For Better Mental Health
May is Mental Health Awareness Month!!
I am so proud of the work that is being done by Drs. Ayesha and Dean Sherzai at my alma mater Loma Linda University, home of the Adventist Health Study. While there as a student, the faculty and staff embodied the mission of Making Man Whole and were years ahead of what we are now understanding as LIfestyle Medicine. Loma Linda University has always made the connection between lifestyle choice and health outcome, and now the data from the Adventist Health Study confirms it and evidence based research supports it.
While I had read about the Sherzai’s, I was able recently to actually attend a presentation by them. They are amazing!! Both are “practicing neurologists, scientists, authors, parents, and a husband and wife duo that know the value of healthy lifestyle choices and have seen the impact that their NEURO Plan framework has in making the sick healthy and in taking healthy to the next level. They met as young physicians and in their first conversation they learned that both of their grandparents had spent their remaining days on this Earth suffering from dementia. It was then that they vowed to do whatever they could to help others avoid this fate and build healthy minds and bodies.” (https://thebraindocs.com/about/)
As a health educator, I am 100% supportive of how our choices can change our health. While listening to the Sherzai’s, the following stood out the most to me:
-What you eat can affect your cognitive function
- A healthy, plant based diet was associated with slower cognitive decline in African American older adults (Am J Clinical Nutrition -2022)
-Exercise has a direct impact on the brain
-Exercise increase neuroplasticity, blood supply, reduces insulin resistance, reduces depression, anxiety and attention deficits and reduces prevalence of vascular and neurodegenerative diseases
-Stress impacts cognitive decline
-Older African-Americans with higher levels of perceived stress have more rapid declines in global cognition than those with lower levels. (Am J of Geriatric Psychiatry, January 2017) I can only imagine the effect of the stress of racism, over a lifetime.
-Good Sleep impacts brain function
-Restorative sleep cleanses the brain through the body’s waste system for the central nervous system known as the glymphatic system. It literally clears out the trash and consolidates and organizes memory.
Who wouldn’t want to make better choices if they know it can help them improve their mental health? I know that there may be some extenuating circumstances that impact those choices…access to good plant foods, concern for safety when exercising, racism/white supremacy/microaggressions, trouble sleeping. But, all of those challenges have solutions which can lead to better mental health and better overall health as well.
Don’t know where you are on your Journey to Better Mental Health, but I do know that there is HOPE!! If you are interested in learning how choice can impact mental health outcomes, visit the Sherzai’s here . They’re doing some great things in Loma Linda. You will also find some amazing information on mental health and lifestyle done by Dr. Neil Nedley. He pioneered some really great mental health outcomes that became his Depression Recovery Program available now in person/online.
If you are a health professional who did not learn the value of LIfestyle Medicine during your training, schedule a class or attend a conference. There are plenty to choose from. Start here It will blow your mind and change your practice. We are watching miracles happen and people get their health restored!!
Be transformed, by the renewing of your mind. Better Mental Health is available to you. It’s First Thursday Yawl!!
I’m Still Shoutin’ Ova Here
Donna
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