"Defeating Dementia" described in detail the three stages of Alzheimer's, studies on the main risk factors that make you more likely to get dementia (sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol), and the things you can do that will greatly decrease your chances of getting dementia (and heart disease) like exercise, eating or avoiding certain foods, and not smoking.

This book was very encouraging. Even though there are no medicines to cure dementia, there are things that you can do in your forties and fifties to help prevent dementia later in life. These behaviors can also slow or stop the progress of the disease once it has been diagnosed. He recommended things like doing more physical movement, like walking or jogging 30 minutes each day for 6 days a week. Avoiding foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol, like red meat, cream, butter, cheese, and fried foods. Eating more fish, fruit, and vegetables. His recommendations were based on studies, and he summarized these studies in terms that non-scientists can easily understand.

However, it was depressing to read snippets throughout the book describing how his mother-in-law descended into dementia. He used the story to illustrate the changes that happen in each stage, but he also appealed to fear to motivate people to make changes. He made a strong case for his recommendations, so I didn't appreciate his using fear as well. Still, I'd highly recommend this book as I think he has good suggestions.