Get your sneakers and run away! But first a little background for this call to an active cardio escapism. Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, dementia, mental fog, the loss of brain function, shrinkage of brain areas, genocide of cells and connections… all of these states stand as risks as the body ages. It was once believed and pervasively taught that the number of your brain cells platoes at 18 and that there can be no more cell growth after that while that each beer kills about 40 000 of them. It has, since then been decisively proved to not be so. The brain develops new pathways, strengthens the old ones and cleans out the useless ones you never use to optimize the function and reaction time. But the brain can also repopulate damaged areas, it can strengthen the bonds that were almost lost and fully repair them. It can insulate itself and strengthen its resistance to outside attacks… it truly is remarkable that it keeps going no matter how hard you make it on it to do what it was meant to do.

One of the most important markers for optimal cognitive function is BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) that will in the long term determine cognitive health and protect you from the onset of degenerative diseases. BDNF is like a signal to the brain that tells it to grow new cells, especially in the memory centers which sustain most damage from degeneration. Alzheimer’s and other distortions might have a genetic underlying component that make it more likely for you, but this only means that by knowing you have a family history your responsibility for a better lifestyle is that much greater. You can’t act surprised and pretend you didn’t know any more. The information is out there. 20 minutes of aerobic exercise a day, while keeping your heart rate at cca 180 – your age, is enough to jump start the BDNF production. Resistance exercises will have an effect to, but an occasional medium strength cardio shows better results. So a brisk walk uphill or a steady 20 minute jog will do it. People who don’t move literaly show shrinked brains in brain scans. There are never any guarantees but life is a game of chances and wouldn’t you like a higher chance to keep your memories and personality? In the next 20 years if the prevalent lifestyle continues 50% of those over 85 will suffer from Alzheimer’s. 50%! So yes, you can literally run away from becoming a statistic. Have you noticed that when you feel cognitive exhaustion, writers block or just plain sense of empty mental flat lining, that if you just get out and move your body for a while it clears – this is the same mechanism in action, which translated into a sustainable habit, protects you far more than you’ve ever known. You can also work with the natural tendency of your brain cells to want to connect and form bonds by helping them with what you choose to put in your mouth so, for example, CBD dosing or using turmeric regularly in cooking also enhances BDNF production.

Clean up your act, move and eat well. The leading cause of death today has many names in medical journals and coronary reports but they fall into the same group – inflammation – heart attacks, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, autoimmune diseases, hormonal imbalances, hypo or hyperthyroidism are all inflammatory diseases. It’s a body screaming for help and in 95% of it can be significantly lowered, kept under control or completely prevented by changing the lifestyle. Get your snickers on and be mindful of what you put in your body. Really let it sink in that this is your only body and that there are no do overs. Don’t just treat the symptoms, start at the basic cellular and biochemical levels. Get informed, research. All is available and you cannot be excused by ignorance any more. Move.