December 2023 Newsletter | 2023 Lessons Learned
My mission is to be the first woman in 4 generations to not develop Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). On my journey of discovering ways to mitigate my risk, I pass this information on to you in this Brain-Body-Health (BBH) Newsletter.
Hello BBH Citizen Scientists!
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. Have you had your Ah-Ha moment of what you need to do for your brain health? Together, we are becoming brain health citizen scientists empowering each other with knowledge about AD risks. We are aware that everyone is at risk of AD, no matter what age. Therefore we are committed to making prevention, early detection, and intervention our priorities, as you can read in the September 2023 BBH.
We’ve learned how mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a misnomer.
There is no mild form of memory impairment. Cognitive impairment needs to be treated as a serious problem with root causes. Like cancer, it can metastasize if untreated.
Brain health is a marker of your overall health.
In May BBH news we became familiar with the pros and cons of genetic testing for the APOE 4 gene and many of you have proceeded with testing. In April BBH news we made the connection between brain health and heart health focusing on biomarkers that portend risk for the ‘4 Deadly Horsemen’ Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD), Cancer, Neurodegenerative Diseases (NDD), and Type 2 Diabetes. We recognize that many chronic diseases have insulin resistance as a common denominator underpinning the importance of checking glucose and insulin levels regularly, adhering to a lower carbohydrate diet, and lower glycemic foods to reduce our risk of insulin spikes that co-contribute to AD. We’ve talked about ‘dressing our carbs’ when we do reach for high glycemic food by adding nuts, fiber, or vinegar/lemon to slow the passage through the gut and reduce those spikes that lead to inflammation.
Readers are asking their primary care providers for tests that target their risk for AD including an APOB ( cardiac inflammatory factor), Lipoprotein (a) (inherited inflammatory factor), homocysteine, Vitamin B12, fasting insulin, and Vit D.
Since you’ve been reading you understand why our optimal health and AD prevention is all about the Brain-Body-Health connection.
The January BBH news discussed brain energy and our cellular batteries called mitochondria which are implicated in worsening metabolic health leading to neurodegenerative diseases and mental illness. Exercise improves our mitochondria which we addressed in Smarter Maybe Not Harder, BBH news in August. We’ve focused on SLEDSSS in keeping with the recommendation by American Cancer Society and American Medical Association to create 150 - 300 minutes of aerobic exercise/week. Delving into our metabolic health we discovered that cancer and AD are related in BBH April news. Knowing exercise reduces AD, ASCVD, cancer, and diabetes how have you been with fitting exercise into your weekly schedule? Write me about how you are fitting this into your weekly schedule.
Remember we talked about Vitamins J, F, and L (Joy, Fun, and Laughter) back in March?
Is there anywhere you can inject some J, F, L Vits into your life?
BBH February news was devoted to how hormones play an important role in our overall health. With women making up 2/3rds of persons with AD, research is pointing to the time around menopause as having a role in AD. This is particularly true for carriers of the APOE4.
Finally, in last month's BBH November news we explored epigenetics factors and intergenerational trauma and how it affects our progeny even if they never saw a battlefield. As citizen scientists for brain health, we understand the devastating effects of war.
Like many of you, our hearts are breaking from the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli bombing and genocide of Gaza. This newsletter was the most read and responded in 2023. One reader sent me this article from Buddhist teacher, Tara Brach, which I resonated with and maybe you will too. I’m inspired by A Land for All, an Israeli and Palestinian organization focused on finding solutions to the current conflict. Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, part of our extended family, has been lending his unique perspective in producing articles and opinion pieces, one of which appeared last week in the Wall Street Journal "Hamas Sees Peace as Weakness" and this Bay Area radio station interview.
LESSONS FROM COACHING:
One of the most rewarding parts of BBH is the coaching sessions with clients and families. This year BBH is fielding a wide range of services related to AD. From prevention to interventions to End-Of-Life (EOL) planning and advanced directive information, I hope to help you navigate the world of AD with a bit more ease.
Here are a few examples of questions and resources:
Hormone management - How do I find a practitioner who will prescribe and monitor bio-identical hormone treatment? February BBH 2023
Where to begin when someone I know has a memory impairment? October BBH 2023
How to initiate genetic testing and where? May BBH 2023
When to tell it’s time to retire from driving? October BBH 2023
What is Intergenerational Trauma and how does it develop? November BBH 2023
Getting clear about your End of Life wishes is important.
Learning of my genetic risk and family history of AD, I knew I had to make my EOL wishes clear with my family. Like the vast majority of human beings, I don’t want to linger for years without having my full cognitive capacity (see the September BBH 2022). There are current laws in 10 states allowing for physician-assisted dying only with a ‘terminal diagnosis’ that will result in death in 6 months. Unfortunately, dementia is not considered to be terminal because of its long timeline.
LESSON FROM SCIENCE:
I encourage everyone who knows someone struggling with their memory or is concerned about it themselves to view this inspiring documentary, Memories for Life - Reversing Alzheimer's. The stars of this film are the courageous patients who followed the precision medicine protocol, ReCode, and recovered their memory, their lives, and generously shared their stories!
The film had its West Coast premiere in November in association with the Mill Valley Film Festival and the California Film Institute. The movie is now available to rent or purchase.
Some of you have asked about donations for Gaza here is Ahmed’s list: The links are specific to the Gaza emergency and ensure your funds go towards that particular purpose
World Food Program USA — providing emergency food supplies to prevent starvation
UNICEF USA — providing support and supplies to assist children's needs
Save the Children — providing water and basic critical humanitarian supplies
UNRWA USA — the organization on the ground with the most significant logistical network to facilitate the distribution of U.N. aid
Mercy-USA — partnering with UNRWA to provide food and critical humanitarian supplies
Oxfam America — getting ready to send supplies to southern Gaza
In the spirit of the holidays, I want to express my gratitude for your interest in BBH and the connection created by this. Your interest inspires me in turn. I hope to inspire you as BBH citizen scientists to take action reclaiming your health by learning and asking questions. I wish you and yours a healthy, peaceful, and stress-free holiday season!
To our optimized health!
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- African proverb
To our optimized health!