011 The Healthy Brain Podcast: How It All Began

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The Healthy Brain Podcast is the voice for those of you who are having issues with their brain. In this episode, Carrie Miller explains why she started the show in the first place, sharing the story of her mother’s battle with Alzheimer’s. She also gives some highlights of what she will be covering in a series of upcoming episodes, including physical activities that work best for you in your lifestyle and how to tap into some healthy sleeping patterns and nourish your soul spiritually.

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The Healthy Brain Podcast: How It All Began

If this is your first time here, I’d like to introduce myself to you. I’ve been a serial entrepreneur all my life. I’m a ceramic artist of fifteen-plus years, a certified holistic nutritionist, a coach, a former fashion model, and NBA cheerleader. I am pure Texan. I was raised by parents who instilled in me a very strong work ethic at a no-excuse protocol. My parents were hard-workers and quite bold. I learned at a young age to fight for what was right and never take any bull. I’m a little competitive at times, especially if there’s a pool table anywhere nearby or a basketball hoop. My daddy used to say, “Carrie, you want to make sure that boys still come around here every once in a while. Sometimes you’ve got to let them win.” I knew what he was talking about but I wasn’t good at taking that advice because I had a little agenda. That was to win no matter the cost. I didn’t care about keeping that boy around.

I’d like to explain to you why I started this show in the first place. My mama was diagnosed with dementia many years ago. She was about 64, 65 years old. There was no telling how long she had memory problems because daddy didn’t notice any big changes and they were living miles away from us. I didn’t pick up on anything over the phone, but I do remember my daughter coming back from a week-long stay with her granny and gramps in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. She’s saying, “Hanna and I got pretty tired of eating ham. Granny fixed it for us every single meal.” When I heard that, I giggled and said, “Ham every day?” She said, “Yes, ma’am.” My mama was always a great cook and she never denied that Southern hospitality to anyone. She’d make fried chicken and all the fixings. It was hard to believe. I didn’t read much into the whole ham thing because I didn’t know of anyone with memory problems until I was hired to work for a holistic doctor.

Many years ago, if you had memory problems, the neurologist gave you a verbal test and not any brain scans or anything like that. You either passed or failed it. Mama had failed it and immediately was put on the Exelon Patch. Along the way, she was prescribed seventeen drugs a day. She was given a later diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. That Alzheimer’s disease is the death sentence that we don’t like to talk about. I started this show to be the voice for those of you who are having issues with your brain. Perhaps you have brain fog, anxiety, depression or memory problems, which may lead to a diagnosis of dementia. It depends on which doctor you go and see or you’ve already been diagnosed with dementia. Maybe you’ve been on mega doses of drugs for years. I can only imagine your story. We’ve all got one.

Since my mom was diagnosed, I’ve been researching brain health so that I can learn for myself what’s best for the brain and then share with others along the way. I followed the experts in the field of neurology and alternative approaches to medicine. If you or a loved one have dementia of any kind, then I understand you. I’m here to tell you that you or your loved one do not have to go through what our families endured over the years. You’re maybe asking, what did we endure? It’s been a constant draining of the heart, body, and mind. There have been endless decisions that had been made. Appointments with multiple doctors and never on the same page. We’re in and out of the ER sometimes every week if not every month because of the UTI and all the shaking episodes my mom would have either with over-prescribing or under-prescribing with drugs. That can always happen.

Dealing with the side effects from each prescribed drug, what a vicious cycle that is. Eventually, the decision to place mama in a home. Placing your loved one in a home is not always the best thing no matter what that professional is telling you. We have so much to talk about here but this is the day and you have the opportunity to write your own script by taking control of your own health. Just because things aren’t working properly doesn’t mean that you have a disease and the only solution is a pill. You’ve been given a brain by God almighty to think and choose for yourself. That self-awareness gift you’ve been given, use it. For example, if your body is telling you that bread is not only adding pounds to your weight, but you’re feeling lethargic and bloated afterwards, then that’s a no-brainer, get off of it.

Why would you feel like crap to satisfy temporary pleasure and compromise your health long-term? I get it, we all love our bread. I was raised on white bread and that tub of yellow vegetable oil, butter or whatever. That’s so bad for you. If any of you are on that lard, please do yourself a big favor and get off ASAP. What I’m preaching here is this. Stop living in the moment and start listening to your body. You might surprise yourself. For those of you who know me, you know I believe in alternative medicine, unconventional medicine and holistic functional medicine out there. To me, it’s a special body of work that is created by people who think outside of the framework of traditional medicine. We all believe that food is medicine, moving your body, getting adequate sleep and even taking some vitamins and interacting socially in person and other lifestyle changes to benefit our brains and our bodies. It’s the future. Whether you like it or not, it’s here to stay. I am so grateful that we have access to it right here in the US of A.

Let me tell you a little bit about what we’re going to be covering in a series of upcoming episodes. It’s all about choice, the God-given freedom you have in this country to choose what’s best for you. I’m here to tell you that you have the choice to either keep on doing what you’re doing and you’re getting those negative vibes and results from your body and brain or you can choose to change your habits and optimize your brain to its fullest. We’re going to get you started on a straight and narrow path for optimal health by empowering you to make the right choices. There are no more excuses. It’s now or never. We’ll cover topics on clean and healthy eating. What is healthy in the grocery store and how are we going to read those ingredients on that label? How to clean up the pantry? What are some of the easy and simple recipes I’m cooking at my Texas table?

We will talk about physical activity that works best for you and your lifestyle and how to tap into some healthy sleeping patterns and nourish your soul spiritually. How are we going to do that? I’ll share my tips on how I stay connected with others and keeping those relationships that matter and getting rid of those toxic ones. That’s a must, sticking with a simple routine to not overwhelm you mentally. To let you all know, this is not for the faint of heart. This is never ever easy. I don’t care what some other people are telling you. It’s hard. If you’re sick and tired of ignoring your symptoms or may be unaware of what triggers your body and brain, then it’s your time to get off your butt and gear and not only establish but stick with long-term life-changing habits to optimize your brain health. How do you do that? Stay tuned to the next episode. I am excited to meet you back here so that you can move forward and live a long healthy life. Who doesn’t want that?

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