Watch out for salt! There are many reasons why. But just to remind you - when kids eat salty snacks they get thirsty they usually reach out for sugary beverages loaded with empty calories. What you may not be aware of is that putting away the salt shaker does not help much. People get 80% of their salt from manufactured foods. It’s everywhere - not just that MSG in Chinese takeaways. Campbell’s has just announced that they are reducing the sodium content in about 50 of their soups. That is one small step in the right direction. But we all need to be aware of how much sodium we have each day.

So how much do you need per day? An adult requires 500mg per day. They should not exceed 2,400mg/day. And unfortunately, the average American consumes 4,000-5,000mg/day. I did a bit of net searching, and much to my dismay my favorite fast food meal - a McDonald;s Quarter Pounder with Cheese - is one of the worst offenders with 3,200mg of sodium. Yikes!

Stay in school to reduce Alzheimers risk. Studies indicate that people with higher levels of education may have reduced risk of contracting Alzheimers when they get older. They are not sure why, but they believe that highly educated people just might have some “reserve” brain power that they can use when memory begins to fail.

A study of seniors over the past decade has shown that their average level of education has increased by one year, now at 12 years and we can expect that to go even higher for the next generations. They also are wealthier, which suggests that they held more mentally stimulating jobs.

There are other things that can contribute to Alzheimers - cardiovascular disease (including high blood pressure and clogged arteries) can cause periods of time when blood does not flow properly to the brain, as well as obesity with complications such as type 2 diabetes and again those clogged arteries.

I guess the lesson is - get yourself educated, keep yourself stimulated and watch your general health. I am sure it will provide benefits beyond Alzheimers prevention!