memory care Monday

Memory Care Monday: Churlish!

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Welcome to another Memory Care Monday post! Just a bit of housekeeping before I get to the word of the week.

Today is the first day of my November topic, Dementia. But, last month the topic was Obesity. I have been seeing some chatter about obesity being the main reason people were dying from Covid. You can’t really just go by what people say, though. This morning I read an article on Politico, and apparently, if you are Obese it does greatly increase your chance of dying from Covid. The article focused on how other countries, besides the USA, were taking this topic seriously and attempting to help their people eat better food options, and increase exercise. You can read the full article here.

Even though the Dementia topic is only for the month of November, I will continue the word of the week until all of the words have been shared. There are 100. Watch for some fun free printables for my newsletter subscribers that will help you remember and study the words as the list gets longer.

Churlish is the 12th word on the list. You can find the previous words in the archives.

I could tell you what churlish means, but I think you will have more fun watching the cute video below and then looking up the meaning. If you want to play along you can keep an online journal, or pen and paper, of all the words on the list. Look up the meaning, and use it in a sentence. Test yourself weekly to see how much you remember. If you don’t remember much, study first. A few other things you can do are find a synonym for the word, an antonym, write it into a joke, and write out the word and the meaning at least ten times while saying it out loud.

I will be trying to get the first printable done tomorrow, for my Wednesday newsletter. Otherwise, it will go out in a special newsletter. If you would like to work with me to learn ways to help your memory, use the contact form at the end of the post to send me an email. Exercise is a very important way to help improve memory. Learn about my Walking Buddy Plan.

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Memory Care: Chromosome

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Hello, and welcome back to another Memory Care Monday post. When I first started this blog, at the end of 2018, my most popular posts were these learn a new word a week posts. I don’t recall why I stopped doing them, but I got to #10 out of 100 on the list. Since I am over 50 and have been discussing Memory Care especially in relation to diet, I thought I would start these again.

It’s really easy to follow along. The goal is to learn the definition of a new word each week and then retain it, along with the other words that came before it. You can find the other words on the list under the memory care section of this blog. You can keep track any way you want. A note app on your phone, Google docs, handwritten in a journal, however, you wish to do so. Check out the cool journal below. Find a way to test yourself, and a day to do it on. There are several ways to memorize things. Writing them out several times, saying it out loud as you read it, making a song, etc.

This week’s word is Chromosome. There is even a cool video below to go with it. I am not going to tell you the definition per se. It is your job to find the word, define it, write it in a sentence if you want, find synonyms and antonyms, etc. Whatever will help you to remember it. Make a game of it, like Memory, and have someone play it with you. Keep track of the score, and whoever wins gets a pre-agreed prize, like coffee or something. All you would need is some blank recipe cards and a pen. I think I might do this, lol, it sounds fun.

If you would like to use my coaching services to help keep your memory fresh, or make it better, use the contact form below to message me for details. One way to improve Memory is to increase your physical activity. Check out my Walking Buddy Plan!

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Be mindful of your brain: learn a new language

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Hello, and welcome to Monday! These last 9 days in June will be dedicated to Brain Health. Dementia and Alzheimer’s are diseases of the brain. Along with general Brain Health I will focus on Dementia and Alzheimer’s as well. But for today’s post I am going to discuss Language Learning and how it can help improve Brain Health. You may see affiliate links in this post, or any of my posts.

Check out immunity with D3 nutristrips. No water needed.

First lets start with some basic definitions.

Dementia: a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning,

Alzheimer’s: progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. It is the most common cause of premature senility.

You will see I made that middle or old age in bold. You can get Alzheimer’s even in middle age that means 40-65! Keeping your brain healthy is vitally important!

Cognitive Decline: from the CDC, Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) is the self-reported experience of worsening or more frequent confusion or memory loss. 1,2. It is a form of cognitive impairment and one of the earliest noticeable symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Even just learning new vocabulary can have a profound effect on Brain Health, but learning a second language is even better. You will find several videos below explaining how the brain functions when you are bilingual.

Here is a study for you to read.

For me I have dedicated, starting today, to learning Spanish. I do already know some basic words from when my kids were learning it. But, I never could speak full sentences. That is my goal! I have no idea how long it will take me, but I am almost 52, so it will be a bit. According to the video below, I think he said 30 weeks on average. So, maybe by next year this time, lol. I have downloaded an app called Mondly and it gives me daily lessons. If I find that too easy, ha ha, I have a workbook that I found on Amazon Kindle, and I have the Kindle Unlimited so I got it for free until I return it. Wish me luck!

Will you join in the brain challenge? What are you willing to commit to learn?

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How well do you know your kidneys?

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This post was intended for yesterday, however, WordPress has not been working correctly. Anyway. How well do you know your kidneys. I have been talking about Stress in the month of April, and last week I discussed Stress and the kidneys. But, do you know what your kidneys are, where they are, or exactly what they do? I have all your answers in 3 little videos. They are sort of repetitive, but each adds something interesting to the topic. Later this week I will introduce you to your heart, and how Stress can hurt your heart. If you would like to sign up for my free Kidney Education Class, click here for information.

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What is the Difference Between Sanitizing and Disinfecting? Plus, What My Family Meal Plan Looks Like for This Week.

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Happy Monday!  Unless you have been living under a rock you know that there is a lot of talk about this Novel Covid-19 virus.  I am paying particular attention because I work in the Health Care field, and I have CKD.  It is super important to me to keep me, my family and my patients as safe as possible.  One thing I have been stressing is disinfecting daily.

So, what is the difference between sanitizing and disinfecting?  Sanitizing is basically just a better clean than your normal clean.  It reduces the number of germs but does not eliminate germs completely.  I would say this is what any normal household does when they clean their home.  However, with this particular germ Disinfecting is more prudent.  Disinfecting eliminates all germs on a surface for a period of time.  I personally am disinfecting every day.  I will do a longer blog post on Wednesday on the different ways to accomplish this.

Do you sanitize or disinfect?  What methods do you use?

What will my family be eating this week?  Come back on Friday to see how I make each meal more CKD friendly.  I had to buy more this week than I would have liked, just to have some extra food in case anyone in my home, unfortunately, gets the new virus.  Disinfecting items are almost completely gone at stores in my area.  I will post more about this on Wednesday.  The most popular item is not the most cost-effective or efficient way to disinfect.

My menus start on Sunday and end on Saturday.

Sunday 3/7/2020:  Homemade chicken noodle soup.  This was amazing and everyone loved it.  Come back Friday to see how I adapt it for CKD.  Unfortunately, there were no leftovers.  Please note for all meals fruit is the dessert for each day.

3/8/2020:  Leftovers, or sandwiches and soup, breakfast for dinner, etc.

3/9/2020:  Italian pasta with pork ribs and broccoli.

3/10/2020:  Turkey meatballs with lemon rice and broccoli.  This is actually our wedding anniversary so we may go out to eat.  That is to be determined.  I am leary of closed places and business cleaning habits.

3/11/2020:  Pork cube steak with cheddar biscuits, green beans

3/12/2020:  Sandwich of choice and fruit, leftovers if there is any.  A garden salad is always a choice any day of the week.

3/13/2020:  BBQ pork ribs, mashed potatoes, and green salad.

Do you menu plan?  Do you have a chronic illness or special diet need?  Share in the comments how you navigate this with meals for a family.  If you would like to learn how to do this use the comment form below to send me a message for a free meet and greet.

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mission

The MIND Diet

/ healthbuddymelissa / 4 Comments

Returning to an old, but popular article topic, Memory Care.  I just read about a new diet that studies have shown may decrease the risk of getting Dementia, or Alzheimer’s.  The MIND diet, which is a variation of the DASH diet and the Mediterranean Diet.  The MIND diet focuses a lot on berries that boost brain function such as strawberries and blueberries.  From a kidney viewpoint that is great, because both of those berries are especially low in potassium compared to other fruits.  One thing of concern from a kidney viewpoint is the MIND diet focuses on Whole Grains.  3 servings a day of Whole Grains.  Whole Grains are much higher in phosphorus than their refined white friends.  So, portion control will be the issue if you have kidney disease.  I use the website Eat This Much to find out how much phosphorus is in the foods I eat.  So, what are the specifics of the MIND diet?

MIND Diet specifics:

Green Leafy Vegetables:  at least 6 servings per day.  If you are on a blood thinner or need to watch potassium levels manage your portion sizes accordingly.

Whole Grains:  3 or more servings per day.  See note above if you have kidney disease.  Popcorn is a whole grain, btw.  Adding a bit of rolled oats to my 2 smoothies a day helps me meet this requirement.  I do not care for whole wheat products as they cause bloating.  So, I look to get my whole grains from popcorn, rolled oats in my smoothies and whole-grain pasta if I can find it and it isn’t whole wheat.  I love whole oat bread for toast and sandwiches.  Watch how much sodium per serving though.

At least 1 serving of another type of vegetable per day.  I get way more than one.  Be careful of starchy veggies like potatoes.

Nuts:  5 servings a week.  I add slivered almonds or walnuts to my smoothie recipes.

Berries:  2 or more servings a week.  I get 2 or more in a day, most days.

Beans or Legumes:  3 or more servings a week.  This one is hard for me as I do not like beans.  I do like tender sweet peas though, and they are a legume.

Fish:  One or more serving per week.  Tuna is the only fish I eat.

Poultry:  2 or more servings per week.  I try to stick to just chicken and no red meat, except on occasion.

Wine:  Up to 1 serving per day of 3 ounces, red wine I presume.  If you have liver issues, or high blood pressure, ask your doctor first.

Olive oil as the main cooking oil.

Avoid sugar, caffeine, and processed foods.  Of course, everyone should already be watching their sodium intake, whether you have a condition or not.  It is just plain healthier.  The one thing I found super interesting was to limit cheese to only 1 serving per week on the MIND diet.  I am not sure of the justification for that other than maybe the fat and sodium content.  I will have to research that a bit more.  You can read both of the articles I found on this diet.  I am sure there are tons more, they are just the 2 that introduced me to the MIND diet.  If any of these requirements contradict anything a medical professional has told you, then don’t do it.  Discuss it with them as to the rational.  If you have Diabetes you still need to manage Carbs in the foods you eat.  Some of these foods may be higher in Carbs.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/meet-the-mind-diet-it-slashes-alzheimers-risk-113985079792.html

https://www.franciscanhealth.org/news-and-events/news/mind-diet-good-brain-body

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Memory Care Monday: How Memories are Made

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Happy Memory Care Monday! I hope everyone had an amazing weekend. I worked all weekend, and I am still deciding if these 12 hour shifts are going to work well for me.

The video below is very interesting, and explains how our brains make memories.  It is not that long, about 10 minutes, so give yourself some new knowledge, and let me know if you remember the name at the beginning of the video.

If you have a goal of improving your memory skills, and would like to work with me to reach that goal, use the contact form below to message me.

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Memory Care Monday: Revisit Old Memories With Photos

/ healthbuddymelissa / 3 Comments

Updated 10/18/2021 Hello all my wonderful readers!  Today, for Memory Care Monday, I am going to tell you about one of my most favorite things, taking and looking at pictures.  Now these serve two different types of memory, short term, and long term.  Taking new pictures, and then looking at them in 6 months, or so, will help your short term memory.  Looking at old pictures, from say when you were a child, or your children were babies, will help with long term memory.  I love to pull out all my old pictures, long before smart phones, lol, and try to remember what we were doing, and why were we there.  My kids get a kick out of these pictures too, so it can be a great bonding activity.  Maybe you have a loved one who is starting to lose their memory.  This is a wonderful activity for them as well.  Even people who are already in the throws of Alzheimer’s can benefit from this walk down memory lane.  Have fun with it.  Make it a game, even.  Dress up like the style for that time period.  Learn the lingo of the day. There are many great ways to help your loved one with Dementia, or maybe you work with Dementia residents. I saw this cool photo album that you can add voice to. What a brilliant idea. If you need a gift idea for a loved one with Dementia check it out on Amazon. I will be looking at these for Christmas for a loved one in my family. This is not an affiliate link.

Baby books are kind of becoming obsolete, so start a blog when your baby is born.  It will always be there, unless you delete it.  I have had a homeschool blog ever since I started with my kinds way back in the 2nd grade.  I have graduated 1, and have 1 more to go.  I have so much fun looking back at all the wonderful, fun things we did to learn.  Some day my kids will show it to their kids, and maybe they will even get some tips if they decide to homeschool their kids.

Have a blessed Monday!  If you would like help in setting, and reaching your health, and wellness goals, use the communication form below to message me about my 30 day coaching plans!

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Memory Care: Circumlucotion

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Updated 11/8/2021: I realized after I thought I picked up on the list where I left off, that I actually covered more words than I thought.

Before I get to this week’s word, I was contacted by someone who wanted to know what it means to give medical advice, and why I would not do it.  So, here is a definition for giving medical advice, medical advice is the provision of a formal professional opinion regarding what a specific individual should or should not do to restore or preserve health. Typically, medical advice involves giving a diagnosis and/or prescribing treatment for a medical condition.  Further into this topic discussing facts, or information is not giving medical advice.  I do not diagnose, nor do I treat.  I will work within a diet, or exercise regime if you already have one, except for walking. Walking is generally safe for everyone, and I do have a Walking Buddly Plan. That is part of the reason for the meet and greet, to see if you have underlying health diagnoses that need to be taken into account.   Helping you set realistic, attainable goals, and learning ways to meet those health goals, is what a Health Coach does.   You have to know your goal, or at least have some idea of your goal, and then a Health Coach helps you create realistic ways to meet those goals.  Health Coaches are not meant to replace a doctor.

OK, on to our Memory Care word for this week:  circumlocution.  Watch the very short video below and you will get a general idea of this word, then look up the word, then in your journal write the word, and the definition 10 times.  Then use it in a sentence, try to come up with synonyms for the word, draw it in a picture, or write a short paragraph using the word as many times as you can.  Go back over all the previous words, saying them out loud with the definition, at least ten times.  You should be starting to remember the ones at the beginning of the list, especially if you have been repeating them each week.  All the previous words can be found in the archives.  How are you doing so far?  Are you testing yourself each week? I hope to have time this week, 11/8/2021, to create a free printable for my newsletter followers to learn and quiz themselves. If you would like to purchase a journal with my artwork on it, see the image below.

If your goal is to improve your memory for school, better job skills, and possibly help prevent Alzheimer’s, use the contact form below to message me.

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https://www.redbubble.com/i/notebook/I-Will-Always-Have-Hope-Psalms-by-Missy69/90153938.WX3NH?asc=u&epik=dj0yJnU9ZmMxWG1uZGNoLTBrY1VqV0hxbWVTWXVPWjB4ZWtmOXkmcD0wJm49SVcxRE4zbFRiUVl6VXdMUEtMR3ktUSZ0PUFBQUFBR0dKZ28w

Memory Care Learn A New Word A Week Challenge: Belie

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Updated 11/01/2021

Woot woot here comes the next word in our weekly challenge.  Belie is the word to memorize for this week.  Look up the definition of this word then in your journal write the word and the definition 10 times.  Then say it out loud 10 times.  Then try to use belie in a sentence.  Go back over all the previous words to make sure you are remembering them.  Say them out loud 10 times each if you need to.  How are you doing so far?  The list is getting longer, and longer, which means it is getting harder and harder.  You can do it! Make sure you find the other words in the archives. I am currently updating all of these posts. I will be creating some free, fun printables for my newsletter followers.

Remember, if you want to learn more ways to improve your memory, and you want me to be your Health Coach, use the contact button to message me and set up a free meet and greet.  You can check out the links below for important info.  I am running a special in February for all new customers.  Get 10% off the monthly plan.  Don’t forget about my new Walking Buddy plan too.  You can message me to discuss that if you need a walking buddy.

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