Inflammation Can Cause Alzheimer’s – Here’s How to Reduce It

Evidence is mounting that ongoing inflammation in various parts of the body can trigger Alzheimer’s disease. It will take many years for the science to settle, but it is clear that persistent inflammation has many negative effects, and the things you can do to reduce it have many other benefits.

Inflammation occurs when immune activity is higher than normal—for example, when a scratch becomes infected and becomes tender and painful. Short-term inflammation is usually a good thing, but when inflammation persists unnecessarily for months or years, it can cause or contribute to many diseases, including cancer, heart disease, stroke and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as mental conditions such as depression and anxiety.

Doing what you can to reduce chronic inflammation will almost certainly benefit your physical and mental health. Here is the procedure:

1. Get vaccinated

Several vaccines—including the shingles, tuberculosis, and flu vaccines—have been shown to reduce the risk of dementia. For example, people given a shingles vaccine called Shingrix were 17 percent less likely to develop dementia in the next six years than people given an older shingles vaccine called Zostavax, which itself reduces the risk of dementia. Exactly why is not certain, but one explanation is that these vaccines reduce inflammation.

2. Brush and thread

Gum disease, a form of inflammation, increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease as well as heart disease. This may be because when the gums bleed, bacteria can enter the bloodstream. Maintaining good dental hygiene helps prevent gum disease—and keeps your breath from smelling bad.

3. Eat a Mediterranean diet

Some foods reduce the level of inflammatory immune signals in the blood, while others increase them, possibly due to their effects on our gut microbiome. Anti-inflammatory foods include fruits, beans, nuts, whole grains, fish and olive oil, anti-inflammatory foods include red or processed meat. In other words, the Mediterranean diet is anti-inflammatory and, of course, has long been associated with other benefits, such as a longer life.

4. Exercise regularly

One of the unfortunate consequences of spending too much time sitting at a desk or curled up on the couch is higher levels of inflammationbut numerous studies have found that exercise reduces many of these symptoms. A 2021 review found this out exercise intensity it doesn’t seem to matter. Yoga works tooaccording to a 2024 meta-analysis, although it states that the quality of most studies was poor. Considering all the other benefits of exercise, this is a no-brainer.

5. Maintain a healthy weight

Many studies have found that obesity leads to persistent inflammation, although the exact mechanisms are unclear. So if inflammation is linked to dementia, will taking GLP-1 weight loss drugs like semaglutide (commonly sold as Ozempic) reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease? We don’t have the full answer yet.

People taking GLP-1 to treat type 2 diabetes have a lower risk of developing dementia, but it’s not yet clear whether this applies to people who don’t have type 2 diabetes. Clearly, GLP-1s they do not help treat Alzheimer’s disease in people already diagnosed with the condition.

6. Be happy

A little stress every now and then has its purpose, but the downside of constant stress is inflammation. If you are happy, at least most of the time, you probably have the right balance.

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