36 min
Saving Your Brain From Alzheimer’s With Tamara Claunch, Creator Of The Brain Beautiful Method The Produce Moms Podcast
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- Health & Fitness
“The system is not set up to facilitate wellness and health. My goal is to help connect regular people with the current research and help make a difference in their lives and help reduce the global burden of Alzheimer’s.”
Tamara Claunch (34:51-35:18)
Tamara Claunch had a first hand experience with Alzheimer’s that left her feeling hopeless. Her grandmother passed away in 2008 from Alzheimer’s related complications and, after watching her get sicker and sicker over many years with no way to help, it left Tamara worrying about how she would end up (both her great-grandmother and grandmother had it).
Her concern drove her to start reading the latest international Alzheimer’s research and was surprised to find out how many things you can do to reduce your risk of getting the disease. She started working for The Center For Applied Research and Dementia where she helped individuals with late-stage Alzheimer’s use a therapeutic rehabilitative approach that enabled them to re-learn how to eat, communicate and perform other basic functions we don’t usually see someone late-stage be able to do again.
Tamara went on to work with other organizations like Dementia Alliance International and Apollo Health, which further showed Tamara all that’s available for us to do to prevent and protect ourselves against Alzheimer’s. Now with her Brain Beautiful Method, taught through digital courses and one-on-one coaching sessions, Tamara teaches people how to transform their body into a Living Laboratory, cultivating a garden of brain-supportive habits unique to yourself. Her four micro-courses, Nourish, Move, Calm and Rest, focus on the core essentials of defending against Alzheimer’s (proper nutrition, exercise and stress management).
“If I had a magic wand and could make everybody eat in a Brain Beautiful way, half of their plate would be green leafy vegetables, it would incorporate probiotics or prebiotics bacteria, and include non-starchy vegetables and eating a rainbow seasonal produce.” Tamara Claunch (26:14-26:54)
We all know proper nutrition and physical activity is essential for health, but how does it affect your risk for Alzheimer’s? By following the Brain Beautiful Method and eating properly, getting the right kind and right amount of exercise, not smoking, not having unhealthy alcohol habits, and engaging in cognitive stimulation activities, you can cut your risk for getting Alzheimer’s by 60%! When it comes to fitness, what’s most important is getting your blood flowing because when blood pumps through your body, it’s bringing vital nutrients to your brain. A minimum of 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity a week is standard, and exercise like high intensity interval training (HIIT) has proven to be highly effective. Even if you or someone you know doesn’t have that ability for such vigorous exercise, Tamara suggests walking! Our bodies are designed for it and if you start tracking your steps, you can do just a little bit more each day.
“One of the most important functions of sleep is cleaning out the brain at night. When we go to sleep at night and we get into deep sleep, cerebrospinal fluid washes across the surface of the brain and carries away detritus which is essentially [the] brain’s trash litter. Every thought you had, everything you read, every word you spoke [and so on] is a chemical reaction in the brain which is left behind like trash that needs to be washed.” Tamara Claunch (15:21-15:50)
Sleep is also vital to Alzheimer’s prevention and something that (as Lori admitted on the podcast) most of us aren’t getting enough of. But without getting enough sleep, which is about seven to eight hours per night, your brain can’t clean itself and your body struggles to step out of stress and into the rest, relaxation and recovery it needs. If you’re a chronic late-night phone scroller… stop! Blue light is emitted from ou
“The system is not set up to facilitate wellness and health. My goal is to help connect regular people with the current research and help make a difference in their lives and help reduce the global burden of Alzheimer’s.”
Tamara Claunch (34:51-35:18)
Tamara Claunch had a first hand experience with Alzheimer’s that left her feeling hopeless. Her grandmother passed away in 2008 from Alzheimer’s related complications and, after watching her get sicker and sicker over many years with no way to help, it left Tamara worrying about how she would end up (both her great-grandmother and grandmother had it).
Her concern drove her to start reading the latest international Alzheimer’s research and was surprised to find out how many things you can do to reduce your risk of getting the disease. She started working for The Center For Applied Research and Dementia where she helped individuals with late-stage Alzheimer’s use a therapeutic rehabilitative approach that enabled them to re-learn how to eat, communicate and perform other basic functions we don’t usually see someone late-stage be able to do again.
Tamara went on to work with other organizations like Dementia Alliance International and Apollo Health, which further showed Tamara all that’s available for us to do to prevent and protect ourselves against Alzheimer’s. Now with her Brain Beautiful Method, taught through digital courses and one-on-one coaching sessions, Tamara teaches people how to transform their body into a Living Laboratory, cultivating a garden of brain-supportive habits unique to yourself. Her four micro-courses, Nourish, Move, Calm and Rest, focus on the core essentials of defending against Alzheimer’s (proper nutrition, exercise and stress management).
“If I had a magic wand and could make everybody eat in a Brain Beautiful way, half of their plate would be green leafy vegetables, it would incorporate probiotics or prebiotics bacteria, and include non-starchy vegetables and eating a rainbow seasonal produce.” Tamara Claunch (26:14-26:54)
We all know proper nutrition and physical activity is essential for health, but how does it affect your risk for Alzheimer’s? By following the Brain Beautiful Method and eating properly, getting the right kind and right amount of exercise, not smoking, not having unhealthy alcohol habits, and engaging in cognitive stimulation activities, you can cut your risk for getting Alzheimer’s by 60%! When it comes to fitness, what’s most important is getting your blood flowing because when blood pumps through your body, it’s bringing vital nutrients to your brain. A minimum of 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity a week is standard, and exercise like high intensity interval training (HIIT) has proven to be highly effective. Even if you or someone you know doesn’t have that ability for such vigorous exercise, Tamara suggests walking! Our bodies are designed for it and if you start tracking your steps, you can do just a little bit more each day.
“One of the most important functions of sleep is cleaning out the brain at night. When we go to sleep at night and we get into deep sleep, cerebrospinal fluid washes across the surface of the brain and carries away detritus which is essentially [the] brain’s trash litter. Every thought you had, everything you read, every word you spoke [and so on] is a chemical reaction in the brain which is left behind like trash that needs to be washed.” Tamara Claunch (15:21-15:50)
Sleep is also vital to Alzheimer’s prevention and something that (as Lori admitted on the podcast) most of us aren’t getting enough of. But without getting enough sleep, which is about seven to eight hours per night, your brain can’t clean itself and your body struggles to step out of stress and into the rest, relaxation and recovery it needs. If you’re a chronic late-night phone scroller… stop! Blue light is emitted from ou
36 min