Part 1: So here are the things that have worked for me, all in one place: THE LIVE WELL CHEAT SHEET. (I’ll post Part 2 – advanced natural supplements and remedies which are less well known – soon).
As always, please share yours.
Side note: if you have a relative or know someone with memory loss, do read the Cognitive Health tips at the end – we cannot truthfully say “there is no cure for Alzheimers” any more as it’s simply not true – as usual the USA is ahead of the UK.
To find out why there’s new hope and how in some cases dementia and memory loss have been halted or even reversed thanks to the ReCODE Protocol by top neurologist Dr Dale Bredesen, see below. Few people know about this. The NHS, charities and mainstream media don’t. They should. Dr Chatterjee in the UK has interviewed Dr Bredesen – check out YouTube for more videos about The End of Alzheimers.
The Live Well Cheat Sheet
- Eat: more plants (and fish), less hormone-packed, heart-unhealthy meat.
- Dairy: goat or sheep’s cheese and yoghurt are superior and healthier to cow’s – there are big benefits to cutting out cow’s milk (hormones again!) Plant milks vary a lot nutritionally and taste-wise, but there are so many to choose from now.
- Make a point of upping your overall intake of green leaves – eg spinach, kale, salad leaves – as well as nuts and seeds. Pumpkin seeds help stave off parasites (mix them in, in a home made snack mix with nuts, dried apricots and berries). Note: despite its iconic green health food status, some people cannot tolerate kale (diarrhea).
- Rubber soles, back when they were invented, have cut off our bodies’ contact with the earth. Grounding, or earthing, is wonderful for stress and for rebalancing our energy generally. Walking barefoot on the lawn, beach, rocks, anywhere where your feet are directly in contact with the earth is a free health tonic. Much easier in summer so now’s the time to do it.
STRESS
- If your adrenals are shot, in bed and asleep by 10pm is non-negotiable. (Sorry!)
- Stress-coolers that can work wonders are CBD oil, magnesium (also good for constipation). Try: Graces London new CBD Drops (pictured above) to help with pain, stress and sleep.
- Switch off WiFi and unplug all electricals at night.
- Related to no. 3, make sure you STOP all digital work/surfing/online research, etc 90 minutes before bed. It’ll help you sleep better.
- Adaptogens: fortifying herbals for added stress resilience and to balance cortisol levels can be very useful and have been used for centuries. Try: rhodiola, ginseng or ashwaganda.
- Vitamin B12 can be a gamechanger for fatigue (and helps with memory loss) while a good B-complex, omega 3, Vit C (and other antioxidants) and D3 are all daily essentials for optimum health and a healthy nervous system, along with magnesium which most of us don’t get enough of (if you have an underactive thyroid, zinc and selenium are daily essentials, too).
- Supergreen powders: a good mix is best, look for one with spirulina, chlorella, wheatgrass, alfalfa, etc to boost immunity, balance your acid-alkaline levels (you can test your ph level daily with saliva or urine ph test strips – on Amazon), great for detoxing, skin, energy, stamina and a good aging-slowing supplement.
- Meditation, spiritually-orientated content podcasts, chanting, devotional music (eg kirtan), or other spiritual music in the morning and/or before bed are manna for the mind and soul.
- Keep a Gratitude Diary: every morning, write 3 things, eg people or even places you are grateful for. Repeat before bed. Or…keep writing down what you’re grateful for and don’t stop. It’s like therapy for the heart and soul.
- Breathwork. How you breathe affects everything from how well or not your body functions to your mental state. Shallow breathing and sleep apnea are both detrimental, so if these are problems, get them sorted.
- Exercise. We were made to move, be it walking or gardening or yoga. If you sit most of the day at work, get up and walk around a bit. Find a way to walk, cycle to work or take a scooter or electric scooter at least part of the way on hour daily commute.
Nature is a great calmer: woods, trees, mountains, rivers, lakes, the sea. For me, water is really healing, even the sound of it, like waves for sleep or a little zen water fountain in the garden.
SLEEP
- Passion Flower or a combo of poppy, passiflora, chamomile and lemon balm (or hops & valerian) before bed. Add in a good CBD oil (quality varies alarmingly – I’ll write a post on how to know which to use).
- Aromatherapy: lavender for sleep, geranium for soothing nerves/anxiety, clary sage (do NOT use clary sage if you are pregnant), or make a grounding combo of frankincense and lavender or something cheerful yet earthy like cedarwood or nutmeg and sweet orange.
- Peppermint oil is a less obvious choice but it clears the mind, calms fear, uplifts the spirit and helps replace anxiety or stress with a feeling of zest and mental clarity. Flies hate it. Carry it it with you in summer (a few drops of mint oil on a tissue wiped on a lunch table and they’re gone). A great breath freshner, too.
- And of course a dark room, not too warm or cold, with electricals unplugged and no pre-bed internet/looking at iPhone/computer/tablet, is optimal.
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION
Tisserand’s Total De-Stress Essential Oil blend (or the gorgeous Total De-Stress Bath & Shower Gel – I love this blend of orange, geranium and nutmeg, it’s equally lovely in winter or summer and most men would probably like it, too. Also available as Bath Salts, Rollerball, Diffuser Oil and more.
COGNITIVE FUNCTION
- Top neurologist and author of The End of Alzheimers Dr Dale Bredesen recommends getting a “cognoscopy” after 50 (there are doctors who now do this blood and memory testing in the UK, based on the guidelines in Bredesen’s ReCODE protocol, which in small trials halted or reversed Alzheimers. Why do we not hear much about this breakthrough? Because like cancer, Big Pharma makes a fortune from bandaids NOT cures, the more not very effective pills doctors prescribe by the pharma giants, the bigger the ongoing (no end date) profits. And Big Pharma advertises in the press and on TV. Ahem. Which equals barely any coverage of alternative/natural breakthroughs. One of the UK doctors who supports Bredesen’s protocol is Dr Rangan Chatterjee. To find a doctor, Google “ReCODE cognoscopy” and quite a few show up.
- If you can, AVOID 5G. It’s early days but the health risk warnings are dire. Again, a big cover up.
- Supplements and nootropics: among the core supplements to take for optimal brain function and cognition would be: omega 3 and turmeric (both anti-inflammatory, while omega 3 is critical for healthy synapses/neurotransmitter activity). Coconut oil, B-complex and especially B12 along with magnesium L-Threonate (the only one that crosses the blood-brain barrier), ginger, COQ10 and ginko biloba are very important too. There are a lit of nootropics about now with varying formulas, including Neurella which is fairly broadly based on Dr Bredesen’s recommendations.
THINGS TO REMEMBER
- Get a 2nd, 3rd or 4th opinion after a diagnosis and don’t rule out holistic remedies. I know of many real life cases where a more alternative therapy worked (including cancer, neck injury, thyroid issues). Sometimes alone, sometimes in tandem with chemo or “radiation” (because frankly that’s what it is!)
- Food is our medicine. Eat wisely
- Nature is a wonderful healer
- Sleep is a wonderful healer and autophagy (clearing out of dysfunctional cells) takes place during sleep.
- Brain cells CAN and DO regenerate (we used to think they couldn’t) brain expert Dr Rudi Tanzi and Dr Deepak Chopra cover this in their book “Super Brain”.
- Stress and inflammation are the root of most illnesses – sort them.
- Community is key, as is exercise.
- For real life health tips and inspiration, read Blue Zones, about the world’s healthiest centenarians (the Greek island Ikaria, Sardinia, Loma Linda in California, Okinawa in Japan and Costa Rica).
- There are way too many diets around and we are all different – with lots of different issues! For me, The Mediterranean Diet feels right. Some experts say you should eat according to your DNA – so, if you’re Scandinavia, eat a Scandinavian style diet.
- SPF, Vit D3, Omega 3, good friends, a sense of belonging, walks in nature, lots of greens (including scenery!) and great sleep will go a long way in helping you live well.
- There is a solution for (almost) every problem.
Finally, a beauty tip:
“FORGET YOUR AGE” (and remember to take time to smell the flowers…)
