“Reversing Alzheimers: The New Toolkit to Improve Cognition and Protect Brain Health” by Dr. Heather Sandison with Kate Hanley, 2024, Harper $32, 357 pages

You went into this room to get something. What was it again?

You’ve been doing that a lot lately, forgetting what you were about to say, walking into a room for reasons you can’t remember, mislaying the house keys. It happens to almost everyone at some time or other, but to you – too often. You really hope this doesn’t spell trouble. Read “Reversing Alzheimer’s” by Dr. Heather Sandison with Kate Hanley, and you’ll also hope that you can stop it.

In a way, Alzheimer’s is about numbers.

Sixty-four percent of Americans are afraid they’ll get the disease. Some 11 million of us are unpaid caretakers. More than 11 million people in this country will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s within the next 16 years. 

Sandison and Hanley add good news to those statistics: there are two basic kinds of Alzheimer’s, six “components of brain health,” eight parts to a “new Alzheimer’s toolkit,” and hope in the form of what the authors say can lessen the disease or eliminate it altogether.

It’s not “easy to turn the tide on Alzheimer’s,” though. But even baby-steps will help: remove your shoes when you come into the house, open the windows for an hour a day, eat more protein and fewer carbohydrates, be more social in real life, brush your teeth twice daily, and “push yourself, just a little bit” when exercising.

Understand that “plaques and tangles are an important factor in Alzheimer’s disease, but they are” not “the only one.” Keep yourself up-to-date on scientific research and know the “twelve modifiable risk factors” to help you help yourself in twelve different ways. Forget the idea of a magic pill to help you remember. Make time to do what you need to do, and don’t even try to multitask.

Finally remember that “you cannot do everything” inside this book.

“Whether you can do thirty minutes every night... or devote one full day or half day a week,” whatever you can do will help you create a “future that’s possible.”

Never judge a book by its cover. Didn’t your mother used to say that? Because it’d be easy to be skeptical at what’s inside “Reversing Alzheimer’s.” Specifically, if treating the disease is this simple, why isn’t it standard protocol?

And yet, read on. It’s hard to argue with results, and author Dr. Heather Sandison offers up plenty of case studies, which help bolster her program and the easy-to-do things she says will help stave off dementia and Alzheimer’s worst symptoms. Her words are comforting, and her coaching isn’t preachy – Sandison reminds readers not to overreach in their efforts – so nobody has to feel bad if they backslide. Taking it further, she indicates that even the smallest effort helps both brain health and general health, too.

While the words “check with your doctor” are not in this book quite as much as they could be, doing so is a good idea before you tackle what’s inside “Reversing Alzheimer’s.” Then, if you’re worried about your memory, make room on your bookshelf for it.