{"id":32157,"date":"2025-10-27T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/?p=32157"},"modified":"2025-10-27T17:41:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T22:41:23","slug":"preserve-your-brain-prevent-dementia-and-an-amazing-test-breakthrough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/27\/preserve-your-brain-prevent-dementia-and-an-amazing-test-breakthrough","title":{"rendered":"PRESERVE YOUR BRAIN, PREVENT DEMENTIA, AND AN AMAZING TEST BREAKTHROUGH"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a quick introduction: when I write theses Health Tips, I usually flip through medical journals and medical libraries. Most often I\u2019ll refer (or rather I sadly once referred) to the National Library of Medicine. This astonishing resource of worldwide medical research is now history. Here\u2019s what appears<\/a> when you click to it. Trump cut $3.5 BILLION in grants. Today\u2019s research was all from NIH Grant money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, on to the Health Tip<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High on the wish list (probably highest, actually) of a new patient coming into WholeHealth Chicago for \u201cwellness\u201d is not just \u201clongevity\u201d but \u201clongevity plus \u2018brains\/wit\/wisdom\u2019\u201d a la Betty White, Norman Lear, George Burns, late Chicago actor Mike Nussbaum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s talk \u201cbrain\u201d and say you\u2019re in one of these four situations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. There\u2019s dementia in your family and you\u2019re definitely worried about this.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. There\u2019s no dementia in your family but you have been experiencing some symptoms that are either so mild no one notices a\/k\/a Subjective Cognitive Impairment (\u201cWhy are my keys in the refrigerator?\u201d) or symptoms that might be interfering with your life a\/k\/a Mild Cognitive Impairment or,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. You have neither of the above but simply want your brain to function at its maximum potential for your entire (and hopefully, long, long) life.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    For everyone listed above, 1 through 3, for your brain to function at its best, let\u2019s review first a simple test to differentiate \u201csimple forgetfulness\u201d from \u201cpossible early mild dementia\u201d. By the way, most patients are just forgetful. Being \u201cmindful\u201d cures a lot of what seems like early dementia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But it\u2019s worth knowing that you might be worrying about nothing at all. Here\u2019s the Self-Administered Test<\/a> that will take you about 15 minutes and you take it by yourself, without any help from another. Once you\u2019ve completed the test, print it out and take it to your primary care physician for scoring. If everything is fine, she\u2019ll just place it in your chart and suggest repeating it in a year or two. If not, she\u2019ll likely refer you to a neurologist for additional testing. The test is called Montreal Cognitive Assessment for Dementia (MoCA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The next thing to do is get a blood test. The most important advance in recent months has been the release of a panel of blood tests available from Quest Diagnostics. This is the link<\/a> for physicians.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The most amazing aspect of these tests is how they measure beta amyloid accumulation and p-tau tangles, the two markers of Alzheimer\u2019s in the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If, for example, you have an elevated MoCA test, then have your doctor order the Alzheimer blood panel. If this is abnormal GET TO WORK ON BRAIN PROTECTION.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some lifestyle brain protectors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Regular physical exercise. Yes, I know, you hear this all the time, but the data showing that exercise prevents dementia is getting more and more compelling. The very important Swedish study<\/a> got a lot of people moving. It showed that highly fit middle-aged women were 90% less likely to get dementia in their later decades <\/strong>than deconditioned or even moderately fit women. 90%?! That should be sufficient for you to at least buy an elliptical and guiltily look at it. Also, very useful for memory enhancement and prevention of dementia were t\u2019ai chi <\/strong>and taekwondo.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Chronic stress from any source definitely increases your dementia risks. Make your life decisions based on how you answer, \u201cWill the result of this choice increase or decrease my stress level?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. If you\u2019ve read the words \u201cgoing keto\u201d, that\u2019s how you\u2019ll be eating. Your liver starts making specific chemicals called \u2018ketones\u2019 from stored fats when it\u2019s running low on carbs. Blood levels of ketones increase, a condition called \u201cketosis\u201d, your brain function improves. There are two steps to produce more ketones. First, switch to a low carbohydrate, high fiber diet. Second, go \u2018NPO\u2019 (that\u2019s \u2018nothing by mouth except water) 12 hours every day. Finish your dinner by 7 PM and hold off breakfast until 7 AM or later.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Practice good sleep hygiene: dark room (or sleep mask), quiet environment, go to bed before midnight. Oh, since just about everyone after age 45 wakes up sometime between 1 AM and 3 AM, don\u2019t agonize over it. Go empty your bladder, get back into bed and meditate. Morning will come.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. Make a conscious effort to reduce inflammation in your body. Interestingly, some people can sense when they\u2019re inflamed with symptoms like fatigue, general achiness, skin eruptions, brain fog, and digestive problems. Your doctor can measure your inflammation with an hs-CRP test. If your hs-CRP is elevated, you (and your doctor) will need to play detective to find the sources. The big villains of inflammation are dietary, leaky gut syndrome<\/a>, chronic infections (like Lyme, mold, chronic viruses <herpes,<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Epstein-Barr>, poor oral hygiene, chronic sinusitis), auto-immune disease (like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Hashimoto\u2019s).<\/p>\n\n\n\n