The Steps To Take To Avoid Alzheimer’s & Protect Your Metabolism and Cognition

Counting steps has become all the rage, and a few years ago everyone had their Fitbits or smart-watches counting and calculating their daily number of steps and what that meant. Although the fashionability of it all seems to have died down a bit now, we all know that walking is a great aerobic exercise that is clearly good for us, and it comes without the high impact of running, especially on older joints.
But the key questions remains, how many steps should YOU take for YOUR own needs and condition? It is definitely not a ‘one size fits all’ and it all depends on your age and your overall health profile. However, it does seem bigger is not always better when it comes to distance walked, and the benefits of getting it right are not just an improvement in physical fitness and mobility, but there are also great psychological and brain health benefits, especially if you are able to walk in nature.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, walking 5,000 to 7,500 steps a day is optimal, especially for brain functionality as it slows the buildup of tau, the brain protein linked to Alzheimer’s-related decline. By reducing tau it helps you stay sharper for years longer. In addition, it has been found that older adults with elevated amyloid — a key early Alzheimer’s marker — preserved memory and daily function far better when they consistently reached a moderate step range at around 6,000 steps per day. Even small increases in movement, such as moving from under 3,000 steps to 3,500 to 5,000 per day, delivered meaningful cognitive benefits without requiring intense exercise.
And yes, you can over do it. According to research, high intensity training can push healthy adults into metabolic dysfunction, reducing mitochondrial energy production by about 40% and disrupting blood sugar stability. So, the caution is not to be extreme, but instead to be consistent and slowly increase your number of steps over time to find your personal ‘sweet spot.’ That is where you are getting enough low-impact movement to avoid inactivity without pushing into extreme training. If you can achieve this on a daily basis it will protect both long-term brain health and your daily metabolic balance.

This article uses key highlights from a detailed analysis on walking and brain health by Dr. Joseph Mercola which he published earlier this week. You can read the full original at: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2026/02/10/optimal-exercise-brain-health-metabolism.aspx   We would also recommend subscribing to Dr. Mercola’s excellent substack which includes daily reports and updates.

Other sources include:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03955-6
https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(21)00102-9