Dodge Dementia with This HEART Health “Quiz”
No one wants to consider the possibility of getting a neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s or dementia.
But with cases steadily rising, you can’t afford NOT to.
You might be surprised to learn that one of the BEST ways to protect your brain is to pay more attention to your heart.
Last week, I shared the results of a study showing that exercise benefits brain health by reducing two markers of neurodegeneration: Ptau 217 and NfL (neurofilament light chain).
Today, I want to highlight another key finding of this study.
The researchers assessed the heart health of over 1,000 people 65 and older by measuring their scores on the American Health Association’s tool, Life’s Simple 7.
This “quiz” evaluates heart health based on seven key factors:
- Smoking
- Diet
- Physical activity
- Body mass index
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol
- Fasting blood glucose
They found that the higher the scores on Life’s Simple 7, the lower the levels of NfL.
NfL is a vital measure of general neurodegeneration because as nerve cells die, they get released and ultimately end up in the bloodstream.
People with scores of 10-14 had 19 percent lower levels of NfL than people with low scores of 0-6.
The researchers noted that having high heart health scores slowed the buildup of NfL by up to 2 percent yearly.
The American Heart Association has updated their Simple 7 to “Life’s Essential 8,” which adds getting healthy sleep to the list. (And you know how essential I feel that is!)
Learn more about Life’s Essential 8 on the American Heart Association website here.
The higher your scores, the greater your heart AND brain protection.
P.S. Are you FIVE days away from a metabolic meltdown?!
View Sources
Dhana A, DeCarli CS, Dhana K, et al. Cardiovascular Health and Biomarkers of Neurodegenerative Disease in Older Adults. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(3):e250527. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0527
