According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and nearly two-thirds of them are women. Researchers have been trying to pinpoint the reason why the disease affects more women than men and why it seems to progress more quickly in women’s brains for quite some time. Up until a few years ago, many researchers believed that more women were living with Alzheimer’s simply because they tend to live longer than men. But at the recent Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles, scientists shared new research that shed some light on the subject.
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According to researchers, social, biological and genetic differences all play a role in Alzheimer’s development and progression. In one study, scientists looked at sex differences involving tau, a protein that tends to spread like an infection through the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s. They used brain scans to compare tau in the brains of more than 400 men and women — some who suffered from mild cognitive impairment — and found that gender affected where tau appeared in the brain.
In women with mild cognitive impairment, tau appeared in a much more spread-out pattern, compared to men with mild cognitive impairment. The results suggest that in women, tau has the ability to move more easily from one part of the brain to another, which can play a major role in accelerating Alzheimer’s disease.
Heather Snyder, senior director of medical and scientific operations at the Alzheimer's Association, explained, "There's different biology that contributes to an individual's risk. [There are] changes in hormonal systems throughout life. Women and men have different immune systems, and that's no different in our brain."
Many believe Alzheimer’s disease is not preventable. However, lifestyle choices such as diet, exercise and sleep can have a significant impact on your risk. Strategies to help reduce your risk include:
• Replacing processed foods with real foods
• Avoiding sugar, refined fructose, gluten and casein
• Optimizing omega-6-to-3 ratio
• Opting for organic, grass fed meats
• Optimizing your gut flora
• Reducing your overall calorie consumption and/or intermittent fasting
• Improving your magnesium levels
• Getting plenty of folate
• Exercising regularly
• Avoiding and eliminating mercury and aluminum from your body
• Avoiding anticholinergics, statin drugs and flu shots
• Challenging your mind daily