Mastering Life’s Puzzle

It’s bad enough to decline physically.  Even worse is mental decline. The idea of losing cognitive power frightens everyone.  It’s especially frightening if you’ve witnessed anyone descend into the abyss of Alzheimer’s.   Our ability to think makes us human.  Our memories are the record of our life.  When dementia robs a person of these, they’ve lost something truly precious.

Take the case of Edith, one of my elderly patients.  She had a shuffling gait and a vacant gaze.  Because of her live-in caregiver, she was neatly dressed and groomed.  As she sat, she looked at the woman next to her, her daughter, and asked: “Where’s Kate?  Do you know where Kate is?”  “I’m here Mom.  I’m Kate.”  “No you’re not, my Kate is a little girl.  Where’s Kate?”

Sadly, I’ve seen too many people like Edith.  Fortunately, it doesn’t have to happen.   You can stay mentally clear and crisp well into old age. You know this to be true – you’ve seen it.   I’m sure at some point you’ve met a person with plenty of years who was still sharp as anything.  Aren’t those people a delight?  Don’t they exude life?

It’s possible to grow old and age minimally.  But it doesn’t happen by accident.  Habitual choices carry long term consequences.  Research gives us some pretty strong suggestions on how to stay sharp as we grow old.

Here’s a quick run down of some ways to maintain your mental edge over time.  You’ll see some familiar recommendations.  A healthy lifestyle benefits all of you, including your brain.
Continue Reading »
Stay Mentally Sharp as Time Goes By

Bookmark to:
         

I’ve had a number of bad habits to overcome over the years.  A relatively minor but significant was eating way too fast. 

I’m not sure why I developed this habit, but it sure wasn’t my Mom’s fault.  As I was gulping a meal down, she’d be saying “Slow down.  Chew your food”.  Despite that good advice, it’s only been in recent years that I actually tried to heed it.

There are a lot of reasons why eating more slowing and chewing food well is the way to go.
Continue Reading »
Mom Was Right Again – Chew Your Food

Bookmark to:
         

Sometimes eating well can seem overwhelming.  Here’s a way to make it easy one meal at a time.

I once read somewhere that the person who prepares food for a family typically has about 10 recipes they use 80-90% of the time.  The family likes them, they usually have the ingredients on hand and they can make them without even glancing at the written recipe.

When I looked at my own experience, that seemed about right.  Here’s how you can use this to reshape the quality of your meals.
Continue Reading »
Healthy Eating in Ten Easy Steps

Bookmark to:
         

It’s post holidays and time for New Years resolutions.  It’s no secret that a lot of people begin the year with the intention of finally losing some weight and getting in shape. It’s also no secret than most people fail.  A big part of that failure is what most people do when they want to lose weight.  They go on a diet.

For most people, going on a diet means making a drastic change in the way they eat.  They eliminate whole categories of foods and cut way back on calories.

At first, the scale does show weight coming off.  But soon the rate of loss slows.  The diet becomes harder and harder to stay on.  Before long the diet is history and the weight is back on.  It’s back on a lot quicker than it went off. 
Apparently, the weight was never lost at all.

What happened?  Why is it so hard to reach a healthy weight?
Continue Reading »
Diet – another word for starvation

Bookmark to: