My mission with BBH has been to save every brain cell I can grow new ones in the process, and provide you with information to navigate towards preventing dementia. I want to be the first daughter in four generations of my family to not be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD)! (See APOE4 Betty’s family AD story). I believe the healthier I am in mind, body, and spirit, the greater chance I have of preventing AD.

The pillars of BrainBodyHealth use the acronym SLEDS to describe the importance of sleep, learning, exercise, diet, socialization, and stress awareness. Last but not least, stress wakes us up to life’s challenges while at the same time providing access to antidotes within our very own body to alleviate its surge. The remedies I am referring to, breath and movement, are rooted in ancient practices to help calm the nervous system and enter a meditative state. Wendy Suzuki a neuroscientist modifies these breath and movement techniques making them applicable in our daily lives.

I didn’t plan to write about trauma this month, but the events of the world certainly changed that. Like me, I’m sure you have had Ukraine and Russia on your minds and hearts these past few weeks. I decided any discussion about BBH health needs to include the devastating effects war and resulting trauma has on all people especially women, children, and the subsequent generational trauma that informs conflict on a collective level. Here is an article from Lancet expanding on the humanitarian crisis war has on all of us.

I will break down the chain of information overload and provide you with current relevant information on brain body health issues including Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), research, literature, and best practices. Together with science-based practices and my own personal journey to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease, this newsletter will help foster your own journey and loved ones towards better brain health. Let’s get better together.