Last session of Restorative Chair Yoga for Caregivers led by Frannie James, May 28, 11:30am-12:15pm, Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church. For caregivers of loved ones with dementia and other caregivers. Restorative chair yoga is an opportunity to help alleviate the isolation that caregivers often feel – to help reduce stress, depression, and anxiety by practicing some self-kindness and compassion. No cost, but donations are accepted. foundersplace@saint-lukes.com or call 205.802.6218 Registration link: https://bit.ly/3xGCQbi
AFA Webinar, The Intersection of Juneteenth, Alzheimer’s, and Racial Trauma, June 12, 11:00 pm – 12:30 pm CT. Topics covered include health disparities, trauma, racial traumatic stress, and their effects on the brain–all of which can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. https://alzfdn.org/event/live-interactive-webinar-training-the-intersection-of-juneteenth-alzheimers-and-racial-trauma/
Contenu is hosting a retreat that focuses on health and wellness activities for the person with a serious illness and their caregiver, August 24, New Water Farms, Dadeville, 8 am – 4:30 pm. This retreat will focus on health and wellness activities for the person with a serious illness, and their caregivers, with the aim of giving attendees a space to refresh, recharge, and relax. Com. e and enjoy a day of health and wellness. Activities will include sessions like movement and mindfulness, fruit farming, and taking a boat ride. The cost is $50. https://www.contenuhealing.org/event/wellness-and-healing-retreat-program-2/
Support Group Meetings:
- ACA’s support group with Miller & Vance, Tuesday, May 28, 11 – noon CT. Call (205) 871-7970 or mpiggott@alzca.org. Join us on zoom:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85247427423
- CJFS CARES, Mondays at 3 pm, contact Pam Leonard, pam@cjfsbham.org.
- St Lukes Episcopal Church on Tuesdays at 10:15. Contact Betsy Smith (smith35213@gmail.com) or Janis Cole (janiscarole3@aol.com).
- West Alabama Area Agency on Aging, Caregiver Support Group, Tuesdays, contact Nikki Poe, nikki.poe@westal.org.
- The Oaks on Parkwood, 4th Tuesday’s, 10:00 am, Contact: Karen Glover, karenrglover@gmail.com.
- CJFS CARES, Tuesdays, 7:00 pm, contact Pam Leonard, pam@cjfsbham.org.
- United Way Area Agency on Aging of Jefferson County, 3rd Tuesday of each month 11:30-12:30, contact Valarie Lawson, vlawson@uwaaa.org
- Leeds, 1st Tuesday, 6:30 pm. Contact Julie Slagle jslagle@lakesidehospice.org
- Pell City, 2nd Tuesday, 2:30 pm. Contact Julie Slagle, jslagle@lakesidehospice.org
- M4A virtual support group, 3rd Wednesday’s 2:00 – 3:00 pm. Contact Chalane Mims, cmims@m4a.org.
- Trinity United Methodist Church, every Thursday at 2:30 pm, contact Ernie at 205-370-0032 or email ewillis@trinitybirmimgham.com.
- Asbury United Methodist Church 1st and 3rd Thursdays at 1:00, contact Maggie Dunaway at mdunaway@asburyonline.org.
- AFTD support group, second Tuesday of the month. Amber Guy: 251-281-5344.
- Discovery United Methodist Church, Hoover, the first and third Thursday of each month. Peggy Harrison: pharrison@discoveryumc.org.
- St. Mark’s UMC, Vestavia Hills, Fridays at 1 pm. Contact Donna Baird: (205)717-9880.
May Webinars from Alabama Lifespan Respite: https://alabamarespite.org/events2/
Alzheimer’s News:
Tips for Traveling with a Loved One Living with Dementia this Memorial Day Weekend:
- Make sure travel is advisable. Someone in the early stages of dementia might still enjoy traveling, but as the disease progresses, it could become too overwhelming an experience. Depending on the trip’s length and/or the stage of the person’s illness, it may be best to consult with a physician to make sure travel is advisable.
- Plan around the person’s abilities and routine. Plan the travel mode and timing of your trip so that it causes the least amount of anxiety and stress. Incorporate the person, their abilities, and needs when making arrangements. If they travel more easily at a specific time of day, try to plan accordingly. Small or unfamiliar changes can be overwhelming for someone with dementia, so as much as possible, preserve the person’s routine. For example, if they normally eat around a certain time, build that into your itinerary.
- Avoid overscheduling. Scheduling many activities and experiences during a trip can be tempting; however, it could overstimulate someone living with dementia, potentially causing confusion, agitation, or anxiety. Be sure to build in downtime to allow the person to rest and recharge. Focus on spending quality time together rather than the number of sites, attractions, and activities.
- Stock up before leaving. Bring snacks, water, activities such as puzzles, and comfort items (i.e., a blanket or the person’s favorite sweater), as well as an extra set of comfortable clothing to be able to adapt to climate changes. Take important health and legal-related documentation, a list of current medications, and physician information with you.
If traveling by car:
- Build in break time. Take regular breaks on road trips for food, bathroom visits, and rest.
If traveling by mass transit:
- Know the security procedures. Check in advance about the airport/train stations’ security screening procedures. This way, you can familiarize the person beforehand with what will happen at the checkpoint; this can reduce potential anxiety. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/tsa-cares/passenger-support) offers assistance with the screening process to air travelers with certain medical conditions, including dementia-related illnesses; contact their TSA Cares Helpline at least 72 hours prior to your flight to learn more.
A Florida neurologist explores three possible causes when someone is concerned about memory loss. “I want to know what is going on in their day-to-day life that might be affecting their condition. Someone who has hearing loss is not going to hear and thus not remember things. Hearing loss is a big issue and big risk factor for cognitive loss. Someone who is distracted, nervous or depressed is not going to be paying attention or concentrating as much. “This is going to affect memory and other cognitive skills.” Similarly, individuals who are not processing experiences and putting them into memory because of fatigue, sleep deprivation, illness or medication effects may also experience cognitive changes. All of these things can affect both short- and long-term memory. If we can identify some of these changes, these are easy to treat and reverse right away. We always should be keeping in mind how we can optimize our brain function.” Learn more about how to maximize brain function: https://alzfdn.org/preventing-neurocognitive-decline/
Consuming highly processed foods may be harmful to the aging brain, independent of other risk factors for adverse neurologic outcomes and adherence to recommended dietary patterns, new research suggests. Observations from a large cohort of adults followed for more than 10 years suggested that eating more ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) may increase the risk for cognitive decline and stroke, while eating more unprocessed or minimally processed foods may lower the risk. The first key takeaway is that the type of food that we eat matters for brain health, but it’s equally important to think about how it’s made and handled when thinking about brain health,. The second is that it’s not just all a bad news story because while increased consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a higher risk of cognitive impairment and stroke, unprocessed foods appear to be protective. UPFs are highly manipulated, low in protein and fiber, and packed with added ingredients, including sugar, fat, and salt. Examples of UPFs are soft drinks, chips, chocolate, candy, ice cream, sweetened breakfast cereals, packaged soups, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, and fries. Unprocessed or minimally processed foods include meats such as simple cuts of beef, pork and chicken, and vegetables and fruits. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/ultra-processed-foods-independent-risk-factor-poor-brain-2024a10009sj?ecd=WNL_trdalrt_pos1_240523_etid6541381&uac=407526BK&impID=6541381
Fruits and veggies are seriously good for you. Many of their benefits can be attributed to the diverse micronutrients they contain, which go way beyond letter vitamins alone. For instance, plant-based foods are rich in antioxidants—of which there are many—including a specific subset called flavonols. Updated findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) program, found a higher intake of flavonols was associated with:
- 36 % decrease in all-cause mortality
- 55 % decrease in cancer-specific mortality
- 33 % decrease in cardiovascular-specific mortality.
Plus, when looking at specific flavonols, some of these measures (as well as those for Alzheimer’s disease mortality risk) fared even better. In the most recent findings from the NHANES study, myricetin (found in tea, berries, and nuts) was associated with a whopping 66 percent decline in Alzheimer’s disease mortality risk. Foods rich in flaonals: onions, kale, broccoli, blueberries, apples, green tea, black tea, cocoa, red wine, beans, spices, nuts. https://www.wellandgood.com/foods-with-flavonols/?inf_contact_key=c2cb4010831536e5e1acd66a2e70a261a1329d28f7dbe944e825aa4ee3aefc23
The incidence of Alzheimer’s is growing along with our aging population. Alzheimer’s disease is now a leading cause of mortality in the developed world. Billions of dollars are being spent to try to unravel this puzzle, with the federal government recently increasing funding by $400 million, bringing the research budget up to $1.4 billion. In addition to genetics, scientists are looking to inflammation, viruses, lack of nutrients and even air pollution as possible factors in the disease. Research at Arizona State University are scoping out what they call “Alzheimerogens.” In the same vein as carcinogens, Alzheimerogens are any environmental substance suspected to induce Alzheimer’s or other dementias. Scientists believe that some man-made environmental compounds can be associated directly or indirectly with Alzheimer’s disease, including various insecticides, industrial and commercial pollutants, antimicrobials, heavy metals and air pollutants. These chemicals, often used for industrial, medical, agricultural and military purposes can persist in the environment long after initial use, causing toxicity to flora and fauna. “What we know is that genes load the gun; the environment pulls the trigger.” https://news.asu.edu/20191126-researchers-look-toxins-environment-answers-alzheimer%E2%80%99s?inf_contact_key=7390052ba72343ffac1dd33a4ccc6f3b2fff72da363b354f729db1788063859c