Why some people have 5 times the risk.

Medicine is supposed to help people… not hurt them. You shouldn’t have to put up with countless risks for the hope of some relief.

Making matters worse, those risks are either covered up… or discovered after it’s too late to do anything about them.

Case in point: A popular class of drugs has been found to DRAMATICALLY increase your risk of Alzheimer’s.

And it could be sitting in your medicine cabinet right now.

There is a class of drugs called anticholinergics that are used for problems like urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, COPD, seasonal allergies, and depression.

(That’s quite the variety for ONE drug.)

The problem is that these drugs “work” by blocking an important chemical messenger in the body called acetylcholine, which controls a number of your bodily functions… and also plays a role in your memory.

So it’s no surprise, then, that using them for a long time isn’t good for your memory.

Evidence has been mounting for the past decade that these drugs increase the risk of dementia in older adults.

Now, a study published in the journal Neurology took a closer look at the connection.

The researchers evaluated 688 people who did not show signs of cognitive impairment or memory problems, and they gave them cognitive tests every year for 10 years.

The connection between anticholinergics was SHOCKING.

People who took at least one anticholinergic had a 47 percent increased risk of mild cognitive impairment.

People who took the drug which also happened to genetically at risk for Alzheimer’s were more than 2.5 times more likely to develop cognitive impairment.

And those who had Alzheimer’s biomarkers in their cerebrospinal fluid which were also taking anticholinergics were nearly 5 times more likely to develop cognitive decline.

That’s because anticholinergics essentially kick you while you’re down.

Alzheimer’s biomarkers show that Alzheimer’s begins in a region of the brain the produces acetylcholine.

Then enter anticholinergics, which deplete your supply of acetylcholine even further.

If you’re taking anticholinergic drugs, and you’ve been experiencing some memory problems, this could be the reason why.

Talk to your doctor about whether you can reduce the dose… or possibly stop taking the drug altogether.

It could be a major step toward protecting your brain—and delaying cognitive decline.