All this month for National Nutrition Month, we’ve been detailing the proper diet to ensure healthy aging. What we put into our bodies really matters as we age. This is especially important if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Specific nutrients and vitamins and minerals can help delay or relieve some of the symptoms. Of course, there is no cure yet for Alzheimer’s disease or any other form of dementia, so we’re not proclaiming a miracle cure. However, we are providing valuable nutritional tips that may help ease some of the symptoms from AD or reduce your chances of getting this disease. They are:

Keep It Balanced

One of the most common offered up pieces of advice for one’s diet is to keep their meals balanced. This goes for people with or without Alzheimer’s disease. Our body requires so many nutrients to run smoothly that it’s impossible to think that eating only one or two key items would sufficiently keep us going. If you cook for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, make sure their plate looks like a painter’s palette. It should include brightly colored fruits and vegetables, whole grain rice for some earthly tones, and lean meats as the base. If you’re able to frequently cook your loved one a well-balanced meal than they’ll most likely have better days than they have bad days.

Reduce Sugar Intake

Consuming too much processed sugar can lead to diabetes. It’s an awful disease where the body’s inability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin results in the elevated levels of glucose in the blood. In addition to the lack of response to insulin, there has also been an increasing amount of reports that have linked diabetes to Alzheimer’s disease.

You might be wondering, “How does this affect the brain?” Well, it turns out, as a byproduct of diabetes, irregular proteins are also formed and cluster together to create plaque that gets tangled in the brain. They travel through your blood stream and end up getting stuck in your gray matter. Of course, it’s much more complicated than that. If it what was really that simple, scientists would have been able to prevent it already. Unfortunately, they have not been able to solve this mystery yet, so doctors and scientists alike have just issued warnings to watch out for your consumption of sugar. It has the potential to increase your chances of Alzheimer’s disease or make the symptoms worse.

Limit Saturated Fats and Cholesterol

“What’s good for the heart is good for the brain.” This saying provides a lot of much needed information about our diets and our overall health. Much like diabetes being linked to Alzheimer’s disease, poor heart health can be linked to poor cognitive function. According to a recent study done by the American Heart Association, those who take care of their heart also take care of their brain. By reducing your chances of heart attack, you’ll also be reducing your chances at cognitive impairment. It makes a lot of sense if you think about it. By consuming too much saturated fats and cholesterol, you’re damaging your major blood vessels in your heart, which in turn can damage the minor ones found all over your body. It would be silly to think it couldn’t affect your brain seeing that is has over 400 miles of blood vessels connected all over it.