What can we do to prevent Alzheimer’s or age-related cognitive decline? While there is no definitive answer to that question, there is growing evidence that a healthy lifestyle can delay, slow, or even prevent Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement’s goal is to empower people and organizations by educating them about accessible lifestyle choices that help delay or prevent brain disease and promote healthy minds. We do this by engaging and convening leading scientists and experts in all areas of brain and mind health, including nutrition, fitness, sleep, meditation and caregiving. Read below to learn more about the positive effects that a healthy diet, physical activity, stress reduction and a variety of lifestyle choices can have on your brain health and overall well-being.
How to Keep Your Brain Healthy While Having Fun
BY SUSAN PASCAL Summer is the time we like to get away, to give ourselves and even our brains a rest. But is that a good idea for optimal brain health? Michael M. Merzenich, a professor emeritus neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco, member of...
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Mushroom Caps Stuffed with Olives and Porcini
BY PAULA WOLFERT These umami-packed mushrooms are both wonderfully modern and a throwback to the era of cocktail parties (excellent with martinis). “Greek green-cracked olives are large, dark, and sharp, with a hint of bitterness and a slightly smoky flavor that...
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Author Emily Kaiser Thelin Reflects on the Culinary Legacy of Paula Wolfert
Food editor Emily Kaiser Thelin's book "UNFORGETTABLE: The Bold Flavors of Paula Wolfert's Renegade Life" tells the story of Paula Wolfert, culinary legend and author of nine award-winning cookbooks who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2013. This...
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Why Moving Your Body Is Good For Your Brain
BY WENDY SUZUKI What if I told you that there was something that you could do right now that would make you say, “Gee, I think my brain is working better today!” And what if I told you that this same process might not only strengthen the parts of your brain that’s...
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Coconut Lemongrass Chicken With Turmeric
BY ELISSA GOODMAN It’s the one night of the week that everyone in my house looks forward to coming home for dinner, chicken night. We’ve really cut back on animal protein this year and most dinners at home are meatless, but I don’t have a problem with well prepared,...
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Best-Selling Author Patti Callahan Henry Reflects on the Poignancy of Memory
Life is made up of thousands of memories, if not millions. The smell of a favorite childhood landscape. The touch of a loved one’s hand. The sound of a lover’s whisper. The sight of a baby’s smile. The ache of loss and heartbreak.Do such memories define...
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Cristina Ferrare’s Mother’s Day Brunch
BY CRISTINA FERRARE Happy Mother's Day! I hope your day is filled with love, family, and pure joy as you enjoy this special day set aside to honor mothers everywhere! Time spent with my mom cooking as a child and an adult is a memory I hold close to my heart. Just the...
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Why Self-Care Must Be a Prerequisite When a Family Member Is Diagnosed With Alzheimer’s
BY E. AYN WELLEFORD, MSG, PHD A loved one receiving a diagnosis of dementia prompts a multitude of responses. One surprising but consistent message I hear from families I’ve encountered over the years has been, “above all the challenges, I wouldn’t trade this...
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Looking Forward to a World Without Alzheimer’s
Is there hope?” they ask me. For themselves. For their moms, dads, husbands, and wives.My answer: absolutely yes.And I don’t mean that in the you-should-never-give-up-hope sense. I’m saying that there’s now legitimate reason to be optimistic. Not about...
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Excerpt: Dementia Reimagined: Building a Life of Joy and Dignity from Beginning to End
BY TIA POWELLOur view of dementia is changing, but it needs to change more.How we treat others, particularly vulnerable others, is part of what defines us as a society. When we hide demented elders because they look or act strange, when we fail to provide...
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Looking Forward to a World Without Alzheimer’s
Is there hope?” they ask me. For themselves. For their moms, dads, husbands, and wives.My answer: absolutely yes.And I don’t mean that in the you-should-never-give-up-hope sense. I’m saying that there’s now legitimate reason to be optimistic. Not about...
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Zoodles with Almond Butter Sesame Sauce
BY ANNIE FENN M.D. Inspired by Chinese take-out noodles, these sesame noodles have several strategic healthy ingredient swaps. The noodles are actually vegetables — zucchini, carrots, and cucumber — that you spiralize. Transforming vegetables into noodles with a...
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Lifestyle Choices You Make Throughout Your Life May Determine Your Risk of Developing Dementia
BY DR. MARIE PASINSKI Carol could not understand why her identical twin sister had suffered from Alzheimer’s for 10 years while she herself showed no signs of the disease. “After all,” she reasoned, “we have identical genes.” Like many of my patients, Carol thought...
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Cristina Ferrare’s Turkey Meatballs
BY CRISTINA FERRARE I prefer using only turkey sausage for meatballs because I find that they come out lighter and tastier then beef meatballs. You don’t have to add a lot of seasonings to the mix because the meatballs get their flavor from the seasoned sausage meat! ...
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Olive Oil Pizza with Lox and Arugula
BY ELANA HORWICH Going out for pizza in Rome is as integral to the culture as whipping up a plate of pasta is at home. It’s a social occasion shared with boisterous friends (i.e. most Italians). La pizza is ideal when you don’t want to spend a lot time (or money) on...
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Feed Your Gut to Help Your Brain
BY DR. MARC MILSTEIN Head to toe you are about 37 trillion human cells, give or take a trillion. You are also about 37 trillion bacteria cells. I hate to break it to you, but you are half human, half bacteria. What is all that bacteria doing living on and inside...
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Unlocking Cognitive Potential through Dance and Movement
By Erica Hornthal, LCPC, BC-DMT As a dance/movement therapist specializing in cognitive and movement disorders, I see movement as a key that unlocks cognitive potential. Movement isn’t just fun, expressive, and joyful. It is necessary in order to reach these...
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Is There a Connection Between ADHD and Alzheimer’s?
As part of our new "Ask the Expert" series, we submitted these commonly-asked questions to The Women's Alzheimer's Movement's Scientific Advisory Council. Below are the responses we received from members of WAM's Scientific Advisory Council. Is there a connection...
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Cristina Ferrare Shares Brain-Healthy Lentil Soup Recipe That’s Perfect for Fall
Every two weeks until the release of her new book Food for Thought (which comes out December 4), Cristina Ferrare will share be sharing one of her delicious brain-healthy recipes with us here at The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. A portion of the proceeds from this...
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Alcohol Abuse and Alzheimer’s: Are the Two Related?
As part of our new "Ask the Expert" series, we submitted these commonly-asked questions to The Women's Alzheimer's Movement's Scientific Advisory Council. Below, Dr. Bruce Miller, MD, Director UCSF Dementia Center, responds. What is the role of alcohol in Alzheimer’s?...
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Fitness Trainer Finds the Silver Lining in Her Mom’s Fight Against Alzheimer’s
BY KIM HOCHMAN I am a 47-year-old mother to three young girls, ages 14, 12 and 8. For years, I focused on their well-being over my own. In fact, every day as I drove my youngest to pre-school, I would pass a gym and say to myself, “I really need to get back to a...
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More Evidence Exercise Benefits Brain, Especially For Women
This article first appeared on the website of our content partner Being Patient, an editorially independent news site covering the latest research on Alzheimer's disease and brain health. If you'd like to sign up to their weekly newsletter, click here. BY EMILY...
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5 Key Takeaways From Move for Minds 2018
At our Move for Minds events in June 2018, we featured nearly 50 superstar experts in the fields of brain health and Alzheimer's who shared their latest research and insights into what we should know about this disease today. Here are the biggest lessons learned from...
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5 Lifestyle Changes That Keep Your Brain Sharp at Any Age
Trying to keep your mind in tip-top shape? An expert tells us how you can fight brain decline by living an active and engaged life. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than five million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s. By 2050, that number...
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Shining a Light on Vitamin D
Many chronic conditions can be associated with low levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D affects the immune system and may act as a neuroprotective agent. In MS (multiple sclerosis), low levels of vitamin D can possibly increase the risk of developing and/or worsening MS....
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The DASH Diet: Good for Heart Health and Brain Health
U.S. News & World Report rates The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) as the “best overall” and “healthy eating” plan to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. New research shows that the DASH diet may...
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‘Brain Food’: Lisa Mosconi Explains Why Your Brain Enjoys Exercise
Reprinted from Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power by arrangement with Avery, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2018, Lisa Mosconi. BY LISA MOSCONI, PH.D. The rumba and the cha-cha...
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‘FOOD’: Mark Hyman Explains Why Cooking Is Essential to Health and Happiness
"Excerpted from FOOD Copyright © 2017 by Mark Hyman, MD. Used with permission of Little, Brown and Company, New York. All rights reserved." BY MARK HYMAN, M.D. Time and money are the biggest perceived obstacles to eating well. In most cases, neither is a true...
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‘Strength in Stillness’: Bob Roth Explains the Benefits of Transcendental Meditation
Excerpted from STRENGTH IN STILLNESS Copyright © 2018 by David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace. Used with permission of Simon & Schuster, New York. I have been fortunate to learn Focused Attention and Open Monitoring from some of...
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African Americans and Alzheimer’s: What You Need to Know
Did you know that African Americans are twice as likely to get diagnosed with Alzheimer's as their non-Hispanic Caucasian counterparts? This startling statistic is what drives the research work of Dr. Goldie Byrd, the Nathan F. Simms Endowed Professor of Biology at...
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Dancing through Dementia: The Benefits of Dance Therapy for People Living with Alzheimer’s
BY ERICA HORNTHAL, LCPC, BC-DMT Ever wonder how we can effectively communicate with individuals who are living with Alzheimer’s disease? It is possible through the use of alternative approaches and therapies. One such therapy called dance/movement therapy can engage,...
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‘The Healing Self’: Deepak Chopra & Rudy Tanzi Explain Why Lifestyle Changes Are Critical to the Future of Our Health
“Reprinted from The Healing Self. Copyright © 2018 by Deepak Chopra and Rudolph E. Tanzi. Published by Harmony Books, an imprintof the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.” BY DEEPAK CHOPRA, M.D., AND DR. RUDOLPH E. TANZI, Ph.D. At the end...
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Yoga & Meditation: Two Profound Tools For a Healthy Mind and Life
BY DR. SHUVENDU SEN Meditation and yoga have come a long way since their primordial moments in the deep recesses of a forest, where ancient sages practiced this art as a way of life. From the teachings of Buddha to the research-laden laboratories of Ivy League...
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WOMEN’S BRAIN HEALTH SUMMIT: Dr. Dale Bredesen and Dr. Lisa Mosconi on the Latest Research into Women’s Brains
At The Women's Alzheimer's Movement and Lifetime Television's "A Women's Health Summit: It Starts with the Brain" on November 1, 2017, Dr. Lisa Mosconi and Dr. Dale Bredesen shared their insights into how Alzheimer's affects women and why women's brains must be...
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WOMEN’S BRAIN HEALTH SUMMIT: Equinox’s Niki Leondakis on Exercise’s Effect on the Brain
At The Women's Alzheimer's Movement and Lifetime Television's "A Women's Health Summit: It Starts with the Brain" on November 1, 2017, Niki Leondakis, CEO of Equinox, spoke about how exercise and movement stimulate the brain. "What the research shows is that...
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WOMEN’S BRAIN HEALTH SUMMIT: Dr. Martha Clare Morris on What You Should Be Eating For Your Brain
At The Women's Alzheimer's Movement and Lifetime Television's "A Women's Health Summit: It Starts with the Brain" on November 1, 2017, Dr. Martha Clare Morris, Director of the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging and the MIND Center for Brain Health, spoke about how the...
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WOMEN’S BRAIN HEALTH SUMMIT: Dr. Marc Milstein on Your Gut’s Connection to Your Brain
At The Women's Alzheimer's Movement and Lifetime Television's "A Women's Health Summit: It Starts with the Brain" on November 1, 2017, Marc Milstein, Ph.D. and founder of Dr. Milstein Education, spoke about the gut's connection to the brain. "Individuals with...
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WOMEN’S BRAIN HEALTH SUMMIT: Bob Roth on Why You Must Make Time to Meditate
Bob Roth is a meditation expert and the Executive Director of the David Lynch Foundation, an organization that makes meditation accessible to millions for whom it would otherwise be without reach. At The Women's Alzheimer's Movement and Lifetime Television's "A...
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Assessing Your Alzheimer’s Risk
BY DR. KENNETH KOSIK Your risk for Alzheimer’s disease depends, in part, on the decisions you make every day—about what to eat for lunch, whether to hit the gym on the way home and how you choose to relax. But there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and that’s because...
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How Food Affects Memory & Learning + 3 Recipes to Supercharge Your Brain
BY DR. REBECCA KATZ If there’s ever been an elephant lurking under the living room rug, it’s the topic of memory, especially faulty memory. It wasn’t long ago that experiencing a fading memory as one aged was considered inevitable. But that notion is undergoing a...
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How to Stay Asleep and Sleep More Deeply
BY DR. MARK HYMAN “If one awakes in between 1 and 4 am every night for years, what can they do differently to stay asleep and sleep more deeply?” If doctors and dietitians had a penny for every time they heard this complaint, they could comfortably retire on some...
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How Dance and Movement Can Help Foster Identity
BY ERICA HORNTHAL, LCPC, BC-DMT Movement is a vital component of life. Although it is often associated with exercise, it’s important for us to remember that movement is an overarching umbrella involving body language, non-verbal communication, gesturing, posture, and...
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Why You Should Aim to Avoid Inflammatory Foods
BY DR. DALE BREDESEN Cognitive decline is largely a matter of three fundamental threats to our brain: inflammation; a shortage of brain-boosting nutrients, hormones, and other cognition-supporting molecules; and toxic exposure. What we call Alzheimer’s disease is a...
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Get Creative: Pair Your Physical Movement With Music
BY DEBORAH SHOUSE "I move, therefore I am." — Haruki Murakami During my mother’s journey through dementia, my dad was determined to keep her moving—walking, swimming, and gardening. He was determined to move her through her confusion. My father intuitively understood...
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Brain-Healthy Tips From Our Move For Minds Experts
Below are valuable insights from our community of experts - scientists, researchers, nutritionists, advocates, caregivers, and more — who participated in our 2017 Move For Minds events across the country. To learn more about the event and help us wipe out Alzheimer's,...
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Three Tips For a Strong, Rested Mind
BY CHRIS SHELTON As a practitioner of the ancient healing art of Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine, I treat people with conditions ranging from chronic pain to dementia. When a person comes to see me with a sadly common and heart-breaking affliction like...
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Dr. Frank Longo on What Young People May Teach Us About Aging
Maria Shriver recently spoke with preeminent neurologist Dr. Frank Longo about the promising Alzheimer’s research taking place today.
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Crucial Brain Health Tips From 15 Leading Experts
Healthy lifestyle choices, starting from a young age, can make a big difference. Even adjusting lifestyle at older ages can still have a positive impact on fighting the disease.
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12 Books to Get Smart on Brain Health
Through our work, we’ve come across a plethora of resources on how to take care of and optimize your mind. Now, for easy ready, we’ve put together a roundup of the books and authors that we’ve featured all in one place.
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Early Alzheimer’s Prevention: 4 Things You Should Do Now
While most people get diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in their late 60s and early 70s, the disease and cognitive decline can actually begin developing 20 years prior.
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Maria Shriver Reports on Game-Changing Brain Fitness Program
A relatively new body of research has found that changes in dietary patterns can have a positive effect on memory. This is true for healthy people as well as for those with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.
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Maria Shriver Reports on Program That Reverses Cognitive Decline
A new experimental program from California neurologist Dr. Dale Bredesen is showing positive results in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
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Essential Vitamins & Supplements for Good Brain Health
Alzheimer’s expert Dr. Richard Isaacson sat down with Maria Shriver on Friday, August 5th once again to continue their conversation about Alzheimer’s prevention, memory, and diet on Facebook Live. In this session, they discussed the essential vitamins our brains need.
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8 Steps To Reverse Memory Loss
Even if you aren’t suffering from cognitive decline, you should take these steps because they can help you prevent the aging of your brain and help you achieve lifelong health.
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The 6 Key Things to Do to Outsmart Alzheimer’s
Here are examples of the six key Brain SMARTS that have the most scientific evidence for protecting the health of your brain.
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The Alzheimer’s Diet
A relatively new body of research has found that changes in dietary patterns can have a positive effect on memory. This is true for healthy people as well as for those with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.
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