Outsmarting Alzheimer’s: What You Can Do to Reduce Your Risk

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the biggest worries for many people as they age. “There is no surgery, procedure or medicine” that can cure it, but physician Kosik presents a good case for his comprehensive program’s effectiveness in delaying its onset. He believes that “when we change our lifestyles for the better, our brains change for the better, too.” Part one dispels myths about the disease and provides a list of symptoms, along with an 18-question self-administered test for calculating one’s individual risk. Each chapter in part two is keyed to the mnemonic SMARTS—Social, Meal, Aerobics, Resilience to Stress, Train Your Brain, and Sleep—and features between eight and 15 targeted prescriptions for reducing risk. Part three covers a three-week personalized plan, with meal and exercise advice and social and brain-boosting activities, all designed to establish part two’s lifestyle prescriptions as habit. There are appropriate adaptations for people with preexisting medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or joint pain. Kosik offers a very reasonable and feasible program, aimed at both avoiding Alzheimer’s disease and achieving overall enhanced physical and mental well-being. (Jan.)