-dementia. What is pre-dementia? It is a condition where you have problems with memory, language, thinking and judgement that are more severe than the people in your age group who are of normal IQ. For about 50% of the cases, pre-dementia develops into full dementia over time.

What can you do to slow down or even reverse the progress of dementia? According to neurology experts, we need to make lifestyle and diet changes. We need to eat well by ensuring that we get 20% proteins, 30% fats and 50% carbohydrates from our daily diet. Fat in our diet should be low in saturated fats and include Omega-3 fatty acids. We should eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, eat fish twice a week and control our sodium and sugar intakes. It is preferred to use vegetable margarine like Planta and rapeseed oil rather than butter.

Additionally, we should do muscle-strength training and aerobic exercises at least 3 times a week. These exercises will help to improve our posture and balance.

We should also “exercise” our mind by reading, playing board games and solving puzzles. It is also good idea to socialize with other people at least once a week. When we interact with others, it also boosts our overall brain function – Global Wellness Digest