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Diet and Exercise Diet and exercise seems to have may benefits for mood, and may also help prevent cognitive impairment. A diet for good cardiovascular health in particular may be a way to prevent a progressing vascular dementia. Similarly exercise can be good for cardiovascular health, and might help in cognitive disorders by bringing more blood flow and oxygen to the brain. Obviously in some cases one's fitness for a diet and exercise program should be first assessed by qualified health care providers. In my practice I generally do encourage a healthy diet and exercise program, but warn people to start off slowly as overdoing it can often backfire. In particular excessive exercise can actually induce panic. Weight loss can reduce the effect of obstructive sleep apnea. A heavy meal before bed time usually causes problems, but a light carbohydrate rich snack may help. Warm milk may help because it contains L-Tryptophan. While there are many diets, they should be done under medical supervision. In general I have found plain old calorie reduction with controlled portions to be most helpful. A popular diet for this is NutriSystem which also includes telephone counselling if desired. Weight Watchers also seems effective. While I usually do not recommend medications or supplements for weight loss, a new over the counter medication (once only available in prescription form), brand name Alli, seems effective and relatively safe, but does have some potentially embarrassing side effects. |
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