I lost my sense of smell and taste with a mild case of covid. I’ve read that a diminishment of these is not good for brain health so started smelling essential oils which helped but not great I’ve done intermittent fasting 16:8 for several years. Decided to do a 3 day water fast for heck of it. My smell & taste came back in spades. FBS went from upper 90s to mid 80s. Now I do it every quarter I’m 73 with one APOE4
I am quite impressed with your biohacking prowess. Your experience perfectly embodies the principle that sometimes the most profound healing comes from working with our body's innate repair mechanisms rather than trying to override them with medications or complex interventions. You've tapped into your body's natural ability to clear cellular debris (autophagy) and reset metabolic function, achieving results that many people never experience even with extensive medical intervention.
Thank you for sharing this discovery with our community.
I too have lost my sense of smell but didn’t have Covid. The smell-testing doesn’t work. The water fasting is something I’ve been told not to do since I am a very underweight 84 year old. I suspect my glaucoma eyedrops are the culprit…but do I want to see or smell? 😊 That’s so great you solved the problem!! I know it would bring another dimension to life to be able to smell again.
I am fine. I alone but not lonely. I am 85 years young. My only concern is that being alone I do not want be bed ridden or by the wheel chair. I should kick the bucket in one go. My children are abroad and busy in themselves. That’s it.
I am deeply grateful you took time and energy to write this and share on Substack. At 81 feeling healthy and strong I treasure your detailed and well written blueprint for keeping my brain healthy. I wish doctors were more willing to talk about and recommend your suggestions for brain health as oppose to the magic pill. You were able to write so very clearly, without adding medical jargon, making this information easy to grasp. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this kind feedback. Knowing that the information resonated with someone who's thriving at 81 and actively investing in their cognitive future is exactly why I write these articles!
You're living proof that it's never too late to optimize brain health, and I'm honored to be part of your wellness journey.
I also feel as you: I have always read anything that might contribute to my better health plan: It’s a dangerous world out there for healthy people who want to better themselves:
Ive found a lot of satisfaction in having a friendly dog, she’s a big part of my life : Oh yes I to am 81 with somewhat controllable problems:
Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and experience. At 81, you represent exactly the kind of wisdom keeper our community needs to hear from.
Your comment fills me with such gratitude because it shows how people who have lived full lives continue to seek growth and better health, and your insight about having a loyal dog companion touches on something so important that we didn't fully explore in the article: the profound cognitive and emotional benefits of caring for a pet. The fact that you're still actively reading, learning, and sharing your knowledge at 81 is truly inspiring and reminds me why I love this work. It's the collective wisdom from people like you that makes these conversations so rich and meaningful.
I’m curious…. is this article more relative to Alzheimer’s dementia or in preventing other types of dementia like vascular dementia? Great article…. I just turned 70, and I have already been following a healthy lifestyle similar to the one you’re advocating for, however, I see there are many other things that I can do and will now start to incorporate. I found the section on Nutrition: Mastering the blood sugar brain connection particularly interesting and will definitely be incorporating testing. Thank you for posting this. It is informative and very helpful.
Great question. The great thing about these lifestyle interventions is that they protect against virtually all forms of dementia because they address the fundamental biological processes that underlie cognitive decline across different disease pathways.
The glycemic control component is especially relevant to your question because elevated blood sugar and insulin resistance leads to inflammation in the brain which is a significant contributor to Alzheimer's dementia and vascular dementia. There is correlation of insulin resistance contributing to Parkinson's dementia and frontotemporal dementia and evidence indicates that insulin resistance amplifies pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative damage, accelerating neuronal loss.
The fact that you're already following many healthy practices means you're likely starting from a strong foundation, and fine-tuning your metabolic health could provide that extra layer of protection that makes all the difference.
C9 ftd is not related to insulin resistance. Unfortunately. My family is afflicted with hereditary c9. The studies are not consistent when it comes to metformin and c9. I wish it was something that simple. Everyone in my family was incredibly healthy when symptoms started, as at most others if you speak to thr community. As someone who follows the research studies almost daily and is actively involved in clinical trials, c9 ftd is far more nuanced than glycemic control.
You bring up a great point, genetic forms of neurodegeneration, like C9 FTD, often operate through entirely different mechanisms than the sporadic, lifestyle-influenced cases that make up the majority of dementia.
I appreciate you sharing this perspective because it's a reminder that not all cognitive decline follows the same pattern, and families dealing with hereditary forms of dementia face different challenges and treatment landscapes than those with sporadic, lifestyle-related cognitive decline.
Some good news, there are at least five active trials that are in phase 2 or later and three that are preclinical - one of which I feel will be highly significant, the CRISPR-cas13d.
Carnivore diet prevents alzheimers and reverses diabetes. Alzheimer is just diabetes 3. I recommend shawn baker md. He's been doing it for 7 years and has all info about it
Excellent article. Both my parents died while suffering severe dementia yet my grandparents who also lived as long did not. Your article shed a lot of light regarding the profound differences in how they lived, with the latter being more physically active.
Excellent stack , may I add some other components that probably need consideration?
Microplastics, dental health , EMF (routers being left on during sleep hours) amyloidosis from repeated vaccine doses (yes that one)and parasite activity…trans fats, seed oils , glyphosates…
My turn around with memory issues began after I started using lions mane,olive leaf extract, NAC, coconut oil and walnuts… serrapeptase.. as well as switching off all my WiFi at night which made a difference to quality sleep too… we are bombarded through food water and air with things that disrupt health and it’s getting more problematic.
You're absolutely right, our modern environment presents multiple challenges to brain health that go far beyond the basics. I actually wrote a piece, back in March on indoor environment - https://danielstickler.substack.com/p/90-of-your-life-is-spent-indoors?r=3nhh6v that dives deep into how air quality, plastics, and lighting can create chronic low-grade stress and health risks. Your experience with turning off WiFi at night improving sleep quality aligns perfectly with research showing how electromagnetic fields can disrupt circadian rhythms. I will be addressing more of the factors you mention above in future stacks because these are things that can undermine even the best lifestyle interventions.
Good points. I don’t know how to turn off my house’s WiFi at night. Hmmmm.
I am contemplating, however, leaving my phone in another room at night and going back to good old fashioned alarm clock for work days. I rarely need it as I wake regularly at the time I should and this is because I have the same sleep cycle no matter the say. But reason for cell phone is that I have tried leaving it in another room and I slept better that night. It was psychological, I know, and more of a ‘no one can bother me, I’m completely alone’ mindset.
I also figured out I have not been sleeping well since getting a bedroom air purifier. It’s quiet but uses electricity.
My bedroom is optimal for sleep hygiene except the phone and purifier.
Great insights. For WiFi, you can usually set a schedule on your router (check the admin app in your browser) or simply unplug it at bedtime. Your air purifier discovery highlights how even subtle electromagnetic fields or even the psychological awareness of "active devices" can disrupt sleep, try unplugging it at night for a week to test the difference. You can run it during the day and it should maintain good air quality. The phone-in-another-room experiment you did is evidence that your body knows what it needs, trust that instinct and make the alarm clock switch permanent.
We plugged our router into a timer in the outlet to turn off at night and back on in the morning. We actually did this to stop our child from sneaking use of screens late at night (no internet no fun lol).
Drinking and showering in city water chlorinated, fluoride in toothpaste and drinkjng water and dental visits, carpeting your home or snap flooring both made from heavy petroleum based fibers off-gassing in your home like a new car, hundreds of chemicals in deodorant, shaving cream, shampoo, lotions, makeup, air freshener, laundry soap..
I have 100% wool carpeting woven into a sisal backing, no pressboard cheap furniture offgassing glue, no polyester curtains or furniture, no LEDs or florescent bulbs. Every material is wood, glass, metal, leather, wool, silk, cotton linen except I do have laminant on kitchen counters, solid wood open shelving uppers, laminent lowers. And we arent even to food yet. Do not wear synthetic clothing or shoes! I have 2 pair of winter boots with deep synth tread so necessary in Alaska. Otherwise, leather, other skins traditionally used for footwear thousands of years, lizard, calfskin,buffalo, alligator, salmonskin, snake,etc etc
Heres a list of 15 foods in America that have been banned in other countries for a long time.
cool, so rich people with one job and kitchen help can avoid it, and the rest of us can continue to work ourselves into an early grave working several jobs, all day, every day, getting chronic disease diagnosed early on, because the body just wasn’t meant to carry all that stress that the vacationers and healthy gym folk, with their diet hacks and disease advice, just don’t understand. you’re rolling all that stress downhill and we are carrying it on our backs and in our cells and dna and passing it to our gun-toting and bullet-receiving children. i am sick of diets and exercise even being mentioned. feed us. volunteer. give money and resources to shelters, to any unhoused folks you see. donate to mental heath organization. help the folks out! give the diet, gift the diet, don’t give advice, give food! give kindness, respect and EMPATHY! But most importantly, give everyone kindness and time. We are all equals. And we all need food, love and at least a little joy and beauty. Spread the word. You don’t need much. A gorgeous diet is the greatest gift on earth. But it guarantees nothing. Every second you live, THAT is your true gift. Taking it for granted, taking any privilege for granted is a crime. Listen to everyone and learn from your fellow Humans! Respect your Elders, respect the mothers. Mothers are AMAZING! Sundays are hard, I’m so sorry. Good luck. it was a hard day. I am hungry and sick and a wonderful meal that my stomach would take without bleeding sounds like heaven. Thanks for the writing prompt. I needed to work that out. Goodnight, darling. Huggies.
This is still bothering me. I may have early alzheimer’s at 45 according to my psychiatrist. I am also riddled with it all throughout my family elders. All my most beloved friends and teachers are dying now of some form or another of Alzheimer’s or Dementia (so many different flavors to this horrific disease!) I have studied it, I have volunteered at the Elderly home down the street. I have started a poetry club with one of my best friends I made there and it helped my heart open a little bit. Old folks are so damned wonderful, did you know that?? And most people in hustle culture don’t have the time, energy or resources to “deal” with them because of the complete depletion of resources at hand. I am dying at 45, with a 12 year old son, I have 2 living parents healthier than me in their 70’s. I have lived my life right. I worked in food and health. i ate paleo for half my life (when I could afford it before the economy blew up). I am sober, I drink one cup of coffee, two for a treat. I am so good to my body, but my body still betrayed me. My question to you is not just why… but don’t you see the danger that spreading this “diet” and “exercise” propaganda causes? You can live holy and righteous to a T and still die of cancer with no reason at all. Spreading this sort of word should be done so with caution and with the push to help those with less privilege. Because, we at the bottom, are here because our bodies stopped working. And not because we did something bad or wrong. But there is not a single day that iI walk can walk into a doctors office or an ER where it is not assumed that I somehow made myself sick with bad diet, drugs and alcohol. Guess what?!? It was just that I was molested as a baby, a little girl, a big girl, a teenager, raped as a young woman so many times and by the hand of so many men I can’t remember all their faces. And I do not complain, I am a survivor, I thrive. I am strong, I can survive ANYTHING. But this. I am too tired anymore. When the medical field starts to gaslight you, then we are screwed. When you get fired from every job for being proud, strong, resilient, disabled and do not hide it, it eventually cuts you down to size. Well, yeah, dementia may get me. But is it really the monster at that point? Or is it watching what lead to that? And all your loved ones suffering and feeling it inside? I mean, who the hell can afford food?!?! seriously! I just watched another film on Alzheimer’s, I’m gutted again. I’m not hungry anymore. Widen your circle of education, Doc, we gotta include that most of us are dying younger and younger from stress and starvation, or if we stand out due to skin color, sexual orientation, disability, mental health status… I mean. It’s too much. Diet. ugh. I can’t hear that from one more doctor. I also can’t get food down. So if you can, consider yourself #blessed 🪷
Zelda,venting is as important as voting wisely.I hope life is kinder to you as an independent,hardworking individual in future. Thank you for reminding me that balance is everything. Mind your good self.Keep writing too.You have it!
Often the simplest solutions are the best. This all seems so intuitively beneficial. A secondary benefit to the walking is the sunlight, which I’m convinced is mostly missing as we age.
100%? Your insight beautifully illustrates how our bodies are designed as interconnected systems rather than isolated parts.
The combination of movement plus sunlight creates synergistic effects that neither intervention provides alone, the physical activity increases BDNF while the sunlight optimizes the circadian rhythms that determine when your brain performs its most critical maintenance functions. This is a fundamental principle in systems medicine: the most powerful interventions aren't usually the most complex or expensive ones, they're the ones that work with your body's existing design rather than against it
I lost my sense of smell and taste with a mild case of covid. I’ve read that a diminishment of these is not good for brain health so started smelling essential oils which helped but not great I’ve done intermittent fasting 16:8 for several years. Decided to do a 3 day water fast for heck of it. My smell & taste came back in spades. FBS went from upper 90s to mid 80s. Now I do it every quarter I’m 73 with one APOE4
I am quite impressed with your biohacking prowess. Your experience perfectly embodies the principle that sometimes the most profound healing comes from working with our body's innate repair mechanisms rather than trying to override them with medications or complex interventions. You've tapped into your body's natural ability to clear cellular debris (autophagy) and reset metabolic function, achieving results that many people never experience even with extensive medical intervention.
Thank you for sharing this discovery with our community.
Interestingly, I posted this to notes this morning: https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/d974a68b-218b-4e58-a592-0a6b94130d4f
Sorry, I think Chat is behind a paywall. Here is a link to it on my LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/drstickler_why-honing-your-sense-of-smell-could-keep-activity-7331446859074375681-PVk-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAGJkVsBA4Dpc1It6KsAcffDxtwV8jRATMc
I too have lost my sense of smell but didn’t have Covid. The smell-testing doesn’t work. The water fasting is something I’ve been told not to do since I am a very underweight 84 year old. I suspect my glaucoma eyedrops are the culprit…but do I want to see or smell? 😊 That’s so great you solved the problem!! I know it would bring another dimension to life to be able to smell again.
Sharon you might want to look into Dr Ben lynch protocol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0ote5EMVVI.
I used his zinc and vitamin A drops and got my sense of both back quickly
I’m told that low zinc is related to loss of smell.
Highly recommend reading: A Farewell to Virology by Dr Mark Bailey
I am fine. I alone but not lonely. I am 85 years young. My only concern is that being alone I do not want be bed ridden or by the wheel chair. I should kick the bucket in one go. My children are abroad and busy in themselves. That’s it.
This is incredibly encouraging. Thank you.
Thank you. This is amazing. It does not appear difficult to change unhealthy habits to healthy ones. I am inspired!
Thank you for sharing! And that is the the beautiful truth - healthy habits often feel more natural and sustainable than we initially expect them to.
I am deeply grateful you took time and energy to write this and share on Substack. At 81 feeling healthy and strong I treasure your detailed and well written blueprint for keeping my brain healthy. I wish doctors were more willing to talk about and recommend your suggestions for brain health as oppose to the magic pill. You were able to write so very clearly, without adding medical jargon, making this information easy to grasp. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this kind feedback. Knowing that the information resonated with someone who's thriving at 81 and actively investing in their cognitive future is exactly why I write these articles!
You're living proof that it's never too late to optimize brain health, and I'm honored to be part of your wellness journey.
…and it’s never too early! My biggest challenge as an AD prevention coach was moving 40 year olds to action.
Sage advice here,sir. 🙏🏼
I also feel as you: I have always read anything that might contribute to my better health plan: It’s a dangerous world out there for healthy people who want to better themselves:
Ive found a lot of satisfaction in having a friendly dog, she’s a big part of my life : Oh yes I to am 81 with somewhat controllable problems:
Many thanks Doctor:
Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and experience. At 81, you represent exactly the kind of wisdom keeper our community needs to hear from.
Your comment fills me with such gratitude because it shows how people who have lived full lives continue to seek growth and better health, and your insight about having a loyal dog companion touches on something so important that we didn't fully explore in the article: the profound cognitive and emotional benefits of caring for a pet. The fact that you're still actively reading, learning, and sharing your knowledge at 81 is truly inspiring and reminds me why I love this work. It's the collective wisdom from people like you that makes these conversations so rich and meaningful.
I’m curious…. is this article more relative to Alzheimer’s dementia or in preventing other types of dementia like vascular dementia? Great article…. I just turned 70, and I have already been following a healthy lifestyle similar to the one you’re advocating for, however, I see there are many other things that I can do and will now start to incorporate. I found the section on Nutrition: Mastering the blood sugar brain connection particularly interesting and will definitely be incorporating testing. Thank you for posting this. It is informative and very helpful.
Great question. The great thing about these lifestyle interventions is that they protect against virtually all forms of dementia because they address the fundamental biological processes that underlie cognitive decline across different disease pathways.
The glycemic control component is especially relevant to your question because elevated blood sugar and insulin resistance leads to inflammation in the brain which is a significant contributor to Alzheimer's dementia and vascular dementia. There is correlation of insulin resistance contributing to Parkinson's dementia and frontotemporal dementia and evidence indicates that insulin resistance amplifies pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative damage, accelerating neuronal loss.
The fact that you're already following many healthy practices means you're likely starting from a strong foundation, and fine-tuning your metabolic health could provide that extra layer of protection that makes all the difference.
Thank you for your comment and clarification. I have reposted your article and will forward it to my family and friends.
C9 ftd is not related to insulin resistance. Unfortunately. My family is afflicted with hereditary c9. The studies are not consistent when it comes to metformin and c9. I wish it was something that simple. Everyone in my family was incredibly healthy when symptoms started, as at most others if you speak to thr community. As someone who follows the research studies almost daily and is actively involved in clinical trials, c9 ftd is far more nuanced than glycemic control.
You bring up a great point, genetic forms of neurodegeneration, like C9 FTD, often operate through entirely different mechanisms than the sporadic, lifestyle-influenced cases that make up the majority of dementia.
I appreciate you sharing this perspective because it's a reminder that not all cognitive decline follows the same pattern, and families dealing with hereditary forms of dementia face different challenges and treatment landscapes than those with sporadic, lifestyle-related cognitive decline.
Some good news, there are at least five active trials that are in phase 2 or later and three that are preclinical - one of which I feel will be highly significant, the CRISPR-cas13d.
Carnivore diet prevents alzheimers and reverses diabetes. Alzheimer is just diabetes 3. I recommend shawn baker md. He's been doing it for 7 years and has all info about it
Excellent article. Both my parents died while suffering severe dementia yet my grandparents who also lived as long did not. Your article shed a lot of light regarding the profound differences in how they lived, with the latter being more physically active.
Excellent stack , may I add some other components that probably need consideration?
Microplastics, dental health , EMF (routers being left on during sleep hours) amyloidosis from repeated vaccine doses (yes that one)and parasite activity…trans fats, seed oils , glyphosates…
My turn around with memory issues began after I started using lions mane,olive leaf extract, NAC, coconut oil and walnuts… serrapeptase.. as well as switching off all my WiFi at night which made a difference to quality sleep too… we are bombarded through food water and air with things that disrupt health and it’s getting more problematic.
You're absolutely right, our modern environment presents multiple challenges to brain health that go far beyond the basics. I actually wrote a piece, back in March on indoor environment - https://danielstickler.substack.com/p/90-of-your-life-is-spent-indoors?r=3nhh6v that dives deep into how air quality, plastics, and lighting can create chronic low-grade stress and health risks. Your experience with turning off WiFi at night improving sleep quality aligns perfectly with research showing how electromagnetic fields can disrupt circadian rhythms. I will be addressing more of the factors you mention above in future stacks because these are things that can undermine even the best lifestyle interventions.
Good points. I don’t know how to turn off my house’s WiFi at night. Hmmmm.
I am contemplating, however, leaving my phone in another room at night and going back to good old fashioned alarm clock for work days. I rarely need it as I wake regularly at the time I should and this is because I have the same sleep cycle no matter the say. But reason for cell phone is that I have tried leaving it in another room and I slept better that night. It was psychological, I know, and more of a ‘no one can bother me, I’m completely alone’ mindset.
I also figured out I have not been sleeping well since getting a bedroom air purifier. It’s quiet but uses electricity.
My bedroom is optimal for sleep hygiene except the phone and purifier.
These are questions I have.
Great insights. For WiFi, you can usually set a schedule on your router (check the admin app in your browser) or simply unplug it at bedtime. Your air purifier discovery highlights how even subtle electromagnetic fields or even the psychological awareness of "active devices" can disrupt sleep, try unplugging it at night for a week to test the difference. You can run it during the day and it should maintain good air quality. The phone-in-another-room experiment you did is evidence that your body knows what it needs, trust that instinct and make the alarm clock switch permanent.
Thank you for the affirmation and good idea re air purifier!
We plugged our router into a timer in the outlet to turn off at night and back on in the morning. We actually did this to stop our child from sneaking use of screens late at night (no internet no fun lol).
Drinking and showering in city water chlorinated, fluoride in toothpaste and drinkjng water and dental visits, carpeting your home or snap flooring both made from heavy petroleum based fibers off-gassing in your home like a new car, hundreds of chemicals in deodorant, shaving cream, shampoo, lotions, makeup, air freshener, laundry soap..
I have 100% wool carpeting woven into a sisal backing, no pressboard cheap furniture offgassing glue, no polyester curtains or furniture, no LEDs or florescent bulbs. Every material is wood, glass, metal, leather, wool, silk, cotton linen except I do have laminant on kitchen counters, solid wood open shelving uppers, laminent lowers. And we arent even to food yet. Do not wear synthetic clothing or shoes! I have 2 pair of winter boots with deep synth tread so necessary in Alaska. Otherwise, leather, other skins traditionally used for footwear thousands of years, lizard, calfskin,buffalo, alligator, salmonskin, snake,etc etc
Heres a list of 15 foods in America that have been banned in other countries for a long time.
Excellent
Definitely a full time job but so worth it!!
While the material here is is not new,your clarity of writing and kindness of approach is next level.
cool, so rich people with one job and kitchen help can avoid it, and the rest of us can continue to work ourselves into an early grave working several jobs, all day, every day, getting chronic disease diagnosed early on, because the body just wasn’t meant to carry all that stress that the vacationers and healthy gym folk, with their diet hacks and disease advice, just don’t understand. you’re rolling all that stress downhill and we are carrying it on our backs and in our cells and dna and passing it to our gun-toting and bullet-receiving children. i am sick of diets and exercise even being mentioned. feed us. volunteer. give money and resources to shelters, to any unhoused folks you see. donate to mental heath organization. help the folks out! give the diet, gift the diet, don’t give advice, give food! give kindness, respect and EMPATHY! But most importantly, give everyone kindness and time. We are all equals. And we all need food, love and at least a little joy and beauty. Spread the word. You don’t need much. A gorgeous diet is the greatest gift on earth. But it guarantees nothing. Every second you live, THAT is your true gift. Taking it for granted, taking any privilege for granted is a crime. Listen to everyone and learn from your fellow Humans! Respect your Elders, respect the mothers. Mothers are AMAZING! Sundays are hard, I’m so sorry. Good luck. it was a hard day. I am hungry and sick and a wonderful meal that my stomach would take without bleeding sounds like heaven. Thanks for the writing prompt. I needed to work that out. Goodnight, darling. Huggies.
This is still bothering me. I may have early alzheimer’s at 45 according to my psychiatrist. I am also riddled with it all throughout my family elders. All my most beloved friends and teachers are dying now of some form or another of Alzheimer’s or Dementia (so many different flavors to this horrific disease!) I have studied it, I have volunteered at the Elderly home down the street. I have started a poetry club with one of my best friends I made there and it helped my heart open a little bit. Old folks are so damned wonderful, did you know that?? And most people in hustle culture don’t have the time, energy or resources to “deal” with them because of the complete depletion of resources at hand. I am dying at 45, with a 12 year old son, I have 2 living parents healthier than me in their 70’s. I have lived my life right. I worked in food and health. i ate paleo for half my life (when I could afford it before the economy blew up). I am sober, I drink one cup of coffee, two for a treat. I am so good to my body, but my body still betrayed me. My question to you is not just why… but don’t you see the danger that spreading this “diet” and “exercise” propaganda causes? You can live holy and righteous to a T and still die of cancer with no reason at all. Spreading this sort of word should be done so with caution and with the push to help those with less privilege. Because, we at the bottom, are here because our bodies stopped working. And not because we did something bad or wrong. But there is not a single day that iI walk can walk into a doctors office or an ER where it is not assumed that I somehow made myself sick with bad diet, drugs and alcohol. Guess what?!? It was just that I was molested as a baby, a little girl, a big girl, a teenager, raped as a young woman so many times and by the hand of so many men I can’t remember all their faces. And I do not complain, I am a survivor, I thrive. I am strong, I can survive ANYTHING. But this. I am too tired anymore. When the medical field starts to gaslight you, then we are screwed. When you get fired from every job for being proud, strong, resilient, disabled and do not hide it, it eventually cuts you down to size. Well, yeah, dementia may get me. But is it really the monster at that point? Or is it watching what lead to that? And all your loved ones suffering and feeling it inside? I mean, who the hell can afford food?!?! seriously! I just watched another film on Alzheimer’s, I’m gutted again. I’m not hungry anymore. Widen your circle of education, Doc, we gotta include that most of us are dying younger and younger from stress and starvation, or if we stand out due to skin color, sexual orientation, disability, mental health status… I mean. It’s too much. Diet. ugh. I can’t hear that from one more doctor. I also can’t get food down. So if you can, consider yourself #blessed 🪷
Thank you. Wise words with great meaning.
Zelda,venting is as important as voting wisely.I hope life is kinder to you as an independent,hardworking individual in future. Thank you for reminding me that balance is everything. Mind your good self.Keep writing too.You have it!
Great article! This answers so many of my questions, thank you.
Great article.
Thank you
Read Dr. Bredesen’s book years ago when he couldn’t get funding for research. Nice to see him quoted here. Great article. Thank you!
Managing stress and getting enough sleep are my two biggest concerns. Thank you for sharing this
Such valuable information. Thank you!
Often the simplest solutions are the best. This all seems so intuitively beneficial. A secondary benefit to the walking is the sunlight, which I’m convinced is mostly missing as we age.
100%? Your insight beautifully illustrates how our bodies are designed as interconnected systems rather than isolated parts.
The combination of movement plus sunlight creates synergistic effects that neither intervention provides alone, the physical activity increases BDNF while the sunlight optimizes the circadian rhythms that determine when your brain performs its most critical maintenance functions. This is a fundamental principle in systems medicine: the most powerful interventions aren't usually the most complex or expensive ones, they're the ones that work with your body's existing design rather than against it