Integrative Family Medicine of Iowa
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Services >
      • Mental Health >
        • Ketamine Therapy
        • Alpha-Stim®
      • Family Practice >
        • Men's Health
        • Pediatrics
        • Urgent Care
      • Aesthetics
      • FemiLift
      • Health Coaching
      • IV Infusions
    • Providers >
      • Kara Dobelis
      • Sarah Lee
      • Dianna O'Neill
      • Danielle Fitch
      • Kala Jurno
      • Spencer Elmer
  • Blog
  • Book Appointment
  • PATIENT
    • Patient Portal
    • Patient Forms
    • HIPAA Privacy Notice
    • 2025 Practice Updates
  • Billing
    • Pay My Bill
  • Contact Us


12/4/2022

The Surprising Secret To Having And Keeping A Sharp Memory

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture
​The amount of information out in the world today about health and wellness can be overwhelming for many of us. It’s tough to know who to trust with so many contradictory reports and opinions. We hear conflicting messages about what matters most for optimal health. Check any social media platform, we find many eager to sell the latest recipe, formula or action plan for success, happiness and health. However, amongst the noise, there are incredible people doing incredible work every single day to connect and share with the world all the most effective ways to live in alignment with one’s best self.

One of those incredible people is world renowned brain researcher at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Rudolph Tanzi. I’ll spare you the entire list of his many accomplishments (you can use google), however a few of his accolades include: Co-director for the Center for Brain Health at Massachusetts General Hospital, author of over 500 Research studies, one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, and the person credited with discovering the first Alzheimer’s Gene. He’s also the staff Neuroscientist for the New England Patriots. This man is not your Tik Tok spiritual guru. The guy is world class.

I was recently listening to a wonderful lecture by Dr. Tanzi, and I’d like to share some takeaways from his presentation. A primary message of the talk was this: Reducing inflammation in the brain and body allows and promotes optimal health. Dr. Tanzi puts it bluntly, “Inflammation is the main killer.” More and more of us experience brain fog, memory impairment, decreased focus and feelings of being less mentally sharp every day. Many of these “symptoms”- dare I say signals- our bodies experience point directly to the complex world of inflammation. Pure and simple, inflammation is bad for our brains, yet many of us take little action to treat our brains with the LOVE and care they deserve.

Luckily for us, Dr. Tanzi has powerful suggestions (with plenty of scientific evidence) for anyone, at any age, to take action now to reduce inflammation in the brain and body. The complexity of the inflammatory process is far beyond the scope of this blog, but let’s just surrender to the idea that negative stress within our internal and external environments equals inflammation in humans. Prolonged inflammation equals all kinds of negative health effects on virtually every system of the body. If we can assume this to be true, we want to create a life that aligns with a state of low levels of systemic inflammation. 

Many behaviors promote decreased levels of inflammation, but to continue borrowing from Dr. Tanzi’s work, he has come up with an acronym to help us remember the most powerful ways we can reduce inflammation in the brain, prevent disease, promote mental agility and become as mentally fit as possible. Think S.H.I.E.L.D when you start thinking about brain health. Sleep, Handle Stress, Interaction, Exercise, Learning New Things, Diet.
  • Sleep- Vital process of washing out protein debris, free radicals, and other harmful pro-inflammatory byproducts in the brain. Think of each REM cycle as a necessary rinse for our brains. 7-8 hours a night is essential. 
  • Handle Stress- Think meditation, mindfulness, self-awareness, breath work, mindset. The healing power of meditation is showing remarkable changes in the brain, down to a genetic level. If you aren’t doing some form of meditation (there are so many to choose from), you are missing out on a transformational practice. 
  • Interaction- Loneliness is a risk factor for poor health that appears to be rising rapidly in our technologically obsessed, socially disconnected world. People are important. Connect with your fellow humans.
  • Exercise- Movement is all about blood flow. Exercise helps reduce inflammation in many wonderful ways. Not only that, but it delivers all kinds of good nutrients, chemicals and hormones made in the body up to the brain.
  • Learning New Things- help build resilience and synaptic connections (we lose these as we age). It’s important to build up a reserve, which strengthens the neural network. Learning something new makes new synapses (connections between brain cells) every time. Read a nonfiction book, try new hobbies, watch a documentary, try things that directly challenge your brain- neurobics- aerobics, but for your neurons. 
  • Diet- Care to guess the #1 diet on the planet for brain health? It’s the Mediterranean Diet. Heavy on fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. There is also less or no red meat. Have we all heard of the Gut-Brain connection by now? This diet promotes a healthy gut microbiome. Your gut sends trillions of metabolites to your brain every day. What you put in your mouth is absolutely essential for brain health. You can keep pretending that what you eat doesn’t matter, but the evidence is clear. You can start feeling better with simple nutrition shifts.I’ll give you a couple more quotes from Dr. Tanzi which point to the importance of diet on brain health. 

“The healthier your gut microbiome is, the healthier your brain is. That’s not woo-woo science anymore. There is hardcore evidence.”

“Plant-based fiber is the best thing you can do for your gut and that’s the best thing you can do for your brain.”

Powerful statements. I urge you to read them again, write them down and take action to support your brain and body in a more loving and authentically aligned way. In a world constantly trying to sell you the latest and greatest health product, can you find the wisdom in the simplicity of Dr. Tanzi’s S.H.I.E.L.D approach. Give it a shot. What’s one small step you can take today to inject fresh energy into each category/letter?

If you’re needing help getting your health on track, check out our website to schedule an appointment with an available family practice or mental health provider. https://www.integrativemediowa.com

Dr Justin Janss, DNP, ARNP, PMHNP-BC​
Picture

Share

0 Comments


Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

Blog Info

    Archives

    May 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020

    Categories

    All
    ADHD
    Aesthetics
    Aging
    Alpha Stim
    Anxiety
    Baby
    Back To School
    Baking
    Banana
    Bipolar Disorder
    Birth To Three
    Brain Development
    Brain Health
    Breakfast
    Child Attachment
    Children
    Chocolate
    Chocolate Spread
    Cooking
    COVID-19
    COVID Testing
    COVID Vaccine
    Depression
    Dessert
    Detox
    Diet
    Digestion
    DIY
    Eggs
    Family
    Family Rules
    Family Vacation
    Fear
    Feeding
    Food Dehydration
    Food Treats
    Garden
    Gut Health
    Health
    Health Coaching
    Healthy Choices
    Heath
    Holistic
    Holistic Medicine
    Homemade
    Homeschooling
    Hormones
    Hunger
    IFM
    IFM Caregivers
    IFM Experience
    Immune Function
    Immune System
    Individualized Care
    Infant
    Inflammation
    Informed Choice
    Insomnia
    Integrative Medicine
    Interruptions
    Intimate Health
    IV Therapy
    Kids Travel
    Kids Yoga
    Laser Treatments
    Medical Tests
    Medical Treatments
    Men
    Menopause
    Men's Health
    Mental Distress
    Mental Health
    Metabolic System
    Migraine
    Mornings
    Neurological Health
    Northgate Cafe
    Nutrition
    Pacifiers
    Pain
    Parenting
    Parent Tips
    Pediatric
    Pediatric Sensory Development
    Postpartum
    Pregnancy
    Preventative Medicine
    Primary Care
    Primary-care-provider
    Ptsdtrauma
    Quality-of-life
    Recipe
    Reduced-sugar
    Rest
    Rhubarb
    Rich-soil
    Routine
    Safety-rules
    Sauerkraut
    Services
    Skin Problems
    Sleep
    Sleep-disturbance
    Snacks
    Stories
    Stress
    Suicide
    Teething
    Testosterone
    The-brain
    Thumbsucking
    Toddler
    Vacation
    Vegetables
    Vitamin
    Vitamin-b12
    Vitamin-d
    Water-safety
    Weight-loss
    Women-in-wellness
    Womens Health
    Worry
    Yoga
    Your Body

    RSS Feed


Picture
Picture
Send us an Email
[email protected]
Picture
Give us a Call
515-218-1399
​515-217-4695 (fax)
Picture
Visit our Locations
IFM | West Des Moines 
475 S. 50th St., Suite 600
West Des Moines, IA, 50265


*Temporarily Closed*
IFM | Ankeny
​207 NE Delaware Ave. Suite 20
Ankeny, IA 50021

Office Hours


​Monday:  9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday :  9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday:   9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday:   9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Friday:  by appointment.
Sat & Sun:  
Closed


Picture
© 2024 Integrative Family Medicine of Iowa, PLLC.
​All rights reserved.
Photos from shixart1985, wuestenigel
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Services >
      • Mental Health >
        • Ketamine Therapy
        • Alpha-Stim®
      • Family Practice >
        • Men's Health
        • Pediatrics
        • Urgent Care
      • Aesthetics
      • FemiLift
      • Health Coaching
      • IV Infusions
    • Providers >
      • Kara Dobelis
      • Sarah Lee
      • Dianna O'Neill
      • Danielle Fitch
      • Kala Jurno
      • Spencer Elmer
  • Blog
  • Book Appointment
  • PATIENT
    • Patient Portal
    • Patient Forms
    • HIPAA Privacy Notice
    • 2025 Practice Updates
  • Billing
    • Pay My Bill
  • Contact Us