This Profession Rarely Gets Alzheimer's--What We Can Learn From Taxi Drivers!

Researchers predict that the current rate of dementia will nearly double to 1 million new cases per year by 2060.

Currently, at age 55 the lifetime risk of dementia—up to age 95—is 42%. Risk stays low from ages 55 to 75 (about 4%) but dramatically increases after 75.

Since we don't know what causes it, we don't know how to prevent it.

Some people play brain games. Doing crossword puzzles mostly just makes you better at doing crossword puzzles.

But the way you use your brain may give us a clue.

There's been an interesting discovery about a practice that might prevent or delay dementia.

Why do taxi drivers rarely get Alzheimer's?

The hippocampus is the first brain structure that starts to deteriorate in Alzheimer's disease, causing poor memory and spatial disorientation. It's the part of your brain responsible for converting short-term memories into long-term ones and forming spatial memories, enabling us to navigate.

Taxi drivers were found to have significantly larger hippocampi. The longer they'd been driving the taxi, the larger the hippocampi. Their hippocampi seemed to be working overtime to keep track of where they were and, like a muscle used frequently, were getting bigger.

Heres what anbsp;study of nearly 9 million peoplenbsp;found

The older you are when you die, the more likely you are to die from Alzheimer’s disease. Age is the major risk factor for the disease.

The dots above the red line are occupations in which people are relatively more likely to die from Alzheimer’s, and the dots below are occupations in which people are less likely to die from Alzheimer’s.

Ambulance drivers, whose occupation requires a lot of spatial work on a day-to-day basis, are here.

The average taxi driver seems to be dying on the young side--maybe due to being sedentary? Still, the Alzheimer’s rate is low. Taxi (and ambulance) drivers are below the curve.

Taxi and ambulance drivers have the lowest adjusted risk for death from Alzheimer’s disease of any of the 443 occupations studied.

Other transportation jobs — bus drivers (red dot), airline pilots (yellow dot), and ship captains (blue dot) — are all middle-of-the-road when it comes to Alzheimer's risk. These jobs generally require navigating predefined routes, which might not give the hippocampus much to do.

When it comes to vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia, taxi and ambulance drivers are on the high side--suggesting that the hippocampus effect is specific to Alzheimer's.

The takeaway.....

I've said many times, "I'm so glad I live in an era that has GPS in my car!" I've always been a little directionally challenged.

Given the information from this research, I'll be trying to rely more on my internal GPS.

Just know that if I'm late, I'm probably lost....??

Recipe Of The Week

Dense Bean Salads

The “dense bean salad” craze began on TikTok--where all the hot trends are happening these days--and quickly went viral. Each video in the creator, Violet Witchel's, “Dense Bean Salads” TikTok playlist has had at least 1 million views.

Beans are nutritious, economical, and a great protein option you can keep easily available in the pantry.

It's pretty simple. Mix up the bean(s) of your choice and add veggies, cheese, and a tasty dressing—no lettuce required.

There are worlds of dense bean salads out there. On a whim, I went to ChatGPT and typed: "Create a dense bean salad that's high in protein and made with ingredients likely to be found on hand."

Looks good! See a couple of Violet Wichel's recipes below. Your only limit is your imagination!

Three-Bean Power Salad

• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• ? cup red onion, finely chopped
• ? cup parsley or cilantro, chopped
• 1 bell pepper (any color), diced
• ? cup feta cheese (optional, for extra flavor & protein)
• ? cup sunflower seeds or chopped almonds (for crunch & extra protein)

Dressing

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (or red wine vinegar)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ? tsp cumin
• ? tsp salt
• ? tsp black pepper

In a large bowl, combine chickpeas, black beans, and kidney beans.

Add cherry tomatoes, red onion, parsley/cilantro, bell pepper, feta (if using), and sunflower seeds.

In a small jar, whisk together all dressing ingredients until well combined.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.

Let sit for at least 15 minutes to absorb flavors, or chill for an hour before serving.

Serves 4 15 g. protein per serving

There are lots of different ways to prepare a dense bean salad. Here are some ideas for inspiration.

Sun-dried Tomato Dense Bean Salad (from Violet's Instagram page)

1 shallot

1 bunch of parsley

1 orange bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 16 oz container of cherry tomatoes

4 basil leaves

6 oz pepperoni

1/2 lb of smoked chipotle chicken

1/2 cup of drained sundried tomatoes

1/2 cup of drained artichoke hearts

1 can of white beans

1 can of chickpeas

1 16 oz container of mini mozzarella balls in water (drained)

For the dressing

2 T. sundried tomato oil

1/4 C. garlic olive oil

1/4 C. red wine vinegar

1 T. Italian seasoning blend

big pinch of sea salt

1 t. Dijon mustard

juice of 1 lemon

Finely mince the shallot. Core and dice the bell peppers. Mince the parsley and basil. Slice the tomatoes in half. Roughly chop the pepperoni and chicken.

Drain the sundried tomato oil off the sundried tomatoes and set it aside. Save about 2 T. of oil to add to the dressing. Roughly chop the drained tomatoes and artichoke hearts.

Rinse and drain the beans and mozzarella balls. Add the shallots, bell peppers, parsley, basil, cherry tomatoes, pepperoni, chicken, beans, and mozzarella to a big bowl.

In a small separate container, mix the sundried tomato oil, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and mustard. I love to use a milk frother to mix the dressing and make it super creamy and smooth. Pour the dressing over the salad mixture and toss till everything is evenly coated in the dressing.

"I love to eat this in a warmed-up wrap. It makes about 5 servings and keeps in the fridge for about 4 days!"

Green Goddess Dense Bean Salad

• 1 can white beans
• 1 can garbanzos/chickpeas ·
• 4 cups chopped Persian cucumbers ·
• 1 bunch of radishes diced ·
• 2 cups of cabbage diced ·
• 2 diced bell peppers ·
• 1 bunch of minced dill ·
• 1 bunch of minced chives ·
• 1 jalepeno, cored ·
• The juice of 2 limes ·
• 1/2 a cup of avocado oil ·
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar ·
• 1 tsp tarragon (or dijon) mustard ·
• 1 tsp sea salt ·
• 1 tsp garlic powder ·
• 2 avocados

Rinse and drain the beans. Add rinsed beans, chopped cucumber, diced radish, chopped cabbage, and diced bell pepper to a large bowl.

Add half of the dill and chives to a blender with the jalapeno, lime juice, avocado oil, vinegar, mustard, sea salt, and garlic powder. Blend on high till creamy and green.

Cube the avocados and add them to the bowl along with the remaining minced dill and chives. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently till everything is coated. Serve cold and enjoy!

Witchel recently sang the praises of this recipe after having one for breakfast. “It was a blended herb dressing with crunchy vegetables, white beans, and chickpeas. It’s really good, and you can eat it on the side of stuff, too.”

Thanks to the vinegar in most of these recipes, they keep well--in fact, the taste improves over a couple of days.

Add that to the ease of making these salads and you'll have weekend meal prep that's a snap!

Susan

P. S. Next week is Bring a Buddy week--and Valentine's Day! Share the love by bringing your friends to TrainSmarter for a free training session and InBody scan!