Hello again everyone: As we start this new decade with resolutions and new hope for a healthy and safe future, it is important to realize that the quality of our future depends largely on what we do now. This is especially true of our brain health. As it turns out, things that raise our blood sugar can really destroy our brain. Take a look: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091302219300317?via%3Dihub The authors state: “Particular attention is directed at characterizing how normal but elevated blood glucose levels in individuals without Type 2 Diabetes contribute to neurodegenerative processes, and how the main risk factors for T2D including obesity, physical activity and diet modulate these effects.” Key Points: “Higher normal” blood glucose levels ... Read more

Hello Everyone: Here is an article that shows that when eating was restricted to a 10-hour window, people in a pre-diabetic state improved significantly even when they did not eat great quality of food and did not limit their calories. These authors chose people with ‘metabolic syndrome’, which is a collection of bodily malfunctions frequently seen together and include: high blood pressure; increased abdominal fat; elevated cholesterol; low levels of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol; high fasting blood sugar; high triglycerides. These combined risk factors are known to contribute to heart disease, diabetes, dementia and many more illnesses and conditions. When someone has 3 or more of these conditions, they are said to have ‘metabolic syndrome’. The study revealed amazing benefits from simply consuming all of their daily food in a 10-hour window. Please read this study summary: Read more

Hello everyone: Often times people want to start the New Year off with a detox…clear out all of the debris from 2019 and move on into a healthier 2020. One component of a detox is to look at all aspects of our lifestyle and remove toxic elements. Today, I will focus on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDC). These are chemicals in the environment that alter our hormonal balance, and not in a good way. Most of these come from plastics, so take a look at this new article from Medpage: Read more

Hello Everyone: To start the New Year, I am continuing on last week’s theme about food/diet, and how food is medicine and can significantly support or ruin your health. Here is how to support your health: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327046.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_country=US&utm_hcp=no&apid=&utm_campaign=MNT%20Weekly%20News%202019-11-20&utm_term=MNT%20Weekly%20News#1 This is a great article with links to how to start a Mediterranean Diet approach and more. One of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself and loved ones is to eat in such a way that will not only improve your brain ... Read more

Hello Everyone: As a present for everyone, I want to pass on a bit of knowledge that if you put it to use, can increase your health substantially and for some of us, it may save our life or at least add healthy years to it. Please read the following short article, it is just several pages long and an easy and uncomplicated article to read…plus…it is important: Read more

Hello Everyone: Here is more great info on how food impacts our brain health and our ability to avoid dementia. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2293082 Conclusions and Relevance: In an older population, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil or nuts was associated with improved composite measures of cognitive function. While this study looked at our older population, the same holds true for any age. But what is the real traditional Mediterranean Diet? Mediterranean Diet? • The more traditional Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) associated with health improvements is characterized by: - Limited intake of animal-derived and processed foods - Consumption of a variety of plant-based foods (fruit, vegetables, some breads, and other whole-    grain cereals, pulses, nuts, and seeds), wine, and ... Read more

Hello everyone: This is the last of this series, and the science shows that the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) does indeed damage the brain: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666312005144 Their premise is simple: “Animal work over the last three decades has generated a convincing body of evidence that a Western diet – one high in saturated fat and refined carbohydrates (HFS diet) – can damage various brain systems. In this review we examine whether there is evidence for this in humans, using converging lines of evidence from neuropsychological, epidemiological and neuroimaging data.” And what did they conclude: ► This review examines the impact of HFS diets on the human brain. ► HFS diets impair several aspects of cognition and damage associated brain areas. ► HFS diets may cause such damage via several established mechanisms. ► HFS ... Read more

Hello again everyone: Our brain is a sensory-based organ, and that means that it requires environmental stimulation through the senses in order to function properly and optimally. We have 5 senses that deliver a constant stream of information to our brain that give the central nervous system the information that it requires to control, coordinate and regulate all of our systems to keep us healthy. As it turns out, the only constant stimulation to our brain is…well…it is NOT seeing, hearing, taste, smell or touch…but it is the constant stimulation from gravity that gives our brain a baseline level of excitation. Gravity is a major brain food, and a lack of stimulation to our gravity sensing systems that results from sitting and other sedentary activities has a significant negative impact on all of our brain functions, from cognitive abilities to mood control and memory. The hippocampus ... Read more