What’s the most important part of your health? Diet? Exercise? Yes, they are Important but the MOST important is your brain health.
When it comes to health, many of us immediately turn to things like weight, cholesterol level, risk of cancer, blood sugar level, our heart, and we just forget about brain health.
It’s probably because those other components are easier to grasp. We can physically SEE them and they are tangible to us, while we don’t know what is really going on inside our brains.
But here is the key point: when you put your brain first, all of your other health concerns fall into place. The brain is ground zero. It’s your foundation.
Don’t forget that your brain is what makes you, it determines your quality of life. Without a healthy brain, you cannot make a healthy decision.
When we have brain health, only then comes a healthy body, weight, heart, and so on. When our brain is functioning at its peak, we have a stronger sense of confidence, a more solid financial future, and heightened overall happiness.
Want to prevent Alzheimer’s, dementia, and cognitive decline? Focus on brain health.
Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60 to 80% of dementia cases, and affects one in nine Americans age sixty-five and older, and is the sixth leading cause of death in the USA. Nearly 6 million people are living with this disease in the USA.
If those numbers scare you, I understand. How can you make sure your brain is functioning at the right capacity?
Let me walk you through the self-assessment. This will give you where you are now with your brain health, and work towards making it better, so your overall quality of life is better as we age.
- Do You suffer from any brain-related ailment now, or have you been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment?
- Do you avoid strenuous exercise?
- Do you sit most of the day?
- Are you a woman?
- Have been diagnosed with cardiovascular (Heart) disease?
- Are you overweight or obese?
- Do you have any metabolic disorders like high blood pressure, insulin resistance, diabetes, and high cholesterol?
- Have you ever been diagnosed with an infection that can lead to chronic inflammation and can have neurological effects? (Like Lyme disease, herpes, syphilis).
- Are you on medication with known possible brain effects, like antidepressants, antianxiety, blood pressure, statins for cholesterol, proton pump inhibitors for acid reflux like Prilosec, or antihistamines?
- Have had a brain injury, suffered from head trauma impact by accident, or playing an impact sport? Have you been diagnosed with a concussion?
- Do you smoke or have a history of smoking?
- Do you have a history of depression?
- Do you lack social engagements with others?
- Did your years of formal education end at high school or earlier?
- Is your diet filled with highly processed sugary and fatty foods, or low in whole grains, nuts, olive oil, and fresh fruits and vegetables?
- Do you live with chronic, unrelenting stress?
- Do you have a history of alcohol abuse?
- Do you suffer from a sleep disorder (like insomnia, sleep apnea) or poor sleep on a regular basis?
- Do you have hearing loss?
- Does your day lack cognitive challenges in the form of learning something new or playing a game that requires a lot of thinking?
- Does your job lack complex work with people in the form of persuasion, mentoring, instruction, or supervision?
- Are you over 65 years old?
- Does Alzheimer’s run in your family or have you been diagnosed with carrying the Alzheimer’s gene variant APOE3 OR APOE4, or both?
- Do you care for someone who suffers from some forms of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease included?
If you answered yes to five or more questions, then your brain could be in decline or may be soon, and you can benefit from the information from the book written by Dr. Sanjay Gupta “ Keep Sharp.”
This book isn’t just about avoiding disease. It is about making your brain as sharp as it can be at any age.
I talk a lot about lowering your risk for Dementia in a recent blog post that you can find here. I am a good student at learning all about various aspects of health. We need to improve the quality of our lives. My passion is to be a resourceful source of information so I can coach, consult and guide one person and one group at a time to make a meaningful impact.
Do you want more information on various aspects of your health? Please visit my YouTube channel or my blog for more information and resources on various aspects of health.
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If you are looking for more personalized information, set up a free 1:1 consultation with me here.