One of the greatest impediments to good health, is procrastination, but this might help!
Most if not all researchers and practitioners in the health care field, are of the opinion that if we were just a bit more “proactive” in taking better care of our body and brain, they could serve us much better much longer.
Last October, another clinical trial of the impact of diet and various activities on dementia, called the Evanthea Trial, was completed by Dale Bredesen, M.D. and teams from six sites around the country.
A comparison of the effect sizes (how much impact the treatment had) between this trial and other recent Alzheimer’s drugs showed this approach had – 6.5 times the effect size of the Leqembi [drug] study, and 3.5 times the effect size of Kisunla [another new drug] study.
Which led Dr. Bredesen to reaffirm “there is now an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease at the pre-symptomatic stage, Subjective impairment, Mild cognitive impairment, and early dementia stage, for those who do not wait until late — so please encourage everyone with any cognitive symptoms or family history of dementia not to wait, since so much can now be done to help.” [By "effective treatment" he means people improved, got better! See Arresting Alzheimer’s.]
However, when people ignore, deny, rationalize or otherwise put off or procrastinate taking the actions needed, insidious degenerative processes are left to run rampant in the body and the brain, and the further one slides down that cognitive slippery slide the harder and more expensive it becomes to overcome those grave gravitational forces.
Additionally, as people slide into the realms of dementia one of the things they tend to lose is their “why” i.e., their internal drive to act, or keep going especially when things become difficult. In other words they lose their motivation. And once this is gone, it’s usually very hard to recapture, especially in the later stages of life.
Dr. Bredesen knows full well, that for these and other reasons, it simply get’s much harder as time goes on to arrest this decline. And for that reason he cautions “not to wait.”
Two years ago this January one of our coaches received a call from a gentleman in his early 80’s who was having memory problems, but while he had no family history of Alzheimer’s, he did have some significant vascular issues, and was on a medication known to impair memory. After some discussion of possible contributing factors he asked our coach if he thought he had Alzheimer’s. He was told he would need a more extensive evaluation to determine that, as his memory problems may have been caused by other forces.
With that, the man stated, “Well if I don’t have Alzheimer’s, since my memory problems aren’t too bad [people with serious memory problems tend to forget how often then forget], and I already have too many doctor bills. I’ll just wait a few more months and see what happens.”
Our coach tried to persuade him to at least obtain a decent Personal Assessment of risk factors. But he declined with: “If it get’s worse, I’ll give you a call.”
Well of course he never made that call. And six month’s later out coach learned that he had gotten worse, lost his license (and likely our number or memory of that conversation) and declined to where neither he nor his aging wife could adequately care for him, and he ended up in an assisted living facility, which cost his family over $5000 a month. (Medicaid does not automatically pick up those costs, especially if an individual has significant assets.)
Now Is The Time and Here is How
One of the nice things about January is that historically it’s been the month to make new years resolutions and renew our determination not to procrastinate any longer, but to start anew to take the actions necessary to improve our lives.
When I was a teenager I was told, “Not all that matters is the man, the man (or woman) must also have a plan.” Here is a 5 step plan that may help.
So how might this look in creating a healthier habit?
Let’s say that after you take the Personal Assessment (see Tab above) and click Submit, that one or more of the recommendations links you to The Brain Healthy Diet, under Step # 1. And after reading and watching a video or two you decide you need to eat more vegetables and fewer processed foods with empty calories. So you might say to yourself, “OK self let’s do this!”
Next you might imagine yourself walking thru the produce section of your grocery store, and seeing yourself selecting several of the vegetables that you wouldn’t mind eating more of. The first steps to eating healthier is buying more healthy foods! And fewer unhealthy foods.
Next, you may want to reflect on the benefits of a healthier diet to include, less risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, cognitive decline, various types of cancer, and other physical maladies, and more energy for doing things you enjoy, as well as a better memory, mental agility, and just plain feeling better generally, with fewer medical expenses.
Next, note on your 2Do list your resolve to pick up more veggies, and berries, ideally that same day, but at least the next time you go grocery shopping. (You may want to note down those suggested under The Brain Healthy Diet that you thought you could eat more of, or others that came to mind.)
Then do it! Find some healthy unprocessed fruit or vegetable in your refrigerator or pantry, or go buy a few, wash and eat them! All the while imagining the possible benefits they might bring for your brain.
One other step that would likely be helpful would be to tell someone else, a family member, partner or friend of your intentions; and even better, enlist them in this cause. Invite them to check out this web page, take the Assessment, read the sections on diet, exercise, or whatever is needed, and then make an appointment to go shopping, walking, learning, etc, together.
Of course these 6 steps can help in creating any new behavior or habit at any time. But this, being the beginning of a New Year, a new slate, would be a great time to resolve and re-start! Wouldn’t you agree!
And if all of this seems a bit overwhelming, or if you’d like some assistance with your assessment, or in building a plan or finding your way, simply email us at David@abcbrain.org with your phone number, or if urgent give us a call at (801) 529-8238. We now have brain health coaches certified in this protocol, standing by to give you a hand.
You need not delay any longer. The stakes are too high. We can do this today!
You can begin to experience these benefits now and for healthier years to come!!
p.s. The dementia plague is spreading, if you find this site helpful please forward our address ABCbrain.org or link to others in your family or friends.
David R. Larsen, MFHD
Director of Education
The American Brain Council
