Some folks who live in my senior center are thinking about Alzheimers (or dementia in general) because a neighbor with symptoms was just moved somewhere else. So I've been poking around the internet. Here's some of what I've found out:
If you forget the name of a neighbor who just moved in or it took you ten minutes to remember where you left your phone, it is more than likely just part of aging that can happen to anyone. Age-related changes that are often mistaken for symptoms of dementia include:
- forgetting why you walked into a room
- taking longer to retrieve common words or names
- finding it harder to pay attention to detail
- misplacing things, but finding them later
- taking longer to learn something new
- finding it harder to multitask
On the other hand, I read that magnesium in foods may be good for avoiding dementia. Not taking magnesium supplements, but eating food that has magnesium in it. It's found in many plant-based and animal foods, such as:
- leafy greens
- nuts
- beans
- whole grains
- seeds
- milk
- yogurt
When I read "leafy greens," I immediately thought of Popeye and his spinach. I found a couple of iconic illustrations of the cartoon character for this post and have been singing his song in my head:
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man,I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.I'm strong to the finich'cause I eats me spinach.I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.
Okay, folks, do you eat your spinach? Drink your milk like good little girls and boys? Buy whole wheat bread at the store, as I do? Okay, I think we're all set. And yes, "finich" is the way Popeye pronounces "finish." I have milk with my cereal and eat yogurt most days. I eat beans, and my favorite salad has nuts in it. Maybe all of that is why I'm still able to live on my own at 83 and keep doing things for myself, like grocery shopping.
Inspired by the unexplained recovery of patients in his own practice who had been given just a few months to live, Dr. Chopra began his search for answers. After returning to his native India to explore humanity’s most ancient healing tradition, Ayurveda, he combined those insights with Western medicine, neuroscience, and physics. What he discovered — a "network of intelligence" in the human body with the potential to defeat cancer, heart disease, even aging itself — forms the basis of this book.
Oh, no, I almost missed it! The third Sunday in July is National Ice Cream Day!
hosts The Sunday Salon.
3 comments:
I have a lot of those symptoms of aging and it does scare me to think it might be Dementia or Alzheimers as they run in my family. Have a great week!
I'm always watching my husband as dementia is in every older person on his mom's side of the family. If eating nuts and yogurt and whole grains and leafy greens helps, he is safe.
I don't have a good, consistent way of seeing what other bloggers are up to except on Sunday. Blogger used to have a good system, but now I'm on my own.
Deb, under "Blogs I read" on my right sidebar, Blogger still shows me which bloggers I follow have recently posted something. It still works for me. Have you changed anything on your blog itself? Anne, Helen, Colleen, you, Jan, John, Claire, Avi, Debra, and Nancy have posted in the last couple of weeks. What has changed is that the bloggers I read have quit posting as often as they once did.
Post a Comment