Sometimes my 13 year old son will look at me in disbelief at a question I’ll ask him — not because I’m being overprotective or old fashioned, but because I just asked the same question 5 minutes before. Sound familiar? How about forgetting the name of that thing –oh yeah, the glove compartment!
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Our society has found humor in these increasingly common bouts of forgetfulness with the term ‘Senior Moments’. But when you are relatively young and you are cognizant of the very real change in your brain’s capacity to remember things, it’s worth a little investigation.
There seems to be quite a bit of research on memory boosting exercises and supplements but it seems that these things would be treating the symptoms and not the cause. What could possibly be the cause of so many 40 -50 year olds having Senior Moments?
One possible explanation that fascinates me is what I heard Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn (currently treating Pres. Clinton) say regarding mini strokes happening to even young and otherwise healthy people. You can be driving, sleeping, working, and not realize that anything has happened. Moreover, you will not see any real symptoms because you still have the capacity to redirect function to other parts of your largely healthy brain. Watch this clip of Dr. Esselstyn from minute 27 to hear it explained by this renown physician.
With low blood pressure and no cholesterol or weight issues, I thought I was safe from cardio-vascular illness. This is definitely not the case. With the brain and heart inextricably connected in function and wellness, improving circulation in the veins and arteries through diet makes a whole lot of sense to me now. Pass the broccoli and hold the fried chicken!
