Posted 5/27/22
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it. -Prov. 4:23
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, the son of a doctor, nor the grandson of a doctor. I am the great, great grandson of a Baldknobber, and the son of a postal employee. Therefore, read this post with this in mind.
You have heard me say 1,000 times if you have heard me say one: What’s good for the heart is good for the brain, but what information…hard data, if you will…do I have to support such a claim? Here is what I can tell you:
- The Alzheimer’s Association says so. LINK
- The American Heart Association agrees: LINK
- The fancy thinkers at Harvard, who are not ones to just agree for the sake of agreeing, agree: LINK
- Leading advocates in the UK, while holding a tea and/or a crumpet, agree: LINK LINK LINK (Even Oxford) LINK
- People capable of fighting off a polar bear with only a spiked stethoscope to save a baby seal agree: LINK
- The entire Tri-city community agrees: LINK (The Entire Tri-State area likely agrees too, but they are too busy with Doofenschmirtz. However, Perry the Platypus, off the record, agrees.)
- The CDC is much more convinced than they were with their 14/15 days to flatten the curve pronouncement: LINK
- AARP is on board: LINK
- CNN, never one to be super positive, reminds us that the flip side is also true (What is bad for the heart is bad for the brain) : LINK
- Common sense tells us several things that further show it’s true:
- A heart-healthy diet and lifestyle makes us stronger. It helps us sleep. It reduces our stress. It helps our blood sugar. All of these things help us be more resilient against dementia!
- A heart-healthy lifestyle may help with inflammation that may factor into getting dementia.
- A heart-healthy diet is good for the gut. A happy guy is good for the brain. See the interplay between body systems? 🙂 Link LINK
- Having good blood flow in your brain is great. We know this because when we don’t, we have a stroke.
- Even brain injury chances are less when we take care of our heart. Falls can be caused by poor conditioning and a heart-healthy lifestyle helps.
- Outdoor exercise with others can help with the social engagement we need to stay sharp!
So, it seems like the brain has a friend in the heart for sure! The brain, all secluded in its shell like a pearl in an ugly oyster seems distant whereas the heart, also shielded, but with a view…seems present. Heck, the gut isn’t shielded at all. All of these systems and others work hand-in-hand to keep the brain happy and up to snuff.
Maybe you didn’t need this proof or you don’t care. I get it, either way. However, many apparently, including me before a few years ago, either didn’t know or didn’t care enough to try to help. We need this information if we are to NOT become another dementia statistic. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is empowering. Please review the links I post. Any time I write something that is blue and underlined, it is a link I intentionally put in as a resource because I am NOT a neurologist…but I know many good ones and share the info I find that will help. 🙂
Have a great weekend, friends! Take care of yourself…all of yourself. 🙂
#EndALZ
#RunninTilImPurple
Mom update- We are reworking her pain plan and having the nursing staff do a pain review after every shift. It is hard for us to truly know when and if she is in pain. She has Parkinsonism (rigidity of the extremities common in dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, and other conditions)which does give us pause. We want very much for her to be comfortable and pain free, but she doesn’t say anything nor does she have a great way of sharing this info. So we do what we can…and this is what we can for now.
Runnin’ Til I’m Purple update:
I am going to jog the full Frisco trail Saturday, Lord willin’. On run day, less than a month from now, I will do it two days in a row. Might as well start getting used to it again. 🙂
My shirts are available to order. You can have them shipped for a small fee, or pick them up in SW Missouri. I will meet you with them. Here is the link: LINK
If you can and/or wanna just donate here: LINK
Thank you all soooooooooo much!
Watch for me on Facebook live tomorrow. I will try to hop on while I do my practice run and show some scenery. If I see a Bigfoot, I will definitely film it and share. 🙂
Have a great holiday too. This is a hard weekend for many. Please extend grace and love to those who have lost someone recently and to those in harms way. This is a challenging time even without this loss. This is a great time to give a hug and a hand.
We will beat this thing…we will.
