As each year passes me by, I try to remember the good old days. I remember how weird it was to see the silly glasses on new years eve have 20 rather than a 19. I remember thinking it was so cool to stay up late and see the ball drop in New York. I remember trying to stay awake to see the ball drop in New York. I remember I was in the rural area of Colorado bringing in the Millennium in case everything went down in the computer world and life as we knew it wasn’t the same. But what if our brain health suddenly took a turn for the worse and we couldn’t remember anything? What if life as we knew it was not the same???

Maybe because I am APO-E gene 3/4 and I have watched my grandfather die a healthy fit man from Alzheimer’s, and my dad beginning to  show signs of dementia…but I’m concerned about keeping my brain as healthy as my heart. I want to live to be old and cute and called “precious” by my grandchildren. But I don’t just want to live I want to be lively and engage with my future family.

Good news! I think there are ways to achieve that. Of course there is ALL of the benefits of reducing the inflammation aspect of preventive health we are passionate about, but I am thinking about exercising our mind too. I was privileged about 10 or 15 years ago to watch a lecture at our Dallas County Dental Society Meeting. A woman by the name of Sandra Bond Chapman shared with us her insight into brain health and function. I remember at the time being 15 or so years younger and thinking what is she talking about? My brain functions just fine. But when I recently connected with her and her amazing facility in Dallas, I saw her message in a new and inspiring light. She spearheads  the world renown “Center for Brain Health” associated with The University of Texas at Dallas. I am currently reading her book “Make Your Brain Smarter”. I am most relieved to see a strong message that we can regain cognitive function. I am most frustrated to hear that multi-tasking is simply terrible for your brain health. I am all in for learning nine habits to keep your brain fit at any age. I think I am going to do some of her examples with my children. Teaching them young how to improve their problem-solving and higher-reasoning capacity may just help them ward off the genetic tendencies in our family for brain un-health.

I encourage you to read her book. I am also inspired to see if she or one of her team members will contribute more to Relevance Health Education and YOUniversity. Please comment if you have studied any of the Brain Center’s techniques. Wishing you a Happy New Year and a Healthy New Brain!!!