Exercise

Steps to Reduce Dementia Risk

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Written by: Dr. Elisha Cook ND

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease can be impactful for those who suffer from it, and their care providers. Dementia is classified as a decline in cognitive functions such as memory and complex thinking. As we age, our risk can increase, but there are many activities and lifestyle factors that can help decrease the likelihood of being personally affected by this condition. We hope that this article will bring to light these factors and help you and your loved ones reduce your risk. 

Exercise

Exercise can be beneficial for many pathways and systems in our body. Walking daily can help to reduce the risk of dementia by 25%. Specifically, achieving a minimum of 3800 steps per day helps to reduce this risk, with risk reduction increasing with the more steps that were achieved (the maximum benefit was received at 9800 steps). 

Diet High in Fruits and Vegetables 

According to the research, consuming a diet high in “flavonoids” helps to reduce the risk of dementia. Fruits and vegetables with yellow or orange colour tended to have the greatest impact on reducing risk, but in general, consuming a rainbow of colour when it comes to fruits and vegetables aids in overall health. With fruits specifically, aiming to consume “lower sugar” fruits such as apples, pears, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries may aid more than just your mental health as well.  

Challenge your Mind 

Regularly engaging in activities that challenge the mind can reduce dementia risk by as much as 11%. By engaging in literacy tasks, higher learning, logical reasoning tasks, critical thinking tasks, and social engagement, it increases neurons and improves brain activity. Activities that stimulate the brain in such a way include: 

  • puzzles 
  • reading 
  • writing 
  • playing cards 
  • computer tasks
  • taking courses 
  • scrabble 
  • word searches 
  • crosswords
  • playing an instrument 

Incorporating more of the above tasks may not eliminate the onset of one of these conditions, but risk reduction is always a step in the right direction. 

Have you benefited from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share, Like, Comment, or Tweet this article, and let me know what you think.

Some of the information provided above may not be appropriate for everyone, please consult with your doctor before trying any of the above. If you are interested in trying any of our services, working with any of our amazing practitioners, or are simply wanting a different approach to your health care needs, contact the Plattsville Natural Health Clinic by calling 226-232-7665 and book your appointment today! 

References:

hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/lifestyle-changes-can-help-prevent-dementia/

health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/taking-more-steps-a-day-might-reduce-dementia-risk

theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/14/challenging-brain-older-age-may-reduce-dementia-risk-study#:~:text=The%20results%20reveal%20that%20for,over%20a%2010-years%20period

Supporting the Immune System

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Recent updates have warned us to buckle up and get ready for another potential wave of illness/colds/flus. With changes in season, it can take its toll on our immune systems. By integrating some daily measures into our lifestyle, we can set a better stage for our immune systems as we enter into these more immune aggressive seasons. We decided it was beneficial to present an updated version of one of our older blog posts in order to help you support your immune system.

Stress Management

Being under a lot of stress can cause our immune systems to be more susceptible to bacteria and viruses. Stress can cause our bodies to be more focused on fueling ourselves with fight or flight response (i.e. responding to the stress) and less on protecting us from colds and flus, thus making us more susceptible. By managing stress before it wears our bodies down, we can keep bacteria and viruses at bay. Stress management can look like taking certain supplements as discussed with your Naturopathic Doctor, massage therapy, talking to a friend, acupuncture, regular walks, and reading a book (just to name a few). If you would like to learn more about stress management, Dr. Cook has released a new book, Stress Less and Weigh Less, which discusses many great stress management tools. You can get your copy by visiting our publications page of this website.

Vegetables and Fruits

Vegetables and fruits are full or antioxidants and nutrients that help to build and boost the immune system. By assuring the immune system has the right nutrients, it can help to keep the body strong and healthy. Ideally, having no more than 3 servings of fruit per day and having 5 or more vegetables per day is what is recommended. Specifically, when we look at the research, we can see that an anti-inflammatory diet (which is generally high in vegetables), has been shown to help combat viruses and support recovery from them. Some individuals may require higher amounts of certain nutrients to be able to effectively mount an immune response to certain bacteria and viruses, and so may require supplementation for specific nutrients. Determining which nutrients need to be supplemented for is best determined with the help of a health care professional.

Tea

Having teas, such as green tea, on a regular basis can help to boost the immune system due to their antioxidant profile and their immune boosting qualities. Specifically, green tea has been shown to bind to and prevent replication of certain viruses. Adding a bit of honey to your tea can also help to fight off any bacteria that might attempting to invade.

Soup

Many may find it hard to believe, but consuming homemade soup actually helps to halt the inflammatory cascade that happens when we are starting to get sick. In addition, homemade soup is full of electrolytes and nutrients to help combat illness.

Exercise

Exercise can help to boost the immune system by increasing the speed at which white blood cells patrol the body and look for bacteria or viruses. Exercise can also be beneficial for the immune system by increasing the respiratory rate and thus increasing the chance that a lingering bacteria or virus will be cleared from the lungs. However, it is important to potentially modify out workout routine if we do come down with a cold or flu. If you do become sick, focus on refueling with adequate protein after your workouts to support recovery of the body from your workout and from the illness.

Sleep

Getting a proper sleep can help you to better manage not only emotions and stress but also your immune system. Not getting a good night’s sleep can cause our bodies to be less able to produce T cells – an important immune system cell – and thus make us more susceptible to colds and flus.

Have you benefited from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share, Like, Comment, or Tweet this article, and let me know what you think.

Some of the information provided above may not be appropriate for everyone, please consult with your doctor before trying any of the above. If you are interested in Naturopathic Medicine and wanting a different approach to your health care needs, contact our clinic to book in with one of our amazing naturopathic doctors by calling/texting 226-232-7665 and book your appointment today!

Dr. Cook’s new book Stress Less and Weigh Less is now published and available to purchase!

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We are so excited to announce that Dr. Elisha Cook ND’s new book Stress Less and Weigh Less has officially been published, and has already made it to the Best Seller list on Amazon in several categories! Dr. Cook has compiled much of her clinical experience and research into the writing of this book. It includes practical guidance and a wealth of knowledge on the impact of stress on the weight loss journey. In particular, the struggle that chronically stressed individuals can face when it comes to weight loss. 

In this book, you will learn

  • What stress is and determine if you are stressed
  • What weight loss approaches work based on research
  • What forms of exercise and dietary patterns help you lose weight when you are chronically stressed
  • Realistic coping techniques for stress
  • How to overcome common weight loss strategy pitfalls

To make sure we can get this book into as many hands as we can, reduced pricing will be in effect until June 26, 2023! It can be bought on amazon for $9.99 as the paperback and $0.99 as the kindle version until June 26, 2023. After this date the price will go up.

If you are interested in getting your hands on a paperback version or a kindle version of the book, see following link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C87VD1FD . We will have copies available at the clinic, and will make updates on social media when they are available.

In addition, if you subscribe to our blog, you will automatically be sent a PDF of the workbook to go with the book Stress Less and Weigh Less.

For a complete book description, please see below:

We live in a society of pressing deadlines, overwhelming schedules, and increasing demands. On top of keeping up with this lifestyle, we expect ourselves to have the body and physique of an athlete. It may be surprising for some, but chronically stressed individuals often have a very difficult time losing weight and keeping the weight off. There is a way to stress less and weigh less. You do not have to struggle to lose weight anymore.

In the book, we examine if you are truly stressed and what it actually looks like in all its facets. Once we know what stress really is, we can then begin to examine its impact on weight, and how it can contribute to weight gain. Dr. Elisha Cook ND discusses three key focus areas: exercise, diet, and stress management. With each section, we examine the strategies that increase stress and those that decrease stress on the body. When you manage your stress confidently and prioritize yourself, you can lose weight and keep it off.

In this book, you will learn:

  • What stress is and determine if you are stressed
  • What weight loss approaches work based on research
  • What forms of exercise and dietary patterns help you lose weight when you are chronically stressed
  • Realistic coping techniques for stress
  • How to overcome common weight loss strategy pitfalls

With the constant stress surrounding our daily lives, we need to be able to keep ourselves healthy and manage our stress. In this book, Dr. Elisha Cook ND hopes that she can help people identify sources of stress in their life, how it may be halting their weight loss journey, and how to overcome it. To find out more about her methods, grab this book today!

Want more information about our clinic or services?

Have you benefited from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share, Like, Comment, or Tweet this article, and let me know what you think.

Some of the information provided above may not be appropriate for everyone, please consult with your doctor before trying any of the above. If you are interested in trying any of our services, working with any of our amazing practitioners, or are simply wanting a different approach to your health care needs, contact the Plattsville Natural Health Clinic by calling 226-232-7665 and book your appointment today! 

Ways to Practice Self-Care Daily

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Today’s society is very go, go, go, and often, we put ourselves last due to the demands of life itself. Individuals can be left feeling burnt-out, tired, drained, and overwhelmed. When we over-burden ourselves and drive ourselves to the point of exhaustion, it can be difficult to bounce back. By practicing some “self-care” every day, it can help to prevent you from reaching this breaking point.

5 Ways to Practice Self-Care

  1. Eat Well – your gut can be the gateway to overall health. By eating a well-balanced diet that is right for you, you can help your stress, mood, energy, sleep and overall health. By speaking to a naturopathic doctor or a holistic nutritionist, you can determine a plan of action on how to best eat for your health situation.
  2. Exercise – exercise can be a great outlet for stress and aid with overall health. When we look at aerobic exercise (for example, walking), we see many great benefits including reduced stress, depression, and anxiety. In addition, exercise can give you the energy you need to accomplish your to-do-list that may be adding to your stress.
  3. Ask for Help – Asking for help is not easy for a lot of people but it can make a big difference when you are feeling overwhelmed. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It provides you with the potential for more support when you need it most. Asking for help may also include going to see a health care professional, such as a Naturopathic Doctor, to help you with stress management, work-life balance, pain, mood, energy etc.
  4. Pace Yourself – Many people rush to get things done saying that there are not enough hours in the day, there is too much to do, etc. If you constantly run in 5th gear, you may find that you are worn out much quicker. Pacing yourself and accomplishing a set amount each day can provide space for you to recover. It is also important to forgive yourself for items you may not have accomplished especially if you take time for yourself. Time for yourself is necessary recuperation time and is justified. It is important to put yourself higher on your priority list.
  5. Leave Work at Work – For some individuals that run their own business or feel like they mentally carry their work home, this is much easier said than done. Try not to bring the concerns of work home with you and instead leave it at the workplace. Use the commute home to be your dividing line or find other constructive tangible ways to create a separating point between work and home. This can help decrease the burden that you carry when you get home. It helps to separate work-life from home-life. Ultimately, we need to start to establish healthy boundaries between work and home, and this conversation may even extend itself to other areas of your life where you need healthy boundaries.

If you benefitted from this blog, Dr. Elisha Cook ND will have her book published soon that has information like this AND MORE. Contact us by emailing info.pnhc@gmail.com or through the contact portion of our website. Let us know if you want to be a part of her launch team and get early access to her book!

Have you benefited from reading this blog? Know someone that would benefit as well? Share this article with someone who you think might benefit from the information and let me know what you think.

Some of the information provided above may not be appropriate for everyone, please consult with your doctor before trying any of the above. If you are interested in Naturopathic Medicine and wanting a different approach to your health care needs, contact Dr. Elisha Cook ND by calling/texting 226-232-7665 and book your appointment today!