So I just finished reading Don Dan Brown’s new book The Lost Code…oh wait, no it is the hold on I have it over here…oh yes the Lost Symbol. First of all I must say the critics are wrong and I think it is every bit as good as The DaVinci Code (but maybe not quite as good as Angels and Demons). The thing I like about Brawn…er Brown is that like John Grisham, he is an easy read. No overeloquence to describe a piece of trash, no more than a few different story lines going on at once, but yet can still draw you in with different emotions throughout.
Now why was I writing this post? Oh yeah Alzheimer’s.
According to Alz.org
Is a progressive and fatal brain disease. As many as 5.3 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s destroys brain cells, causing memory loss and problems with thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is fatal. Today it is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States.
Being someone who has watched family members suffer from this terrible affliction and the strain and stress it causes them and their caretakers, I wondered as I read the book whether given our current lifestyle that we are not creating a generation of early onset alzheimer’s patients.
You see as I read the book, I found myself in parts reading it front of the computer because there were things I wanted to look up like breathable liquids, newton’s scale, images of identified artwork. And while you say I was challenging my brain, I counter that yes I was, but I don’t have to REMEMBER any of it.
All the information in the world is at my finger tips. When was the last time any of us had to remember a phone number. There are many close people in my life who I couldn’t tell you their phone number in an emergency because it is programmed into my phone. I don’t HAVE to remember.
Don’t get me wrong kids today are smarter than I ever was, even though Don Mills and I would agree we still “know” more than them. I host my blog on wordpress because then I don’t have to learn html but every 10 year old could create the most elaborate websites you have ever seen.
And isn’t that challenging their brain? Sure but one of the other issues is that you end up rather than having to get on your bike and ride to the library to find out information, you can roll your fat ass over to the computer without any effort. So now we spend so much time in front of the computer and overeating (as American’s tend to do) that we aren’t getting exercise.
According to the site:
General healthy aging: Other lines of evidence suggest that strategies for overall healthy aging may help keep the brain healthy and may even offer some protection against developing Alzheimer’s or related diseases. Try to keep your weight within recommended guidelines, avoid tobacco and excess alcohol, stay socially connected, and exercise both your body and mind.
So my loyal readers, I am vowing that my ass will not get wider than my shoulders and have begun an effort to lost 15 lbs. The last time I lost that much weight I used the South Beach diet. Well a kidney stone (one day I’ll tell you that story) and a urologist visit later, and I am no longer allowed to do high protein diets. So I am going to exercise more to see if that has any effect.
Who is with me? Step away from your blogroll and move your butt. To sacrifice, I will still be here if you miss a day of visiting because you are out jogging…(ugh that won’t be me). You’ll just make it up to me by commenting twice the day you do visit.
And speaking of forgetting. We all missed September 21 which was World Alzheimer’s Day (I tend to forget how to even spell it without looking it up. Always want to put a “t” in there), which was September 21. But the good news I am early for National Alzheimers Month in November.
Off to do some sit ups. I’ll visit your sites later.
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