Increase Your Memory With Healthy Meals

Dear Friends:

I am doing remarkably well in overcoming the terrible effects of chronic Lyme Disease. What greatly helped me return to health was taking intravenous treatments of an array of Nutrient Therapies three days a week most of the winter. In addition to multivitamins, these included Artesnuate, an antimicrobial; Immune Inflam, an immune system support to decrease inflammation; Glutathione for brain health; and NAD, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a co-enzyme that converts energy into a usable form and provides tissue and brain repair. Month after month I felt stronger and by June my husband and I traveled to Maine and experienced a wonderful summer at our island home on Deer Isle.

A startling fact is that Lyme Disease can eat your brain. Early in the summer, I began talking to Denise Kalos who worked with Dr. Dale Bredeson to develop a program at the Buck Institute to help people maintain memory or restore what has already been lost. From that project Affirmativ Health evolved into an independent company that expanded the program and included research from reputable research institutes from around the world. Basically, the program seeks to enhance memory through science and lifestyle.

Over the summer under her direction I have been learning how to eat to help my brain keep its full function. What we eat regularly is all important in reversing memory loss. Above all, whether you are a diabetic or not, eating sugar deteriorates your brain. Cutting down on sugar is the best way to help maintain your memory. Doctors say that 50% of Alzheimer patients could be saved if they stopped eating sugar. I am used to limiting the sugar intake of my diabetic husband, but never suspected that this was a problem for me. While I’m still not a diabetic, my sugar count tends to be higher than it should be even though I try never to eat desserts or sweet snacks or drinks.

Apparently, it is important to maintain an adequate weight. All you who worry about dieting all the time should rejoice in that. I lost a good deal of weight when I contracted Lyme Disease. Those who are helping me constantly encourage me to eat more in order to gain it back rather than rejoice that my clothes fit better.

Good fats and protein along with healthy vegetables are the key to a healthy diet. Good fats come from avocado, nuts, seeds, nut butter, fish and healthy oils like olive oil and coconut oil.. Good protein comes from eggs, fish, beans and lentils. Beans count as both protein and carbohydrate. Good carbohydrate is found in gluten free bread (Three Bakers is by far the best tasting in my opinion), nut-based crackers, fruit, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, oatmeal, and brown or wild rice.

My favorite breakfasts are avocado slices and fresh spinach sautéed in coconut oil and scrambled with free range organic eggs. Another, is poached eggs laid on-top of gluten free toast covered with avocado slices and sprinkled with Himalayan salt. Favorite lunches are fresh apples with almond butter or sardines in oil on gluten free crackers. Of course, salads of fresh greens and lettuces from local Maine farms with simple olive oil and lemon dressings are excellent for any meal. For dinner we had a variety of local wild caught fish: haddock, flounder, or halibut. All wild seafood in Maine is among the healthiest available. I enjoyed it served with fresh farm vegetables sautéed in coconut oil, and my favorite, baked sweet potatoes. Now that I am back in Naples, Florida, I am ordering flash frozen wild salmon from Alaska.

It is my choice not to eat meats since I contracted Lyme Disease from eating quality beef. If you prefer, you can eat meat on the diet and they particularly recommend chicken.

Every meal should contain healthy fats with protein and limited carbohydrates. That includes gluten free bread. Adding nuts and seeds to a meal is considered a good practice as well. I continue to be surprised at the emphasis on what I eat for each meal.

It is helpful to eat within a 10 to12 hour span during the day and refrain from eating for 12 to 14 hours at night. Tough on diabetics that raid the kitchen nightly looking for sugar, this is called an intermittent fast which helps manage blood sugar level.

I do encourage you to consider these things as you plan your daily diet. None of us want to contemplate losing our ability to remember names of our friends and places that we have loved. There is nothing pleasant about Senior moments and it is never too early to make sure they don’t come to you.

Barbara Hattemer