I was speaking to a group of elders interested in end-of-life issues, some of whom are caretakers for people with dementia. They were interested in Alzheimer’s reversal, generally speaking, for some of their clients. After a few general questions, Nan turned to me and said she wanted to get practical, “Given that this is an epidemic we’re all facing, what can we do to avoid dementia?”
While the health details of each individual are unique, it is also true that most healthy people share common habits that I consider essential to creating and sustaining health. At some point in a first appointment, I like to touch on the components I prioritize for creating good health.
How is your brain rejuvenation program going? In the first article here, I described the basic lifestyle habits associated with improved and maintained brain function. Specifically, let’s talk about each step and where to go from here.
You can do a lot for yourself, for your own brain and memory health. You can improve your own memory by attending to clearly identified details of diet, lifestyle choices, and getting serious about some crucial supplements. I’ll divide up your work for you into three separate articles, let’s see where we’re going.
Everything we put in our mouths affects the health of our brains. What we are learning now is that sweets don’t appear to be good for our brains, while healthy fats are good brain food. The story, however, gets much more complex than that.
What Is Known About Parkinson’s DiseaseHealthy Steps: Parkinson’s Disease—First StepsHealthy Steps: Parkinson’s Disease—Full ProgramPreventing Parkinson’s Disease The first signs of something wrong might be as simple as a trembling noticed in your hand, or perhaps a feeling of weakness or stiffness affecting one body part. You might notice that your balance just isn’t what it […]
Your Fitness – for the Metabolically Challenged
“Metabolically Challenged” means that you weigh more than you’d like to and that one or more of the following is true:
What is your level of fitness? Consider your mental, physical, emotional, and even spiritual health – how fit are you? My training did not actually focus on “health” until I first studied Classical Homeopathy over 20 years ago. I realized it was a concept lacking from my professional medical education and found it interesting to consider: how does one define health?
What Is Known About DementiaHealthy Steps: Dementia—First StepsHealthy Steps: Dementia—Full ProgramPreventing DementiaFrom Dr. Deborah’s Desk Updated December 21, 2023 Dementia, or memory loss, is a concern to all of us. We all want to maintain the health of our brains, yet often encounter some degree of confusion and/or denial when we think about how to […]
On a recent Tuesday night, I had to go down into the basement – a dark and dingy combination of crawl space and failed fall out shelter – to get my fluffy comforter and an extra sheet to guard my outdoor tomatoes against that night’s frosty threat.Our house is nicely shaded throughout the summer, keeping our rooms delectably cool on hot nights. Now the shade is already a hindrance – our leather couch cannot be enjoyed without a throw across my lap.
Kristin and I used to run together at least once a week. It started when we both fought fire, and we ran or worked out together every day. That summer we ran in the rain, water sloshing into our mesh running shoes.
Magnesium is a chemical element that chemists refer to by the symbol Mg, but Mg never exists by itself anywhere on the planet. It is embedded in rocks, or molten in earth, or dissolved in seawater.
For people new to meditation, the activity can seem daunting. There are many excellent books, articles and religious traditions that describe different practices of meditation. When people read a book about meditation, many people give up before they start, fearing they will never be able to quiet their mind.
Alzheimer’s disease developed more frequently in French women – aged 76 to 84 – who were consuming less vitamin D in their diet, according to a study to be published soon from the Angers University Hospital Group. The association between vitamin D levels and preserved cognition has been noted before, but this is the first study to follow people prospectively and to assess their dietary vitamin D intake, aside from sun exposure.
Nutritional studies are notoriously difficult to perform with certainty. Nevertheless, each new study result can be compared to what we already know to gauge its worthiness. In this study, known dietary habits were sifted against tested cognitive ability.
Have you ever been challenged to remember what you were just doing, or a name you just learned? As we age, we all suffer some degree of short-term memory loss. Severe memory loss adds untold stress and heartbreak to those impaired as well as their family members.
Meditation classes are thriving, even usurping time from once athletic yoga classes. Meditation is widely acknowledged as a stress reduction technique, and has also been associated with reduced blood pressure and improvements in other physical measures of illness.
Optimism appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, an association that persists after all other confounding factors have been eliminated.
Sugar-sweetened sodas contribute to weight gain, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, gout, coronary artery disease, and strokes as well, in amounts as low as one soda a day. The findings associating soda consumption and strokes are detailed in a study conducted by researchers at Cleveland Clinic’s Wellness Institute and Harvard University.
What Is Known About DepressionHealthy Steps: Depression—First StepsHealthy Steps: Depression—Full ProgramPreventing DepressionFrom Dr. Deborah’s Desk Not to be confused with sadness lingering after a grievous loss, depression arises without apparent cause and drains us of vitality and casts a gloomy pall on everything we experience and do. It makes the simplest tasks seem daunting and […]
Homeopathic remedies make a perfect first aid kit. With twelve simple remedies, you can help yourself or your family members heal from many common injuries and illnesses.
As complex beings, we respond to influences far beyond the simple fuels we put in our mouths. We move for the pure joy of motion and to train ourselves to run a marathon, and each of those actions affects us differently. I encourage you to direct your activities specifically to meet health goals and to pay attention to the effects of your actions.
What Is Known: The True Cause of EczemaHealthy Steps: Eczema—First StepsHealthy Steps: Eczema—Full ProgramPreventing EczemaFrom Dr. Deborah’s Desk Updated December 8, 2012 Scratch, scratch, “don’t scratch!” If you’ve ever wished you could unzip from your old skin and step into a brand-new epidermis for one night just so you could get some sleep, you are […]