I am worried about OUR BLOOD SUGAR! 

Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is key to vitality, energy, and well-being. It has far-reaching effects on our health, emotions, mental stability, and ability to heal. Blood sugar is greatly affected by the foods you eat and the carbohydrates they contain. But keeping a proper blood sugar balance is a constant challenge in this culture of carb-laden convenience foods, fast food, and addictive foods. We all need carbohydrates, but most of us eat far more than the body can cope with efficiently. This can put us on the path to weight gain, diabetes, and dementia. We don’t have control over our genes, and have limited control over our environment. But we do have control over our daily food choices. 

Women's History Month theme for 2024 is established by The National Women’s History Alliance and entitled: "Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion." The theme recognizes women throughout the country who understand that, for a positive future, we need to eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our lives and institutions.

I am worried about your sexual health!

When was the last time your doctor asked you about your sexual health? Most likely never because in medical school we never learned how to talk about sex, so we didn’t. Sexual health has been taboo in our culture, and in our homes, but thankfully it is returning to be a ‘hot’🔥topic in health. 

10 years ago an important study out of UCLA showed not only the improvement but the reversal of cognitive decline. Yes, I said reversal of cognitive decline. In 2016 there was a follow up report on 9 of those patients who continued their improvement. Many who were struggling at work could return, and their performance on cognitive testing such as the MoCa (Montreal Cognitive Test) reflected this. By 2018, another study followed with 100 people using the same multimodal approach.

What a year it has been! We have learned many ways to prevent AD and begin better steps toward health. There are 6 million people with AD in the US and the numbers are expected to triple by 2050. It’s up to all of us as citizen scientists to focus on our health and spread the word about actions we are taking to reduce AD. 

I’m celebrating this year along with our steep learning curve of subjects and the takeaways for improving brain health.

I sit to write this November BBH (BrainBodyHealth) Newsletter as the events unfolding in Palestine and Israel weigh heavily on my heart. How can I write about brain health at a time when so many are suffering? 

When I think about the current wars in Israel and Palestine, Ukraine, and the many other armed conflicts around the world (there are 110), my mind turns to the effects wars are having on not only our lives but our brains. War destroys health care systems, social order, displaces families and populations, placing tremendous stress on our brains.

Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) likely affects more than 6 million people in the U.S. and more than 55 million people worldwide.

AD starts 20 to 30 years before symptoms begin, yet we are hardly bringing this to the attention of our 30-40-year-old population. Refocusing our efforts on emphasizing PREVENTION and PRECISION MEDICINE is the paradigm shift we need.

Many of us recall childhood summers filled with lots of free time to play, explore, or just hang with friends. With school out and 3 months off it felt like true freedom. That’s what I have been exploring lately… this feeling of ease and freedom. 

Despite feeling my Alzheimer’s Disease susceptibility clock ticking away as I enter my 70th year of life, I am touched, moved, and inspired by the conversations I am witnessing with people around the world, who want to do everything they can to prevent AD. We are the ones who are shifting the curve from fear to knowledge toward power and action.

In the May issue of BBH, I discussed genetic testing (GT) and how it led me to the APOE 4 gene connecting the dots of our family’s AD susceptibility. The BBH Program and this letter stemmed from the outgrowth of that testing. There is a backstory to GT related to this month’s topic on psychedelic medicine. It began with my waning enthusiasm for psychiatry and a one size fits all medication approach.

Somewhere around my 62nd birthday, I had a health emergent crisis aka a nervous breakdown. Until that time, I hadn’t thought much about Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). It was 2015 and my mother had just been diagnosed. One day I looked in the mirror and there was my great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother staring back at me. I thought…they all had AD. Did that mean I was going to get it too?

Since we know aging is the #1 risk of AD, I was excited to dig into Peter Attia’s new book, “Outlive, The Science and Art of Longevity”. In it, he sends a trumpet call to start taking health seriously, the sooner the better, challenging our binary thinking about health, illness, and aging. Utilizing batteries of tests to determine neurological, genetic, and physiological health, this is precision medicine at its best doing what it is supposed to do; zero in on what diseases we are the greatest risk for and develop an effective strategy to reduce them.

Spring has sprung in Mendocino County! Magnolias, plums daffodils, and calendulas are showing off their true colors. Like seasons, life’s challenges change similarly leading us to trust in the joy of it all unfolding in a remarkable way. The recent equinox where light and dark are held in perfect alignment may act as a reminder to bring greater balance into our lives with infusions of Vitamins J, F, and L (Joy, Fun, and Laughter).

With many loved ones coming into perimenopausal (PM) age and so much information coming out about why 2/3rds of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) population are women, it’s a good time to talk about the chemical messengers that influence every part of the brain and body. I’m talking about testosterone in men and estrogen with progesterone in women.

Energy is defined as the ability and strength to do active physical things and the feeling that you are full of physical power and life. Maybe you’ve noticed as I have, that your energy level is not what it used to be. Our body's energy is created by specialized organelles called mitochondria in the form of ATP (Adenosine triphosphate), which are in every single cell of our body.

As I look over the 2022 newsletters and review your feedback, I am filled with gratitude. When I started BBH Newsletter, I wasn’t sure if anyone was interested in reading about preventing dementia but you dear readers have proved me wrong. As I talk with you on the streets or during our coaching sessions, your thoughtful questions keep me writing and researching.

What do AD (Alzheimer’s Disease) and Cancer have in common - it turns out a lot. Since we had our prostate cancer awakening this year (see BBH July newsletter) hubby Jim and I have been learning many interesting facts about how AD and Cancer are hitched together. For instance, in the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death with cancer and Alzheimer’s disease following closely in the top ten.

With Shakespeare’s plays and all good books, there is an introduction, plot, and conclusion, artfully woven with characters, conflict, and resolution. In the story of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), we often find the focus on the introduction and plot, how to prevent this terrible disease from happening and what to do when it starts. There has been less information on how to face the later years of dementia, maybe because we’d rather hide and avoid the pain altogether. 

Sometimes, when I’m reading the news and studies about Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), I feel like I’m in the middle of a detective novel or playing the family board game ‘Clue’. If only we could solve the mystery and find a cure. Or better yet if we could prevent the crime or stop AD, dead in its tracks from fast becoming the crime of this century. If you ever have played ‘Clue’, join me in the 3 questions as we explore this complicated and perplexing mystery of AD as we wait for Sherlock Holmes to be reincarnated.

My mission to be the first woman in my family NOT to develop Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in 4 generations, has led me on an important journey often leaving me with more questions than answers. Since learning of my risks of AD, one of the central questions has been: what practices are best to ensure we keep our brains healthy as possible.