alzheimer's, cholesterol, and dementia

Eat more fiber and less fast food, and do what it takes to lose weight.

Keep your thinker sharp: Get up and move around to lower your cholesterol levels.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Eating right and exercising wards off heart disease, but now it looks like those same long-term healthy lifestyle habits will also ward off dementia as we get older. A new study finds that high cholesterol levels can increase the likelihood of dementia in old age. Past research has found that statins, drugs that lower cholesterol, can do the same thing. But there are other options that can lower your cholesterol—and protect your brain.

THE DETAILS: The study, released by Kaiser Permanente in the journal Dementia & Geriatrics Cognitive Disorders, indicates there is an increased risk for dementia in later life for people suffering from borderline or high cholesterol in middle age. The study followed almost 10,000 people over the course of nearly 40 years, beginning when the participants were in their early to mid 40s. The study showed that even borderline high cholesterol levels increased participants’ risk for Alzheimer’s and other kinds of dementia later in life. Participants with cholesterol levels of 240 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) and higher had a 66 percent increased risk for Alzheimer’s, while those with levels of 200 to 239 mg/dL, which is considered borderline high, had a 52 percent greater risk of suffering from other types of dementia in later years.

WHAT IT MEANS: Because the cardiovascular system and the brain are so intricately linked, what's bad for your heart is also bad for your brain, even at levels that don't set off alarm bells. Adults should aim for cholesterol levels below 200 mg/dL, and anything over 240 mg/dL is considered high. But in this study, people with borderline-high cholesterol, between 201 and 239 mg/dL, also suffered increased risks of dementia. And according to the American Heart Association, more than 100 million Americans fall into that category. This study provides further incentive for those with even borderline-high cholesterol to start making positive lifestyle changes.