Memory Minders

Stimulating Enrichment Services
to Enhance Memory & Wellness

Your Brain is What You Eat!

We all have heard the saying, you are what you eat.  At MemoryMinders we also say your brain is what you eat! Eating healthy, not only benefits your body, but your brain too.  Research is continually pointing us to certain foods for our brain wellness.

Generally, a diet high in antioxidants, Vitamin B, Omega 3 fatty acids and fiber is what I suggest to many of my clients.  Two of those foods were recently highlighted in some new research showing a correlation between a diet and memory.

One included insight on walnuts and reducing the risk, onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Walnuts are a great food as they have antioxidant properties as well as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an Omega-3 fatty acid with brain and heart wellness benefits. Walnuts are a brain-healthy add in to baked goods, salads, or even made into a pesto for pasta.  Walnut oil can also be used in salad dressings.

Another interesting study showed the part of the brain that declines in association with age related memory loss improved with a diet high in the antioxidants found in chocolate.  Although the amount of cocoa antioxidants (flavanols)  consumed by participants in the study was higher than what we would consume normally, it reinforces the advice we share at MemoryMinders: dark chocolate is the best chocolate choice for your brain wellness.

To help remember all the foods that are beneficial for our brains, at MemoryMinders we remind our clients to “eat a rainbow”.  When eating a rainbow, you are including a variety of colors with each meal.  A variety of colors usually means you are getting a variety of valuable fruits, veggies and brain healthy foods.Eat a Rainbow

Eating healthy and taking care of your body also helps in taking care of your brain and memory wellness.  So eat a rainbow, have some walnuts and dark chocolate because your brain is what you eat!

Research references:

Abha Chauhan, PhD et al. Dietary Supplementation of Walnuts Improves Memory Deficits and Learning Skills in Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, Volume 42, Number 4 / 2014 DOI: 10.3233/JAD-140675

Adam Brickman, et al. Enhancing Dentate Gyrus Function with Dietary Flavanols Improves Cognition in Older Adults. Nature Neuroscience (2014) DOI: 10.1038/nn.3850

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Organize for your Brain

In order to remember something most of us would choose to write it down.  But where you write it down makes a difference. How many times have we all written something important down on a random slip of paper, only to lose the random slip of paper-ughh!

Being organized in your physical world can help your brain to remember.  Paying attention to managing the details of life can do a world of good when helping to recall and retain information.

I encourage people to have a go-to notebook with them, in their pocket, purse, vehicle, etc.  Write down any information you gather or think of throughout the day in this one place. Then as soon as you get home or at the end of the day, transition anything you wrote in the notebook to where it needs to go-your calendar, to do list etc.

Be organized-use a calendar, make to-do lists and then prioritize them.  This all seems quite simplistic, but when applied to everyday life, it takes away the stress of having to remember so many details.  You just need to know where to look to find out the details.  This simple act can be very useful for all of us who need to remember so much, or for those whose memories are not what they used to be.

For additional details or more everyday memory strategies, contact MemoryMinders. We love to help you to make your moments memorable. Write it down and remember! Write it down

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Your Amazing Brain

Did you know that your brain truly is the nerve or control center of all that you do?  You brain has over 100 billion nerve cells called neurons and uses 20% of the oxygen and fuel your blood carries.  If you are thinking really hard, it can use up to 50%!  All of this is contained in a 3 pound complex organ in your head!

When you stop and think about all that our brains are responsible for from breathing and heart rate to processing the world around us and planning complex decisions, it truly is amazing.  So why do we take it for granted?

The longer I serve people with their memory wellness and am aware of all the things that impact my brain; I want to nurture it even more.  There are some basic things we all can do to keep our brains healthy.

Here are a few basic tips on loving and taking care of your amazing brain.  We’ll discuss these more in depth in upcoming posts.Take care of Brain -mm

  • Exercise your body and brain daily!
  • Eat a well-balanced, diet full of dark fruits and vegetables.
  • Get adequate and consistent sleep nightly.
  • Be positive and manage your stress.

These are just a few of the lifestyle habits that can help anyone’s brain.  Sign up and receive further tips and updates delivered directly to your email box!   Please feel free to contact me for details or for more information on how MemoryMinders can help you with your mind and memory wellness.

You brain truly is amazing-pay attention to it, nurture it and see how your overall wellness improves!

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Remember to Pay Attention

Many people ask me how they can remember things better: names, appointments, what happened yesterday.  This is what I do, I help people remember and sustain their memories.

I tell them to pay attention, it’s as simple and as difficult as that. Pay attention chalkboard

Memory techniques, strategies and lifestyle changes are all beneficial and I can tell you about those, too.  However,  if you don’t first pay attention, none of the rest will matter.

We learn in our society to multi-task, it’s how we live our lives. Even though we know multitasking is bad, we see it as a necessary evil.  But it’s counterproductive for our brains and memories, especially as we age.

Research shows multitasking actually makes us less efficient and effective. We do it anyway.  When someone tells us their name, we often miss it while thinking of something else.  And then walk away wondering why we can’t remember!

Simply paying attention to what matters in life and doing as few things as possible at a time can boost anyone’s memory.

When I truly focus on what I am doing and who I am with, life is precious.  It is a gift I give myself, my memory and all those around me.

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Our Memory is our Identity

Our memory is our identity.  How we view the world and ourselves is wrapped up in our memories of people and things in our past which lead us forward.  This is why I am so passionate about memory wellness. If we cannot recall something or someone in our lives, we lose a little bit of ourselves along the way.

MemoryMinders came to be because of various people in my life who had experienced memory issues for differing reasons.  Their lives and experiences impacted my life.  I saw first-hand how memory can be impacted by many variables in this life.  MemoryMinders strives to apply the latest research, ideas and concepts to promote memory wellness in all services we provide.

This blog will highlight some of the ideas, new research, updates and underlying principles of MemoryMinders.  I will expand on them here in a way I cannot do on the website pages.  Please sign up to receive these updates directly into your mailbox so you can stay informed!

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