Want better health? Eat better food. Nutrition First.
I Can't Stop Talking About Food
This was originally sent in my Sunday morning Strong Wise Good newsletter. If youโd rather receive these thoughts in your inbox each week, subscribe here.
I Can't Stop with the Food Talk.
Be honest.
Am I boring you?
I sometimes bore myself.
Food, food, food,... It's all I talk about!
Today, I... double down on why. Sorry.
But I do add in one sweet little NONFOOD tactic that I think most of us will enjoy!
Let's talk about it.
๐ Why I am a food snore.
The funny thing is, outside of this little mission of mine, I don't spend my days obsessing over food. I enjoy a good meal as much as anyone else, but I'm not fascinated by recipes or restaurant reviews.
What fascinates me is what food did to my brain.
When my memory began slipping, food was just one more thing I tried. Not because I believed in it. Quite the opposite. I expected absolutely nothing.
I changed the way I ate out of desperation, not hope.
And then, to my complete surprise, I got better.
Not overnight. Not perfectly.
But enough that I could no longer deny something profound had changed.
Once you've experienced that, it's awfully hard to stop talking about food.
Because if changing what I ate gave me back so much of the life I thought I was losing, how could I not tell people?
That's why, week after week, I keep coming back to this same topic.
๐ Food Is Foundational
If you've watched some of my earliest videos, you'll notice I haven't always talked only about food.
I've talked about sunshine.
About sleep.
About avoiding toxins in sunscreens.
About the latest health crazes that hit my social media feed.
And yes, I agree, many factors matter when it comes to our health.
Including, especially?, brain health..
But to my way of thinking, food is foundational.
Food is the basis of health for both body and brain.
After all, your brain isn't separate from the rest of you. It isn't floating around in a jar somewhere. Your brain is part of your body, and like the rest of your body, it requires real, nutrient-dense food to function well.
Can you improve your health by sleeping well, exercising regularly, managing stress, nurturing relationships, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, limiting exposure to environmental toxins, and spending time outdoors?
Absolutely.
I encourage every one of those things.
But here's where my own experience changed my thinking.
I had many of those puzzle pieces in place.
I exercised.
I slept well.
I didn't smoke.
I had given up the drink.
I had a loving family, meaningful work, and a life I genuinely enjoyed.
And still, my brain was slipping away.
It wasn't until I changed the way I ate that things began to turn around.
That's why I keep coming back to food.
Not because it's the only piece of the puzzle.
But because, in my experience, it's the piece the rest of the puzzle sits on.
๐น One Little Thing That Isn't Food
That said...
Every once in a while, I come across something that reminds me our brains are wonderfully complex.
This week, it's rose oil.
A small Japanese study asked healthy women to wear a tiny amount of rose essential oil on their clothing each day for a month. At the end of the study, MRI scans showed subtle changes in a brain region involved in memory.
Now, before everyone rushes out to buy rose oil, let's put this in perspective.
It was a small study.
It lasted only 30 days.
And it doesn't prove that wearing rose oil improves memory or prevents Alzheimer's.
I found it fascinating.
Not so much because of the rose oil itself, but because it reminded me how deeply our sense of smell is connected to memory.
I've recently begun wearing perfume again.
Just to sit at home all day and tap away by myself on my laptop.
A waste?
I don't think so.
I bought my bottle before this rose oil study began making its rounds. And I spray it on just for me. It's my favorite, one I wore when I was young, one I am grateful is still in production!
I began wearing it years ago when I was a young professional, flying to business meetings in the Big Apple, where I felt completely out of my depth. Somehow, wearing that perfume made me feel just a little braver, a little more capable, a little more confident.
It still does.
I know perfume isn't revolutionary.
But every time I catch that familiar scent, it reminds me of a younger version of myself who tackled hard things anyway.
Maybe that's all that's happening.
Or maybe our brains really do hold onto more through our sense of smell than we've ever appreciated.
โ๏ธ Food bore? Guilty.
I eat like my brain matters, and I hope you will, too.
So I'll keep on preaching Nutrition First.
But maybe I'll branch out now and again.
Just to keep us awake.
I'm Glad You're Here
If you'd like my weekly musings this delivered to your inbox each Sunday, I'd love to have you join the Strong Wise Good newsletter.
As my thank-you for subscribing, I'll send you Simple Real Food Meals, a free one-page guide that shows how I put "Nutrition First" into practice with silly simple meal ideas.
Until next time, stay strong, wise, kind, and good.
Choose real food for real health.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, scientist, or nutritionist. I do not provide medical advice. I share personal experience and ongoing learning about health through real food.
Good morning!
I am a late boomer spreading the gospel of good health through good food.
My bona fides?
Beating back Alzheimer's by eating clean low-carb.
And dropping a little weight effortlessly as a bonus.
Real food for real health.
Join me?
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