Dementia is preventable through lifestyle. Start now. | Max Lugavere | TEDxVeniceBeach

I am 80, lift weights, walk outside most days, and usually eat healthily but l have a bad trait that l know isn't healthy. I worry about a lot of problems too much. Strangely, when l'm outside, walking ( with a Walker) l don't worry about much. I try to walk fairly long distances, when the weather is favourable. I am 80.

I took my mum gradually off all the pills her doctor recommended. She was living with me. She was in her 60's. My mum is now 88 free from dementia and Alzheimer's. She starts getting forgetful only when she is dehydrated. Few glasses of water and she is back to normal. She is medication free and has a healthy life.

My father is 78 years old with dementia. He was a farmer, lived in the countryside, grew his own food, got aerobic exercise everyday, never smoked, avoided alcohol, didn't like sweet or processed foods. Sometimes people are genetically disposed and it's simply not preventable.

Don’t underestimate the role stress plays in determining our health. Also look at the chemicals in all of our foods, vegetables, fruits, water and environment.

Although it is great to prevent dementia with a healthy lifestyle, the disease is not only a monster. My mother died in a nursing home from dementia and looking back, it was the best time I have spend with her. When she lost her brain, so to speak, she also lost a lot of her trauma and that gave room for a much simpler love and understanding of each other. I was with her the moment the light flew from her eyes and all was well.

Our national health has gone down hill ever since corporations have had control of the food in super markets.

He's probably the best prepared public speaker I've ever seen on Ted: He hit every technique on how to engage an audience and didn't even falter at the parts where he missed his moment of engagement on a hook here or there. I hope he takes his work further to help others. Its' inspiring.

My Grandfather was in perfect health. Ate very healthy all his life, exercised regularly. Didn’t stop dementia. It’s not that simple.

Great lecture! I would add SLEEP to this list. One of my dearest friends, who is only in his late 50s, is in advanced stages of a rare form of Alzheimer's and he had a pretty healthy vegetarian diet and exercised a lot. BUT he was intentionally sleep-deprived, wanting to squeeze the most productivity out of his life (he was something of a workaholic). He slept about 4 hours a day for about 30 years. I am convinced that the sleep deprivation destroyed his brain and put him into the situation he is in now, with years shaved off his life. It is truly heartbreaking.

Keep active, don't retire, eat sensibly, get a dog (My dog makes me walk him 2 miles twice a day) and write...a bunch. I do my writing on Youtube in the comments section. Composing well thought out comments, exercises neuroplasticity which resists the formation of amyloid plaques.

This was one of the best talks I have listened to! My mother has Alzheimers and it is tearing me and my family apart. I am terrified of getting the disease and appreciate your preventative advice. You should be a motivational speaker, you are excellent!

It takes a big heart and a lot of patience and effort , just like my parents did for us when i was a child....but i now have a new relationship with my 82 yr old dad. After mom died he went fully downhill. It has been a year and a half. Dad now talks, bathes himself, makes his bed, helps me sweep and wash dishes! He was never a hugger and i realized i never had a real conversation with him because he was always working and he was a very negative, hard man. Now, he is incredibly agreeable and allows a hug! When he was at his worst, i decided to intervene...I took away ALL sugar, his main addiction. He fought me every day for weeks! His body and mind hated the cleanse and rehabilitation until his brain chemistry began to change. He slept better, longer. He now only eats good whole foods, nuts, and fruits I give him. He has lost 60 lbs! When we label our parent, we are not helping them. It helped me to use my teacher skills to accept everything dad says and so what that what he says doesnt make sense. I dont question his hallucinations. He feels heard, loved and wanted. I tell him everyday how happy it makes me to see him happy and alive living with me. I am also trying a variety of mushrooms, adding extra fatty oils, and the good organic meats. He is beginning to have actual conversations again! and he is happy to be alive!

As an appraiser who addresses objects regularly, my parents' (yes, both) dementia made me think about how objects could spark memory. For years I have been telling people about how objects-art, antiques, collectibles, vintage objects, etc.- spark emotion and memories. When my Mother became ill, I was upset she didn't remember her favorite sauce recipe but I was thrilled when she lit up and could recite it without aid when I put a recipe box from my childhood kitchen in her hand. It was like something clicked. My father, who played major league baseball, would repeat sentences like as on a loop. It saddened me so. I gave him one of his old baseballs and asked him to tell me how to throw a curveball and he was clear and accurate. Objects can open the door to memories. Amazing. I hope this info helps others just as this Ted talk has.

He forgot to mention SLEEP.... I strongly recommend everyone read WHY WE SLEEP by Matthew Walker. Life changing.

I lost my grandmother to alzheimers and dementia, same for my husband. Thank you for spreading awareness and knowledge on potential prevention, I'm inspired to make better choices for my sake and my family's. My heart goes out to you regarding your mother and I'm sure she's incredibly proud of what your doing. Let's do better for ourselves and for our loved ones!

As someone who works in memory care this doesn't always hold true. It's great advice to take excellent care of yourself but please don't blame yourself if it doesn't work for you or your loved one. Like backs and knees, sometimes Brains "give out". Sometimes it's genetic. Sometimes you have had a condition that required a medication that helps exacerbate it. Do what you can to live your best healthy life but sometimes you just have to accept what is and learn how to live with that new normal. It's not your fault.

Add constant stress, anxiety and worry about finances and working long hours without rest and that doesn't help the odds.

I'm not crying, you're crying. This is maybe the best love letter of a son to his mom. I'm a nurse, thank you for this. it's moving.

This is a master class on how to be the best healthy version of yourself. I rewatch it occasionally to stay on track.

This young man really presented this subject well. Really laid down avenues of recovery worthy of additional study. The importance of starting and ending with the love for his mother drives home the point of it's never to late to begin some level of recovery.