Improve Your Memory

May 20, 2024

It’s never too late or too early to support your brain health and help improve your memory. Today, our registered dietitians will go over a few foods and lifestyle factors that can negatively impact your memory and then they’ll share some positive things you can incorporate to help boost brain function and the health of your memory.

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MELANIE: Welcome to this week's Dishing Up Nutrition podcast. Today Britni and I will share lifestyle and nutrition habits that you can utilize to improve your memory. Losing your memory is devastating. It can be scary to feel like your memory is slipping away.

And currently around the world, more than 55 million people live with dementia. If nutrition and lifestyle habits do not change in the next 25 years, that number is going to reach 153 million people will be struggling with dementia.

BRITNI: Wow. That's a big number.

MELANIE: It's a big number and it's terrifying. And I believe most of us want to know what our risk factors are and how we can actually make changes to reduce those risk factors. So who doesn't want to keep their memory active and alive? Today we'll be sharing some of the more common risk factors for memory loss and little changes that you can make to increase your chances of maintaining good functioning memory.

So listeners, here's a question for you. If you take a moment to think about what changes you think right now that you could make to reduce those risk factors. Well, I'm Melanie Beasley and I'm a Registered and Licensed Dietitian. And you might wonder, what does nutrition have to do with memory loss or dementia?

What does nutrition have to do with memory loss or dementia?

It may not surprise you that as a dietitian, I believe memory issues are strongly associated with nutrition. Big surprise. So what we eat has tremendous impact on our brain and memory. I mean, let's think about this. If you think about a big DQ Blizzard with 150 grams of sugar, the blizzard creates a high blood sugar; no surprise there.

And then also skipping meals creates a low, low blood sugar. Well, this sort of yo-yo It can really impact, this is very inflammatory to the brain and creates that risk factor that we were talking about over time. And yesterday, you know, Britni, I had a client that came in for the first time and when I asked her what she had for breakfast, she said a Coke and a bag of chips, the same breakfast that she's had for several years. And she says, because I just don't like to cook.

BRITNI: It's easy. It probably tastes delicious to her.

MELANIE: 100%.

BRITNI: Habit. And if you don't understand the impact, you think, why not? Right? This is easy. I'm not hungry anymore. I got it done. Got my caffeine hit. Well, when I looked at her health history, she had made the appointment to help with her memory and she wanted to reduce her aches and pains.

Well, how does a Coke and a bag of chips affect her brain function and her memory? Let's break it down. A Coke contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, which inflames the brain and then those chips convert to an additional four teaspoons of glucose impact in the blood. They're also fried in damaged refined oils, which block the cell receptors. So the messages cannot get from one brain cell to the next. That's a big impact on your memory right there. And you're thinking, Hey, easy breakfast, bag of chips and a Coke; seems pretty benign, right?

What’s the different between dementia and Alzheimer’s?

BRITNI: Yeah. Yeah. A lot of people just do not realize the impact. Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Britni Vincent, a Registered and Licensed Dietitian. And we're talking about dementia and memory loss. We mentioned Alzheimer's. So I thought we should explain, what's the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's?

Well, according to the Alzheimer's Association, the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's is that dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability, and it describes a group of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or reasoning or thinking skills.

MELANIE: That word recall.

BRITNI: Yep. Right. Yep. There's many different types of dementia that exist, and there's a lot of different conditions or risk factors that may contribute to it. And Alzheimer's disease specifically is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. And I do want to mention, dementia is not a normal part of aging.

MELANIE: I'm glad you said that.

BRITNI: Yeah. It is caused by damage to the brain cells that affect the person's ability to communicate, which can affect thinking, behavior, feelings, all of it.

MELANIE: And I really think it touches everybody's lives. If you don't know someone, you know someone who's got a parent, a friend. I had a volunteer who worked with me at church, very young in her forties that developed dementia, but she lived on sugar and packaged foods and she was 45 when she got Alzheimer's.

BRITNI: Wow.

MELANIE: Devastating.

Detriments of alcohol on memory

BRITNI: Very scary. You know, I think during COVID, there is another habit that a lot of people took up and that is alcohol.

MELANIE: I would agree.

BRITNI: Yep. I've heard that so many times. It’s stressful, you're home more, you're bored. I mean, all of the above.

MELANIE: Anxious, bored, and it felt almost like vacation, the way you were home so much, right? So all of it in there in the mix ended up with, we saw so many clients drinking a lot of alcohol, especially wine.

BRITNI: Yep. Yes. You know, a lot of people say they like to sip on a glass of wine while they're making dinner or maybe while they're working, winding down at night, watching a TV show and, you know, you open a bottle of wine or you buy a bag of wine and it's really easy. That one glass turns into two, maybe three. It's an easy habit to happen.

MELANIE: And then if you buy the box wine, the big box wine or the bag of wine that you're talking about, clients will say, well, I didn't want it to go bad.

BRITNI: Yep. So I drank more of it. Yep.

MELANIE: Stop opening those bags.

BRITNI: Think about, reflect, if you drink wine or alcohol, we'll say any alcohol, how do you sleep that night? How's your memory the next day?

MELANIE: Good point.

BRITNI: That alcohol negatively affects your sleep. It prevents you from getting into deep sleep. And the next day you are just not going to be on top of things. Your memory is not going to be as efficient as it normally is. So I think that for a lot of individuals, alcohol could be interfering with their memory and overall brain function.

I have to say over the past few years, I have had more clients making appointments because they're concerned about their memory. And this is not just individuals that are in their sixties or older. I mean, this is younger individuals too. I hear this concern from them. They may complain of lack of word recall, or mixing up words, not even remembering people's names.

MELANIE: And forgetting meetings. I'm having clients that are complaining of they're forgetting meetings. They can't think through a project.

BRITNI: Yeah. And it's really scary for them.

MELANIE: Very alarming, especially at such a young age.

BRITNI: And then they're concerned about developing Alzheimer's in the future. And I think sometimes in the past, people were more concerned about losing weight. But now I'm seeing that people are much more focused on overall health and well-being and how you feel on a daily basis.

MELANIE: They want to start feeling better like they did when they were in their younger years.

BRITNI: Yeah. Yeah.

MELANIE: We all do.

BRITNI: And I think we all want less inflammation. You want to live longer, have a good quality of life and a good working memory.

Research on dementia & risk factors associated

MELANIE: I would agree. That fear of losing your memory is really, really scary because you're losing yourself. And so let's look at some recent research. Four years ago in 2020, the publication in Lancet reported on dementia and found a dozen different risk factors such as having high blood pressure, having hearing loss, smoking, and obesity. And these risk factors accounted for 40 percent of dementia cases worldwide.

BRITNI: Those risk factors all make sense to me, but another research study from the University of Oxford found that diabetes, air pollution, and alcohol consumption also had a higher risk for memory loss. As you're listening to this podcast today and consider the risk factors that have been studied, what is the most important risk factor for you to get under control?

One way to look at it might be think about what's realistic to focus on right now. If you have more than one risk factor, it's reasonable to just maybe focus on one at a time to develop those habits. So let's start with one that was on both lists and I did already mention it: alcohol.

More on alcohol & the connection to memory health & quality sleep

Maybe think about what is your reason to drink alcohol? Is it once a month? Maybe you go to happy hour with some friends. And here's what I suggest to my clients. If they drink one drink at a happy hour once a month, no big deal, for most people, but if that turns into maybe three or four drinks and then you want to drink more the next day and it's a pattern, then I think there's more of a concern there. And that's just too much alcohol for your body to process and then that negatively impacts your brain without a doubt.

MELANIE: Yes. And you can tell this because of how you feel the next day.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: Yeah. My daughter's actually coined the term post party depression. If she's had cocktails, events two or three days in a row, she can feel it. Her anxiety goes through the roof. She feels like brain foggy.

BRITNI: And there is research to back that up. Maybe not that term.

MELANIE: Yeah. Not that term. That's not the clinical term. But I thought you know, PPD is a pretty good term for what she's tapped into and realizing. I just, I don't think well. I don't feel well. My moods aren't great.

BRITNI: Yeah. That's really smart of her to make that connection.

MELANIE: And that's brain impact right there. And you know, she's in her twenties, so.

BRITNI: Yeah. So think about what that impact is and having that glass of wine every night. You probably don't even realize it because that's just kind of your normal to be functioning that way.

MELANIE: Or a lot of our clients say, I have anxiety. It's how I unwind. Maybe you have anxiety because of the wine

BRITNI: And not sleeping well.

MELANIE: And not sleeping well; all of that.

BRITNI: Really, really good point. So how do you respect your brain enough to switch to drinking water or mineral water and brain respect? It's, it's a new way of thinking about it probably.

MELANIE: I like that term.

BRITNI: Yeah. Respecting your brain enough for your memory, your cognitive function, all of that.

MELANIE: You have to think of yourself as the guardian of your brain.

BRITNI: Yes.

MELANIE: And what are you going to allow in? What are you not going to allow in? You have to literally protect your brain from the onslaught of toxins or things that can affect your memory loss. So as a dietitian, I've worked with clients for over 30 years since dinosaurs have roamed the earth.

And I found that many clients use that alcohol to unwind at the end of the day. Like we were talking about, it's one, two, sometimes leads to three, sometimes finish the bottle if you're not paying attention and you're watching TV. So you know, it's just, it starts with awareness.

Where are you and what are you doing? A question for our listeners would be, have you noticed that the glass of wine or the glasses of wine and watching TV much later than you should, it interferes with that sleep. So the brain becomes flooded with toxins from the alcohol. And I would say in the sugar from the alcohol also, and then you're not able to sleep because of the impact the alcohol has on your brain. So the brain never gets a chance to detox and repair.

So now you're having more in anxiety, lower moods. You have that inability to sleep. You probably feel crabby and tired the next day and there's just a lack of good working memory and with the lack of that sleep, the brain does not detox. And so the next day your brain function will kind of fade in and out as you feel as though your memory is just not working for you.

So instead of alcohol, you can't go wrong with a big glass of water, a cup of herbal tea that you sip on while maybe you're watching your show. Put it in your wine glass, put it in your cocktail tumbler, and that will reduce some of the anxiety that people often feel in the evening.

Tips & importance of adequate sleep

You can also take one or two L-Theanine. It's a simple supplement or about 200 milligrams to 300 milligrams of Magnesium Glycinate around 6 p.m. with your dinner. Perhaps you watch a show, then turn the TV off and allow your brain to welcome that sleep and repair.

So when the TV is off, read some paper, dim the lights, and now you're telling your brain, it's time for rest. And that's giving your brain that respect and that time to unwind without all the lights. And then it's able to actually get you to sleep for a good deep rest and repair. And you're just going to have a better memory the next day.

Most of us are not pulling those all nighters like we did in college. But if you're someone that does that for projects, that's also not great for the brain. We want to make sure you're getting deep rest. And I have several clients that will tell me, hey, I can survive on five hours of sleep, but history and science proves we really aren't going to survive long-term doing that.

The brain cannot survive. Our brains and our bodies regulate our sleep and circadian rhythms. So our sleep and our circadian rhythms affect our brain and our body. Sleep disturbances have a broad impact on our health and our body functions. They're also linked to an increased risk of disease, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and just organic dementia.

And some data indicates that sleep and circadian rhythm dysfunction, such as night wakings, disturbed sleep, may be a risk factor for these type of brain diseases. So, circling back, we want to get that sleep. And one of the ways to do that is to cut out the alcohol in the evening.

BRITNI: Great suggestions. And I do want to mention that there's a great article that Kristi, one of the dietitians at Nutritional Weight & Wellness wrote that has alternatives, mocktails instead of drinking alcohol. So check that one out on our website, weightandwellness.com.

MELANIE: That's great. Well, it's time for break and you're listening to Dishing Up Nutrition and today we're discussing the impact of nutrition and lifestyle on memory. To help you clean up your meals and take care of your brain, I recommend you check out one of our cooking classes.

Our next class we're offering is on Wednesday, June 5th called Salads for Balanced Meals. Our chef, Marianne, does an amazing job teaching a life class that you can review for five days. You get the recipes and grocery list to get you on your way to some really yummy salads. And you can sign up on our website, weightandwellness.com or call 651-699-3438.

Sign Up for a Cooking Class!

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BRITNI: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. Today, Melanie and I are discussing ways to improve your memory, and we have been talking about some risk factors for dementia. We've been discussing alcohol and sleep or lack of sleep in that negative impact those have on your memory, and researchers also found that there are two other risk factors affecting many people's health, especially their memory.

Type II Diabetes & obesity: other risk factors that can affect memory

And those are type two diabetes and obesity. For most people, diabetes and obesity is due to a history of having higher blood sugar levels from either eating too many high sugar foods or foods that are high in processed carbohydrates.

MELANIE: We're definitely seeing a rise in type two diabetes.

BRITNI: Yes.

MELANIE: In the past 10 years than I have ever seen in my entire career.

BRITNI: Yeah. Without a doubt. And so many people have prediabetes as well.

MELANIE: Which we did a radio show on prediabetes and how that begins affecting your brain before you ever are in type two diabetes. So when your doctor says, well, you're creeping up there, just know that you're already doing damage.

BRITNI: That's really, really great to mention. You know, foods that would fit into that high processed carbohydrate category: breakfast cereals, bread, high sugar coffee drinks, pasta meals, pizza. All of these are considered high sugar foods because those carbohydrates break down to sugar. And those are going to increase your blood sugar levels and eating those meals over and over, over time is going to lead to an elevated blood sugar level at all times during the day.

And then your body needs to produce more insulin as a result of that. And many people end up developing insulin resistance, which eventually, if not reversed, will lead to that prediabetes and then type 2 diabetes. And once you become insulin resistant, it's really easy to gain weight and it makes it more difficult to lose weight as well. But all of that is reversible. I mean, we've seen it done with clients. So I do want to mention that.

The National Diabetes Statistics reports that over 38 million people in the United States are diabetic. Today, 15 percent of adults have diabetes. Higher blood sugar numbers are a risk factor for cognitive decline. It seems as though the more sugar people eat, the higher the risk of developing some type of dementia or memory loss.

In fact, there is a term called type three diabetes, and that's a term that some people use to describe Alzheimer's disease. And some scientists actually propose the term because they believe that insulin dysregulation in the brain causes dementia.

MELANIE: So when you say insulin dysregulation…

BRITNI: What that means is your brain, like other parts of your body, can become insulin resistant. And this type 3 diabetes occurs when the neurons in the brain become unable to respond to that insulin.

MELANIE: Good point. Yes.

BRITNI: Which that's essential for basic tasks, including memory and learning. So a lot of people believe that this elevated blood sugars and this inability of your brain to utilize insulin is central to the cognitive decline of Alzheimer's disease. So you might hear that term type three diabetes.

MELANIE: Yes, type 3 diabetes, which essentially what you just said is sugar is an enemy to your brain and your memory. Would you say that's accurate?

BRITNI: Absolutely.

MELANIE: Yeah.

BRITNI: Unfortunately, big food companies have engineered foods to make them turn on your brain and say, I want more. They are made to become addictive.

MELANIE: Yes. People don't really realize that a lot of the foods, especially fast food has addictive properties, deliberately put in the food.

BRITNI: So you need to be able to counteract all that advertising and those foods that hit what they call the bliss point, which is when your brain says, I want more. And in that moment, it's hard to stop. I mean, I think about opening a bag of Cheetos. That is very difficult for me to stop because it's addictive. There's MSG in there. There's lots of carbs. And that's just one example.

MELANIE: Yes. My husband would say nacho cheese Doritos.

BRITNI: Yeah. Same thing. Yeah. Hard to stop once you start. That is for sure. And if you have higher blood sugars from eating those highly processed foods, I think it is important to get that support, that education, and make the commitment to respect your brain.

The recommendations to reduce your risk for memory impairment is to eat a real food diet to lower your blood sugar, drink less alcohol; activity of course always helps overall health, but it also improves your blood sugar. And I know it's easy to say, it's easy to write, but it is difficult to put into action.

MELANIE: It is.

BRITNI: It really is. It's one thing to hear the information on a podcast and it's another thing to put a plan into action in your lifestyle. And that's what we're here for is to support people in breaking it down so it can be a little simpler and less overwhelming.

BRITNI: Yeah.

MELANIE: Yeah. We're not here to finger wag.

BRITNI: No, absolutely no judgment from us. No.

MELANIE: We've been there.

Make good breakfast choices to balance blood sugar all day

BRITNI: Yeah. So without a doubt. And it can be so overwhelming to change your diet, reduce your blood sugars. And I have to often recommend to my clients to focus on modifying breakfast first. What you have for breakfast is going to impact your blood sugar for the rest of the day and impact your food choices for the rest of the day.

And think about it, if you start your day with a bagel or a donut, you want more carbs the rest of the day. It just sets you up for those cravings. But on the flip side, if you have a balanced high protein, real food breakfast, your blood sugar will be better throughout the day. You're going to have less cravings and you're naturally going to make more real food choices. So Melanie, could you, what would a balanced breakfast look like?

MELANIE: So a balanced breakfast for me is almost always a protein smoothie. And in my protein smoothie, I put riced cauliflower, some kale that I have frozen, a scoop of protein powder, a half a cup of some sort of berries, and I will blend that up with water. And then I love to put in some coconut milk for that fat or else, sunflower butter.

BRITNI: Perfect.

MELANIE: And that makes me very, very happy and it's satisfying. I also will put in some chia seeds for the fiber and that will hold me till lunch.

BRITNI: Yummy.

MELANIE: And I feel pretty righteous because I've gotten my vegetables in.

BRITNI: You've gotten a lot in.

MELANIE: I threw it in a blender, blended it up, and when you start your day out right, like you were saying, you just feel like, okay, I'm not behind the power curve.

Healthy fat supports blood sugar & brain health

BRITNI: Yep, it is. It's really crucial. So, you know, if you're overwhelmed, breakfast might be a really great place to start. And you mentioned the coconut milk in there for the healthy fat. That healthy fat every single time you eat is crucial for balancing your blood sugars. And for brain health, because fat does not elicit an insulin response.

MELANIE: Yes. The other thing I love about coconut oil, which we were talking about is the type of oil in there, which is an MCT, which is a specific nutrient for brain health.

BRITNI: That is great for brain health. So that fat that's going to anchor your blood sugar and 60 percent of your brain is made of fat. So as you can imagine, not eating enough fat or eating those refined oils, how's your brain going to function efficiently if you're not fueling it with that healthy fat? So that's going to negatively impact memory, those refined oils or eating low fat.

Refined oils/damaged fats are harmful for brain health

MELANIE: Early on, we talked about those refined oils or those damaged fats like, sunflower oil is highly refined and they're putting it in everything right now and how it gunks up those receptor sites in the brain to where neurotransmitters can communicate back and forth, which is key for brain function.

They're basically blocking the ability for the brain to work properly. And we just think, oh, it's just an oil, but it has great impact; cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, canola oil.

BRITNI: Soybean.

MELANIE: Soybean, vegetable oils, corn oil. You really want to avoid those. And that's again, being a guardian to your brain.

BRITNI: Yeah. It really is. And they sneak in everything. So you really turn over that label on everything you buy.

MELANIE: And even if it says organic on the label, roll it over because they're putting it in everything.

BRITNI: Yep. They sure are.

MELANIE: Because it's a cheap crappy oil.

BRITNI: And it's very shelf stable.

MELANIE: Yep.

Lack of sleep: risk factor for memory issues

BRITNI: Yeah. So we've been talking about sugar and alcohol. We mentioned sleep and for many lack of sleep is also a big risk factor. It is so important to sleep at least seven and a half hours every night. Yes. Seven and a half.

MELANIE: I personally need 8 to 8 ½.

BRITNI: Yeah, I think seven and a half is really the minimum, right? And I know that most people are not getting that, whether that's they have difficulty sleeping or they're just not allowing enough time to get that much sleep. So thinking about what's holding you back, you know, I recently had a client tell me that she's been getting more sleep lately. She's been getting seven hours, which is a huge improvement for her. And she's feeling like a new person. She's positive. Her memory is working better.

MELANIE: It's got to affect her relationships.

BRITNI: Yeah. She's gravitating towards less sugar and she's just overall feeling better with getting that seven hours of sleep. It used to be five and a half, six hours for her. So it can incrementally improve. We don't expect you to go from six hours to eight hours all of a sudden. So maybe you just start to go to bed a little bit earlier.

MELANIE: Yes. And it's really impactful if you are watching like on your iPad or television, if you are watching something in bed, it's terrible how it affects your sleep and you think, oh, I find it relaxing. But that screen light can really cause that, disjointed, disruptive, sleep.

BRITNI: Yeah. Even if it doesn't affect your ability to fall asleep, it makes you more likely to wake up throughout night.

MELANIE: For some reason I thought I could escape that and my daughter got me hooked on something, a show that was on Netflix. So I was watching it and I was getting hooked on it and then I was watching it on my iPad and I never, ever sleep well if that's the last thing I do.

BRITNI: Yeah. So having that downtime without electronics is so important. As you mentioned earlier, it's just preparing your body for sleep, whatever you find relaxing and the dim light is really, really crucial too.

MELANIE: Yeah.

BRITNI: And I think there's lots of factors that impact people's sleep. If you have difficulty falling or staying asleep, we have lots of other podcasts and articles on this topic that, that you could look for, for more information.

Check Out More Resources on Getting Good Sleep!

MELANIE: And you know, we also can come up with a sleep cocktail that fits that person and everybody is so different. What works for me is going to be different than what works for you, works for our client and it's just, it's figuring out the puzzle.

BRITNI: It really is. And that's what we do during appointments is we talk to the person. We ask lots of questions to try to figure out what's really impacting their sleep. And then, like you said, we find that cocktail, as you say, that works for that person to get a good night's sleep.

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Supplements that can help with memory

There are, of course, certain supplements that can help with your memory. And one supplement that I often recommend is MCT oil. You mentioned that earlier. It is in coconut oil. But you can get it separately. So it's just a bottle of MCT oil without the coconut oil.

And your body metabolizes MCT much quicker than other fats. And that produces what's called ketones. So your brain can utilize those ketones as fuel instead of glucose. So that can help with memory, it can help with energy, just overall cognitive function. Many of my clients take it and I think it's easy to work into to your daily routine.

MELANIE: Really has no flavor.

BRITNI: It does not.

MELANIE: But a word of caution is that you've got to start no more than a teaspoon at a time and your body will acclimate to where you can increase, but you have to do it slowly or you get diarrhea.

BRITNI: Yep. Great point. So slowly increase to, I would say a tablespoon a day. You could put it in your coffee or tea or your smoothie.

MELANIE: I have a teacher and she has a bottle in her desk and she takes in her words, a nip of it and it brightens. She says she feels like it brightens her brain so she can work. I thought that was so interesting.

BRITNI: It's great. I had a client recently who ran out of and didn't purchase it again right away. And she noticed a difference in her memory. She felt like her memory was not as good without it. So once she made that connection, she very quickly reintroduced it into her daily routine. And we have had two podcast episodes with Dr. Mary Newport, where she discusses MCT oil at a greater length then explains more of the science behind it. The last time we had her on the title was Clearly Keto, and that was July, 2023.

MELANIE: She's a fascinating, brilliant woman. Leah and I interviewed her and I just loved everything she said. Her story with her husband is absolutely fascinating, their journey with Alzheimer's.

BRITNI: And so inspirational.

MELANIE: So inspirational.

BRITNI: Another supplement I often recommend is a fatty acid called DHA, and DHA comes from algae. So you can take it separately.

MELANIE: It's great if people are allergic to fish and they still want that omega-3, but it's very specific to brain health.

BRITNI: Yeah, it is. And your brain has high concentrations of DHA. So, it makes sense that taking a DHA supplement would be really beneficial. And if you want to, you could take four to six for a month or six weeks. Just boost that in your brain and some people that, that's really helpful and then reduce the dose from there.

MELANIE: Interesting client story: I had a client and he was struggling with his memory. He was in his thirties, but he was struggling with his memory and he had ADHD. And so I had him on four DHA a day. We of course changed his diet because none of these things will work if the diet is not up to par with real food eating.

BRITNI: Important points.

MELANIE: Balanced his blood sugar with protein and fat and vegetables at every meal, put him on the DHA and I noticed a huge difference, not only in memory, but his ADHD.

BRITNI: Wow.

MELANIE: So it was funny because his wife would come in and say, he's run out and this is not okay. So she would buy two bottles at a time so that he would not run out because she could see such a difference in his behavior. So it's so impactful for the brain, that form of omega-3.

Recap

BRITNI: Today we have been talking about risk factors that increase your likelihood of developing dementia and then ways that you can improve your memory on a daily basis. So we discussed the impact of alcohol on memory, lack of sleep, sugar, and the fact that Alzheimer's is sometimes referred to as type three diabetes. And then the negative impact that low fat or those refined oils have on the brain.

MELANIE: It's not only about the good things we're putting in, but we need to remove those processed oils, the damaging oils, and definitely have enough meat, vegetables, and fat of real food to nourish the body and nourish the brain. And you'll see a difference. So if you're struggling, try it. If you need an appointment, make it.

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If you need a cooking class, sign up for it.

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BRITNI: Yeah. It all goes back to real food.  

MELANIE: Yeah. We can help you.

BRITNI: Thanks for listening.

MELANIE: Our goal at Nutritional Weight & Wellness is to help each and every person experience better health through eating real food. It's a simple yet powerful message. Eating real food is life changing. Thank you for joining us today.

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