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IFCF supports Alzheimer’s Research UK’s ‘Think Brain Health’ Campaign

IFCF are proud to be supporting Alzheimer’s Research UK’s (ARUK) ‘Think Brain Health’ Campaign. The campaign encouraged people to get thinking about their brain health and educate on the steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting dementia.

Many people think dementia is an inevitable part of getting older, but it isn’t.

While there are risk factors for dementia that we can’t control, such as our age and genetics, there are things we can do to reduce our risk. The latest research suggests that up to 40% of all cases of dementia are linked to factors we may be able to influence ourselves.

Thanks to this research, we now know we can help to reduce our risk of developing dementia in later life by keeping our brains healthy.

There are lots of ways to look after your brain, but here are three simple rules from our charity partner, ARUK.

1. Love your heart. What’s good for your heart is good for your brain! You probably know that cutting out smoking, being physically active and eating a balanced diet will help lower your risk of heart disease – but you might not realise you’ll be helping reduce your risk of dementia too.
2. Keep connected socially. Research suggests that social isolation is linked to an increased risk of dementia. Being socially active can help us feel happier, healthier and more positive in general so we should all make sure we proactively keep connected socially – whether that’s picking up the phone, meeting friends for a coffee, joining community groups, or jumping onto Zoom for a catch-up.
3. Stay sharp by challenging your brain. A study of people over 65 in China showed that those who more regularly read books and newspapers, played board games or card games had a lower risk of dementia. It’s not yet clear which specific activities are most beneficial for our brains, so the key is to challenge your brain by doing things you enjoy, whether that’s reading, playing board games, art, learning a new language or something completely different!

All Iceland stores promoted the campaign with labels on all fruit grocery foods with a QR code diverting them to ARUK’s campaign to raise awareness of brain health during the month of September. In partnership with this, ARUK produced an e-learning course for Iceland colleagues to help their colleagues learn more about keeping our brains healthy

To find out more about the campaign and test your own brain health please visit – Think Brain Health – Alzheimer’s Research UK (alzheimersresearchuk.org)