Your 15 minutes

I love when studies come out that prove things I’ve been talking about for almost two decades. The most recent one to hit the news (courtesy of the prestigious medical journal Lancet) is that lifestyle modifications may curb Alzheimer’s disease risk. And not just a little bit…

We’re talking about completely eliminating HALF of the cases of this horrible, deadly disease.

Considering the current number of Alzheimer’s diagnoses–33.9 million–is expected to triple within the next 40 years, this study presents a pretty compelling case for paying closer attention to some aspects of your health that are well within your control.

Again, I’m not talking about turning your life upside down.

Even the lead researcher of this study, Dr. Deborah Barnes, noted that what makes this finding so exciting is it suggests that a few “very simple lifestyle changes…could have a tremendous impact on preventing Alzheimer’s and other dementias in the United States and worldwide.”

I would go so far as to say that lifestyle modifications could curb every disease risk.  There, I’ve said it and now I’d better duck to avoid the slings and arrows headed my way from the pharmaceutical companies. But, I digress…

Here in the U.S. the single biggest risk factor for Alzheimer’s is physical inactivity. So, today, I’d like to issue a challenge…a request…a plea…Call it whatever you’d like. But I want you to make a commitment to yourself–and to your health–to take a 15-minute walk after dinner.

If you can honor that commitment tonight, make it again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. Do it one day at a time, and you’ll be well on your way to curbing not only your Alzheimer’s risk, but also your risk of many of the other conditions that contribute to it–such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.

Fifteen minutes. That’s all it takes.

It’s quick. It’s easy. And it’s well worth it.