welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

my story revisited #129-good for heart good for brain

MY STORY REVISITED #129-GOOD FOR HEART GOOD FOR BRAIN

i have said this many times and read it many times
whats good for the heart is good for the brain
it was true in 2014 when i wrote it
it will be true in 2024 when i write it again

these are the good things to do protect your heart

control your blood pressure
control your cholesterol 
eat a healthy diet might i suggest the mind diet
control your weight
control your blood sugar
dont smoke 
limit your alcohol intake
control stress and anxiety 
get an adequate sleep

do those things
and
you will definitely help your brain

these all are easy to do and within the reach of all of us

your brain your memories depend on a healthy heart

it seems its important to do these things when you are young
its even better to do them all your life

no matter what drug gets developed to treat alzheimers 
these healthy things above will be the mainstay in prevention

this week i did a zoom interview with a journalist from the financial times as part of an article that he is writing about aduhelm and alzheimers disease
it should be published sometime in mid april
ill post the link when its shows online

i will have my next aduhelm infusion next week at ucla
thats number 15 of the real drug 
so far so good
__________
04-04-2014
HEALTHY HEART HEALTHY BRAIN
those things you do to make your heart healthy it appears
will make your brain much more healthy as you get older

of course
you have to start doing this when you are younger
pre grey hair it seems
to be most effective

oh she had hardening of the arteries when she got old is what
i heard

i heard that a lot when i was in practice
an explanation for dementia in a loved one
once pooh poohed by medical folks but now it may actually be
true

if you do anything to decrease the size of the blood supply to the
brain cells they will start to die
be it ruptured vessels cholesterol buildup blood clots
whatever causes the cells to not get blood and by not getting blood
they dont get nutrition
this can also induce the accumulation of beta amyloid then later
tau protein and the cascading events you see with alzheimers disease
sorry to say this accumulation starts early in life

in a recent study from ucsf young folks were followed over 25 years
from their 20s into their 40s and 50s monitoring their blood pressure
cholesterol and diabetes

these 3 thing are shown to be the culprits in the development of
atherosclerosis a big word meaning cholesterol buildup in the arteries that
restricts blood flow
eg in regards to the heart you can get a heart attack and or a stroke


those young folks we now call millennials who had abnormal levels
of all 3 of these
and
we are talking about levels slightly higher than normal
they did not do as well on cognitive tests (memory tests) when
they got to their 40s and 50s which are the tail end of the baby boomers

these 3 things blood pressure cholesterol diabetes are so easy to control
many times without medicine
but im sorry to say
its with
diet a mediterranean diet veggies fruits olive oil fish lean meats

red wine nuts
with exercise get off the couch and walk some each day
with medications if they are needed

as those of us who keep up with alzheimers research know that
this process does all start when folks are young
yes maybe all their lives or in the 20s 30s
by the 40s its all sped up
by the 50s irreparable damage may be done already
it may be too late to stop the cascade of events at that age

so
stop if you are a millennial and get moving
so you will remember how to text how to use your iphone
how to use all your electronic gear when you get older

take a look at your kids your grandkids nephews nieces and
other loved ones
especially those who are worried they will get the dreaded a disease
alzheimers disease

get them moving
make them eat correctly
maintain a normal weight
check baseline cholesterol
check their blood pressure yes kids will get high blood pressure
and it needs treated
 
it may be the best gift you can give them
if you do maybe they will remember the gift and you when they get older

their future memory is in your hands
__________
do these healthy things starting in your childhood
so you can retain your memories as long as possible

the organicgreen doctor

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