Go Away Alzheimer's
You’re a BAMF, Brit Trible!! Thank you for your volunteer work with the Greater Richmond Alzheimer’s Association and championing me along to cry with you!
On October 31, 2018, after getting four Halloween pumped kids off to school and watching my littlest parade around her preschool as Wonder Woman, I spent the morning with a couple hundred women and a smattering of men to hear a panel of experts share their knowledge on Alzheimer’s. We gathered in Richmond’s historic Carpenter Theatre and sat hopeful to learn something that would keep us, well… hopeful.
When you’ve lost loved ones to the horrid disease we call Alzheimer’s, and then begin to learn more - hope gets hard. Your loss compounded by the loss of millions of others out there begins to drown you. It seeps in that Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. AND the only disease in the top 10 causes of death that has NEVER had a survivor. Combining that knowledge with 5.5 Million people living with Alzheimer’s now and the projection that 16.5 Million will be living with it by 2050, there is way more despair than hope that stares at you.
But I’ve lived in the state of despair and it smothers, suffocates and immobilizes you. That’s why I showed up Wednesday when I could have found 100 other things to fill that time. I choose to move forward. I choose HOPE. I have too many damned precious, genius babies and the most amazingly sexy and witty husband to not face each day with hope, love and actionable optimism. They deserve that from me. And frankly, I deserve it from me.
So, on Wednesday I cried next to friends who also choose to fight this battle through knowledge and action. I will forever be thankful for these friends, as fighting with BAMFs next to you is so much more fun than fighting alone. (Yes, it means Bad Ass Mother Fuckers - thank you Amy Brachman for giving me that acronym on my wrist and in my life - it truly does bring mental strength!)
So, “What did we learn?” you ask. Let me share some notes, reference books I’m reading from the speakers and well… pass on what I found to be simple steps for increasing the hope. There’s no way I could recreate the amazing hour talk in this blog post, but I hope my notes and digestion process of the content to date gives you some nuggets to think about.
And if by chance one of the lovely panelists finds their way here or you read their books and realize I’ve misattributed part of the talk, please don’t be shy to let me know, but in general - there was so much agreement amongst the three doctors, each one had add-ins and tag-on complimentary knowledge to the other’s research. What a delight to have them all echoing the same loving and hopeful message. Thank you!
The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement (WAM) was started by Maria Shriver because the research shows women are getting Alzheimer’s disproportionately to men. That’s 2/3 of the Alz victims are women. Having lost the most important woman in my life, my mother, to Early Onset Alzheimer’s in 2011 at the age of 63, and being a mama raising three daughters and one son… Women and finding a cure for Alzheimer’s are on my mind.
“Alzheimer’s: Based on current research, only 10% is genetic - that means the other 90% is environmental. Therefore YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF WHAT HAPPENS COGNITIVELY, and you can architect your DNA!”
Okay, so the panelist sitting closest to Maria on the left, was Doctor Lisa Mosconi, PhD, INHC. Not only was her Italian accented English as lovely as she was, but her words echoed hope. Not in a “A cure is near!” way, but an action oriented way for us non-scientists jut going about our lives. Goodness knows there is nothing better than being able to DO something versus just sit there and wait to be attacked (aka: do the laundry, don’t just complain about it or pull the weeds, don’t just let them take over your garden).
Dr. Moscoi is the Director of The Women’s Brain Initiative and the Associative Director at The Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. She highlighted that research is showing that Alzheimer’s attacks women during menopause and peri menopause, therefore we are seeing it earlier in women than in men who have hormonal shifts later in life.
We tend to think of menopause happening to our bodies, but she really highlighted how menopause is happening to our brain. She shared how estrogen has multiple functions in brain, everything from regulating energy levels to protecting to brain. She talked about the connections between when our bodies begin to decrease cortisol production and depression, which is more prevalent in women.
For those of you needing a reminder on what cortisol does in our body, I pulled this definition from The Hormone Health Network, “Cortisol can help control blood sugar levels, regulate metabolism, help reduce inflammation, and assist with memory formulation. It has a controlling effect on salt and water balance and helps control blood pressure. In women, cortisol also supports the developing fetus during pregnancy. All of these functions make cortisol a crucial hormone to protect overall health and well-being.”
I purchased her new book, “Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power” during the program’s intermission. She signed it for me, and let me tell you, if my skin can look as radiant as hers AND my brain get stronger by eating what she has found through research to protect our brain… I’M IN!
(Also, found this great interview she did with Forbes in March’18 where she did a quick hit list of her favorite Brain Foods - Love it!
Caviar
Dark leafy greens
Berries
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and flaxseed oil
Raw cacao
Water (This last line has me very curious to learn more… “Most people don’t realize that the water they’re drinking is not actually ‘water’.” Needless I picked up some Ph Alkalized water with mineral supplement drops to add in today at Ellwood Thompson’s.)
Depression was a big topic that Dr. Mosconi and one of the other panelists (third from the left in the above pic), Dr. Sara Gottfried M.D., a Board-Certified Physician and functional medicine doctor, dug into, as I briefly mentioned above. In particular, they discussed hormonal depression. 1/4 women over 40 are taking antidepressants. That’s truly a national problem. 50% of women with depression have high cortisol - and women’s docs aren’t checking levels. Therefore they are masking the root cause, not treating it as a hormone imbalance.
In 2002, 22% of the women needing hormonal supplements to help regulate their changing bodies were receiving them. But after a women’s study was released that year that connected hormonal supplements to cancer, a giant shift happened. Today only 5% of women who should be on hormones are on them because they all got scared off. They think this could be connected to the rise in women with Alzheimer’s.
Both Dr. Mosconi and Dr. Gottfried shared the viewpoint that for women between the ages of 45 and 59, taking proper hormone therapy is much more protective for our bodies than harmful. Of course they referenced needing to look at bio markers and genetic testing, dosage, short term test for personal impact, etc. — But in general, something really interesting to consider as I’m in my early 40s. Having watched my most dear aunt and closest cousin fight and die from cancer in 2009 and 2012, there was much discussion around this topic. It will be nice to learn more for myself and get some fresh perspective.
When Maria asked Dr. Gottfried what people should do to prevent Alz, her reply was straight forward, “Eat, move, think and supplement!”
She also expressed her giant belief in intermittent fasting. She said she uses it daily, with her first meal at 8am and last at 4:30pm. She said everyone is different, but this overnight fasting has been working to help 95% of her patients. She explained intermittent fasting as a recommended 16/8 protocol : Eat within a 16 hour window and then have a 8 hour window of fast. She recommends it at least two days a week, but says she does it every day. She also highlighted to eat a pound of veggies a day and focus on nutrition quality.
“Think of your body as a car. Know how your car operates,” she encouraged.
I purchased her book, “Younger” and look forward to reading it, too. (One of my favorite “lifestyle optimizer” podcasters, Tim Ferriss, has also spent quite some time chatting with folks about intermittent fasting, so I think it’s time I learn a little more! Here is one example, but I’ve heard him ask several folks aout it.)
Dr. Gottfried also discussed the importance, or I should say, the harm stress can have on your minds and that women are often more stressed out than men. Her words, “It’s important to look at how you dance with stress,” stuck with me. Stress shrinks the brain and hippocampus (she has a great article about what that really means and what you can do to help it here!) and encouraged us all to measure our response to stress and look at the methods we an use to mediate it that are positive, such as prayer, meditation, and yoga.
She recommended to us, as she does all her patients, to start making and taking medical shakes. Fresh greens, fiber to stabilize blood sugar, flax seed, Cacau nuts, etc etc etc. She highlighted how by making better decisions for our gut health, we can impact our whole life and make better decisions all day (ex: what you eat for lunch, how you talk with your kids). Inflammation of the brain is a major factor in Alzheimer’s and many other issues. Dr. Gottfried pointed out that most disease begins in the gut. Conversation between gut and brain are constant, and we should research possible causes of inflammation in our lives with the note to start first on your plate.
I can’t wait to dig into her book! And yes, between the WAM talk and Charlotte’s Kindergarten Halloween parade, I popped home and threw my refrigerator into a shake (below)!!
“You’ll make good green shake decisions all day long!”
Like busting butt to make it all happen, from Halloween parades at two different schools, to feeding therapy, being basecamp for Lola’s middle Halloween crew and only having one piece of veggie pizza at the street party (and no alcohol!).
The last panelist to the far right in the above picture whom I thoroughly enjoyed and was thrilled to find out lives here in Richmond, Virginia, was Dr. Ayn Welleford, MSD, PhD and Associate Professor and Chair at VCU. She was like a chic hippie with flowing hair and glowing clothes next to the all black army of Maria, Lisa and Sara on the stage. And she was just as gorgeous up close when Brit and I went to speak with her.
As a geriatrics specialist, Ayn spoke to the community and cultural narrative around aging and how Alzheimer’s is couched in the mindset of growing old and alone. She highlighted the awful social isolation that comes with aging and used the term “Skin hunger” to highlight the importance we humans have on one another to support and bring physical connection.
Of course my brain took off on a topic I’ve been writing a lot about in my Life In 10 Minutes nonfiction writing pieces, which is the giant knowledge and support we are getting on the beginning as we, new mothers, bring babies into this word (so thankful for!), but the utter lack of comfort in conversation with death and the end of this human life process.
Her “skin hunger” phrase was such a - duh! If babies thrive from skin to skin, of course it would be just as important for adults. She referenced a study done with solitary confinement prisoners. And the learnings around post-war orphans. The new research looked at older frail elders, but why wouldn’t this connect all the way through elder humans, especially those with Alzheimer’s who fold into themselves as the gray matter takes over their brains and the “selves” they once knew disappear into nothingness. I sure know I saw this happen to my mom.
As my mother got worse, she curled into herself. Her brain stopped telling her gorgeous body how to move and her muscle began to harden. I can remember sitting near her on a sofa in the den of her home in the fall of 2010. Lights off, because they bothered her. TV on nothing important. It was awkward. She was scared and couldn’t really speak anymore. She would yell out sounds and have bathroom accidents. Trapped in between worlds of physically here and mentally gone.
What I would give to go back and love on her. Massage her shoulders or tenderly caress her curled up hands and feet to let her know she was loved and safe. That wherever she was in her mind, here or another world, was okay. To tell myself it was okay to let mom be in the present and get ready for her journey to go. All while loving her the whole time versus running mentally away from the unknown and hard, heavy grief of losing that human who brought you into this curious and magical world. (Yes, I always cry why I write about my mom… I’ve learned that is oaky, too, and how I know what I’m writing is needed in the world.)
Dr. Welleford spoke about how damaging isolation is for your brain and how our digital world with phones and screens has gotten between us and our physical finger digits actually reaching out and loving on people. So yes, when Brit and I met her, we hugged her more than once and thanked her for this simple encouragement and reminder.
She also brought up the long term care costs of caring for Alzheimer’s and encouraged us to really think about older populations as we voted next week. Below are three items she highlighted,
Learn statistics and stories. What are your legislators really about?
Social isolation is a big predictor of brain health
We can’t disconnect families. Don’t call one “caregiving” at the end of life and the beginning of life “parenting. ” We as a culture need to look at a loving our family in a full lifespan approach. (I absolutely love this and can see it so clearly having been through four births and being with these kids every day to losing so many loved ones.)
Keeping this in mind and so thankful for our neighborhood and community, the chaos of Halloween with four kids (plus friends!) was a delight this year… What a treasure to be an active mama in the mix of this fun experience. Check the cute mix of Halloween joy (with lots of arms around one another - no skin hunger here!) before they went to gather pounds of candy and giggle their way through “trick or treats!”.
A Jedi, 5 Riverdale TV series girls, A triggers, and a cutie patootie skeleton!!!
To wrap up this epic post, I want to sign off with some pics from yesterday’s Alzheimer’s Association “Walk To End Alz.”
THANK YOU BRIT TRIBLE for not fleeing when I stalked you on Instagram in 2017 after seeing your “paint the town purple” post show up on your cute hubby’s feed. Thank you for constantly encouraging me to show up, share my story, stand tall and cry my eyes out when my heart hurts… You’re a beautiful soul who I am so thankful to know. Thanks for rallying your troop and folding me and my family into it.
Cheers to working together in our Richmond community to support those suffering with Alz (*Brit is a rockstar geriatrics occupational therapist!!), those caring for people with dementia at all levels, those of you losing your most beloved humans in your life, and those like me who ache for your loss every day no matter what stage of this process you’re in… or what disease might be ailing their bodies.
Lotsa Love,
Leah
p.s. If you or someone you care about is dealing with Alz in any way at this time in their life or before, I’m always open to meeting, talking and binding together our experiences to be stronger together… or help in any way I can. xoxo
