Don’t roll your eyes at me for writing this, but thank me, instead!
And please read it and implement as many as you can.
Don’t just roll your eyes at “another healthy -lifestyle advice – who even reads this stuff??? And go on living your life as our culture conditions us to live. Which means eating too much of the wrong stuff, constantly worrying about all kinds of things that keep coming at us from all directions, being stressed during the day at your job, and at night—becoming a couch potato, binge watching one television series after another, ignoring your passions, only getting in touch with people through your phone.
(I know that’s probably not you, but most of us are guilty of many wrongdoings against our bodies.) 🙁
We all want to stay sharp, enjoy life to the fullest, and savor every moment. So, why not take action now? Trust me; this could be a game-changer for your life.
Do you want to sharp, enjoy life to the fullest, and savor every moment? I’m sure you do – so JUST DO IT, OKAY??
Trust me; this could be a game-changer for your life.
13 Things you can do to prevent mental decline (and a whole lot of other problems):
- Eat a healthy diet (of course!). This means eating foods rich with vitamins and antioxidants. Leafy greens, vegetables, mushrooms, nuts and seeds, fruits, beans, plant protein foods, such as tofu, whole grains (limited, if you’re trying to lose weight, plus, be cautious of gluten). (Notice that I don’t mention fish, and if you’re already plant-based or vegan—this is obvious for you, and if not, I will write another article about it as it may require more explanation.) And of course, green smoothies are great, so check out these 6 Recipes for Healthy Brain.
- Supplementing your diet with certain important nutrients is a must, in my opinion, and in the opinion of doctors, such as Dr. Joel Fuhrman. He recommends at minimum DHAs from clean, plant-based sources (i.e., algae, which BTW is where fish get them as well, so let’s stop depleting our oceans and eating sea creatures’ bodies that contain more toxins than we know). THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT FOR VEGANS. Plus, vitamin B12, D, and maybe others.
- Get Moving (duh!): Regular exercise is a no-brainer (pun intended). Vigorous physical activity gets the blood pumping to your brain, improving oxygenation and overall brain function. Physical activity is good for your brain health because it improves blood flow, cognitive function, memory, and emotional balance. Physical activity can be any moderate-to-vigorous activity that gets your heart rate up and your sweat flowing. Aerobic exercises, such as running, jogging, biking, swimming, or dancing, are fantastic for your brain.
- Live your life with purpose and passion. This is super important as it reduces stress and makes your life worth living. It makes me sad to watch my mom, who pretty much lacks those things, so she focuses on things that make her feel depressed, such as how old she is getting and her deteriorating mental health.
- Challenge yourself mentally. Keep your mind active by playing games, puzzles, and other types of brain training.
- Make a special effort to pay attention and concentrate.
- Get better organized to reduce the need to remember things.
- Socialize. Maintain meaningful relationships with people in the real world.
- Reduce stress. Learn and practice relaxation techniques, meditation, yoga, or other things.
- Get quality sleep.
- Stay away from drugs, alcohol, and smoking.
- Maintain healthy environment – this we may not be able to control, but, for example, all kinds of toxins, mold, pesticides, herbicides, etc. – we can try to avoid them as much as possible.
- Take care of problems before they arise or early on by testing yourself regularly. (If you want to learn which tests are good to have done, read the whole article here.)
So, there you go.
You may be disappointed.
Just, same-o, same-o.
No new discoveries for miracle pills that you can gulp down and be on your way to doing what our culture conditions us to do—which is overeating the wrong things, constantly worrying about all kinds of things that keep coming at us from all directions, being stressed during the day at your day job, and at night—becoming a couch potato binge watching one television series after another, ignoring your passions, only getting in touch with people through your phone.
Our culture has a knack for conditioning us to live in ways that aren’t always kind to our bodies and minds. But we don’t have to!
But, really, we need to be DEAD SERIOUS about this thing, or it will come back and hurt us in unimaginable ways.
Can you imagine yourself losing memory?
Not being able to express yourself?
Losing touch with the present?
Getting confused and scared?
Not being able to recognize your loved ones?
THIS STUFF really scares me even from a distance and it now becomes even more real as I watch what’s happening to my mom. (She is 80 years old right now and doesn’t have all these symptoms, but who knows what will happen in a year or two.)
Let me repeat the statistics: Almost two out of three Americans experience some level of cognitive impairment at an average age of approximately 70 years. For dementia, lifetime risk for women (men) is 37% (24%) and mean age at onset 83 (79) years. Mar 31, 2020. It’s estimated that about 50% of people age 85 and older have dementia. (Link to the source in the notes).
So, it’s always good to give yourself a reminder and a little nudge.
(Although if you need a good kick in the butt, I am just giving you one, remotely! Can you feel it?)
Till the next time,
Joanna
PS.
I am not a doctor and don’t give medical advice, but some of the tests I’ve seen are being recommended and I’m planning to do most of them soon are:
- Homocysteine
- Hemoglobin A1c, Fasting Insulin
- Lipid Panel: Total Cholesterol, HDL, Triglycerides, LDL, Cholesterol/HDL Ratio, Non-HDL Cholesterol
- Complete Metabolic Panel: Albumin, A/G Ratio, ALT, AST, BUN/Creatinine Ratio, Calcium,
- Creatinine, Globulin, Glucose, Potassium
- Complete Blood Count: White Blood Cell and Platelet
- Hs-CRP (high sensitivity C-reactive protein)
- Hormone status: Estradiol, DHEA-S, Total Testosterone, Free T3, Reverse T3, Free T4, TSH,
- Progesterone, Cortisol
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin B12, Folate
- Vitamin E (Vitamin A, E, b-carotenold Panel)
- Heavy Metals Panel: (Hg, Pb, As)
- Serum Zinc and Serum Copper (Total)
- Ferritin
- RBC Mg
- MMP9
