​Did you know beside the COVID pandemic there is also an Alzheimer's epidemic. That Alzheimers is the leading form of dementia in the elderly. That subtle changes in memory start as early as 20 years before diagnosis. In fact according to a recent Forbes article, Blue Cross Blue Shield has seen 200% increase in diagnosis of this disease in 30-64 year olds. Now don't despair there are things you can do now to help protect your brain. First grab this book, The First Survivor's of Alzheimer's and also this book The End of Alzheimer's Program: The First Protocol to Enhance Cognition and Reverse Decline at Any Age Both are great and I read the first one in just under a week while on vacation last month, it has first hand accounts. 

Some of the simplest things you can do right now is change your diet. Choose fresh whole foods. Choose organic if that is financially hard to do, choose organic for the dirty dozen. Don't worry about organic when purchasing fruit and vegetables that are on the clean 15. (see below) However I will say if you having any inflammation at all, even if it's not memory related, please steer clear of corn. It is very inflammatory and hard to process. Just check your poop 💩 the next time you eat corn. If you see it in your poop your  body is not digesting it. 

Grab Dr. Bredesen's book and start implementing some of his strategies. If you need help deciding where to begin schedule a discovery call with me to see if working with a functional nutrition counselor would be beneficial for you.  

I can't believe I never wrote about the PREDICT (Personalized Responses to Dietary Composition Trial) 2 Study that I participated in back in March of 2020.  Wonder what was going on back that?😉 This was in depth nutrition study, covering blood glucose, and fat levels, activity, inflammation, sleep and gut microbiome diversity.  Participants wore a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and an activity tracker.  We took finger prick blood samples to monitor blood fat levels and collected stool samples for microbiome analysis. 

We were required to eat muffins that has differing levels of fat and sugar. We also had to drink a glucose solution. After we ate the prepared food, finger blood samples were required. However in return we were able to see how the foods that we choose to eat responded in our bodies through the CGM and blood work drawn at the end of the study. ​

Here is just an overview of the foods I ate and the samples I supplied. The results were published here. 

About 9 months after I completed the study they sent me a report about my blood glucose and fat levels. I also received a report on my gut microbiome. It was fairly healthy, so apparently I am eating the right foods for my gut. Where as my blood glucose and fat levels need a little work. I am pretty sure my lack of a gall bladder is contributing to my fat levels, I will try adding in an ox bile supplement to help my body digest the fats coming in. As for the blood glucose levels, I still need to tweak what is raising them. 
Would you ever participate in a study like this? 

Shop the sale here!

This sale makes it the perfect time to stock up on a few faves you might be running low on as well as a great time to try something you've been eyeing (maybe a fun new lip color (my fave is sheer genius) or our luxurious body polish, for example!).

As a heads up, brand new products (like our new Think Big All-In-One Mascara and Lid Glow Cream Shadow) are excluded from the sale (although they're both amazing, so you might want to add them to your cart anyway...). Sets, collections, and bundles, as well as last chance items, are also not eligible for the 15% discount.

The sale runs today through Monday, August 16.
Oh, and if you're a Band of Beauty member you just might have a credit to apply to your order as well. Remember your credit will show up as a payment option at checkout, or you can always reach out to me to check in on your credit amount. As a member, you'll get free shipping if your order totals $100 or more, too (saving you an additional $6.95). Yay!!

And if you are not a Band of Beauty member check out the benefits here. 

This weekend I made a new kind of granola. It's amazing at least my husband and I think so, the teen not so much. This granola is on the savory side. It would be great on top of brie with touch of onion jam. Since there are dairy allergies in our house we have started using Jules Foods cashew brie, which can be purchased at Vida Pour Tea in Greensboro located on State Street in Irving Park. I love this sweet tea shop, Sarah has several varieties of hand crafted teas, in addition to carrying locally made baked goods, kefir, kombucha and coffee. You can also find sleep, baby, feminine & masculine care products. In addition to ceramics, natural dental, honey, ayurveda, and plenty of tea-ware of course. If you are local go check out her shop and tell the girls behind the counter Mary sent you.  Otherwise you can visit her online.