Keeping your brain healthy 40+
Cases of dementia are increasing - and women need to know how to keep the brain healthy at any age, but especially 40+. Know why - and know what you need to do for optimal health through menopause and beyond.
As women - and 40 plus/ menopausal/ post-menopausal women especially, we need to be very aware of dementia, cognitive issues and what we should (not could... should) be doing to help reduce the risk. With estrogen a massive player in cognitive and brain health/ function, as it says goodbye we need to know what we should be doing to keep it as strong as possible.
An article from the Lancet (full article below) showed that dementia prevalence not only increased with age (doubling about every 5 years but it was more prevalent in women.
Noting that in 2019 globally the number of dementia cases globally were 57.4 million people, the estimated increase for 2030 is to increase to 83.2 million.
Because we go through menopause in no way causes dementia and we all know "that" brain fog which comes with this journey - but they are not to worry about (having said that if you are suffering from any kind of forgetfulness etc and are concerned do not take this post as "that's okay, it's just menopause and you can ignore". No...my first piece of advice is to always talk to your Doctor about any changes to let them determine if it is menopause or not.)
But with the numbers on the rise and women's health being literally brain health....it's not something to ignore.
So what can you do to help reduce the chances?
A few things: many of which I'm VERY passionate about but one especially because ingestion of it is significant nowadays and not everyone understands the danger yet of eating it and that is SUGAR.
If there is ONE thing you can do.....decrease your consumption of sugar, sweet carbs, stuff with zeeeeero benefit other than it's taste. I mean, we ALL want a goodie here and there, eh?! But that's the key...keeping it mostly to "there".
DYK: that the less sugar you eat. The LESS you crave it (and other foods).
Yup. Your need to snack completely decreases - even disappears. If you speak to many Doctors/ medical professionals now, one of the first things they will tell you is to reduce sugar intake.
It took what seemed like mere hours for the world to get on the "fat is bad, carbs are good" bandwagon with actually little evidence of this being the case. Well the world is sugar-addicted (don't even get me STARTED on how it's promoted to kids, poor income communities etc) and we are sadly seeing the negative affects of this. Not only that, the BENEFITS of healthy fats are now being shouted from the rooftops but still people have that old voice in their head saying fat is bad (know the difference; ask me.).
So. Sugar rant over (but I hope as a women 40+ you take what I said to heart and consider the sugar you eat and use 2023 as the year to be less sweet (YOU can be sweet still....). Want help with this? This is just ONE area I help clients with btw in my coaching programs).
Less sugar becomes less snacking; less crap; weight decreases, better sleeps, LESS BRAIN fog; better brain health and SO much more.
So... what are a few other things you can do beside decrease sugar? Check the list below and as always; if you are trying to create healthy habits....start small. Bite-sized. In other words don't try to do all the below at once. That's a fast recipe for ending soon. Instead have the goal to cover all that apply this year - and do one-by-one. Stack one success on top of the next!
Link to original article HERE
What you can (should) do for yourself and your brain health.
- Keep track of your blood sugar and blood pressure by seeing your Doc regularly and if there are any changes in health.
- Stop smoking
- Sleep better. If you don't sleep well currently don't fall under the ruse that "this is it"...don't think because you are a woman over 40 or in menopause you just don't and won't - put the effort in to find out what you can do to improve your sleep - if only by one hour a night. (WANT TO KNOW MORE about this? Join my upcoming Webinar on the 19th January at 11:30 am on ALL things sleep for the menopausal woman or aging woman. Click HERE to register/ find out more.)
- Connect: social connection has been shown as one of the BEST things we can do for the health of our brain.
- Exercise regularly
- Fuel your body healthfully; eating "mainly" a balanced diet yet cutting down on sugars and lowering carbohydrate intake (ask me what to and how my friend if you aren't sure)
Just start. Pick one. Commit to it. Find your reason(s) - I mean our brain health is a good place to start, right?! - and you are already ahead of the game.
My upcoming On-Line, self-paced program coming late January and my 12-week Coaching Programs help with any or all of the above that you need support with.
My friend; we are no longer the generation prepared to "do" menopause or aging in general alone or quietly. I'm here for you so any questions feel free to fill out the form below and let me know what I can answer.
(and please don't forget ask me about my upcoming retreat this year, Monthly zoom collective for women 40+, quarterly events, programs and so much more!
