Working on improving health (gut, brain, or otherwise) means more than just eating well.
Yes, food is an incredible maker or breaker of health. I mean, let’s look at the Standard American Diet… and how it has contributed to the Standard American disease (including Alzheimer’s).
But there is more to it than just food.
When I was young, I believed that my mother who ate organic food and loved to walk would never develop any sort of disease. However, she developed ovarian cancer and Alzheimer’s.
I fully appreciate that she did the best that she could with what she knew.
But when I reflect on how she ate and lived, knowing what I know now, I can see the contributing factors to her getting sick:
she ate organic, but it included lots of carbs and packaged foods, and not much variety
she struggled with constipation
she had many a sleepless night
she walked her dog but did no other physical exercise…no cardio, no strength-training
she did nothing to challenge herself…in fact, she took early retirement and downsized everything
she did not like to play games or socialize
she read fiction but not non-fiction, and so did not actively acquire new knowledge
she did not try to learn new skills (although she did try her hand at rug hooking, which she seemed to enjoy and was rather good at, but it didn’t last)
AND
she endured decades of stress (working in a job for 30 years that she didn’t like…raising me as a single mom from shortly after I was born…financial stresses…emotional stresses…familial stresses…then health stresses).
Growing up, I never really thought about how my mother managed her stress, but here is how I feel she did it.
At the end of her day, she would have a drink…rye and ginger ale. She also sat in front of the TV, every night. That’s it. These are probably the two most common coping mechanisms, and perhaps they work on some level, but they are not promoters of good health.
Stress management is a crucial component of nurturing a healthy brain. The negative effects of ongoing stress and stress hormones on cognition and the physical brain are well-studied.
But we can do a lot to manage our stress and being mindful is a great one…it is free, and we can take it and do it anywhere.
Being ‘mindful’ means we are focussed on the task at hand; we are fully ‘in the moment’. When we are fully in the moment, there is no room for dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
There are plenty of activities that we can do, which, if done right, puts us fully ‘in the moment’.
Below are some examples of specific activities, and while each comes with its own unique set of brainy benefits (which I will get into in subsequent issues), each lends itself very well to mindfulness, and so carries the potential for stress management.
There are many many things we can do to help lower our risk of developing Alzheimer's, and stress management is only one. So, try spending more time ‘in the moment’, and experience the wondrous benefits.
References
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