I grew up with Sunday dinner.
After church, we came home to the
biggest meal of the week. Other than breakfast, Sunday dinner was often the
last meal of the day. We usually ate around 2:00 in the afternoon, but that meal
was meant to carry us through the rest of the day.
It was not a light little lunch,
it was a full blown dinner.
And depending on what was on the
table, it could feel like the kind of meal that required a nap afterward. Many
times, that is exactly what happened. We ate and got full. We went to our rooms
and before long, dozed off. That was just Sunday. Church. Dinner. Nap.
But now that I think more about
brain health, memory, energy, blood sugar, inflammation, stress, and the
gut-brain connection, I find myself asking a different question:
What are we feeding our memory?
Please hear me out because I am not
here to declare war on Sunday dinner. In my family, we still go to church and have Sunday dinner
afterwards whether we or eating out or staying in. No, I am not trying to
snatch anybody’s greens, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, dressing, fried
chicken, pound cake, peach cobbler, or sweet tea off the table.
That is not the point. The point
is awareness.
Because if one meal can change how
we feel in our body — sleepy, sluggish, heavy, foggy, or energized — then maybe
our regular eating patterns deserve a place in the memory conversation too.
We often talk about memory as if it
only lives in the brain, the brain does not live by itself.
It is connected to our blood
pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, heart health, sleep, stress, hormones,
inflammation, digestion, and even what is happening in our gut. So maybe the
question is not only, “Why am I forgetting?” Maybe another question is, “What
is my body trying to tell my brain?”
Not because we need one more thing
to feel guilty about. Not because somebody needs to lecture us about food. Not
because our traditions are the enemy. But because our brain health deserves a
seat at the table.
Black Americans are at higher risk
for Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The Alzheimer’s Association has reported
that older Black Americans are about twice as likely as older White Americans
to have Alzheimer’s or another dementia. They also point to conditions like
high blood pressure and diabetes as risk factors connected to dementia risk.
That is why we cannot talk about
memory and ignore the body. We cannot talk about brain health and ignore blood
sugar. We cannot talk about cognitive wellness and ignore blood pressure. We
cannot talk about energy, focus, and memory and ignore the way food, sleep,
stress, and movement shape how we feel day after day.
Again, this is not about blaming Sunday dinner. This
is about noticing what our bodies are telling us. Truth is, food can affect
more than our waistline. Food can affect our energy, sleepiness and
inflammation. Food can affect our blood sugar and our gut.
And the gut and
brain are in conversation with each other.The National Institute on Aging
says researchers are studying how aging, diet, and environmental exposures may
affect the gut-brain axis, and how gut microbes may benefit or harm the brain.
That does not mean they have every answer yet, but it does mean the
conversation is serious enough for us to pay attention.
And when it comes to diet and
Alzheimer’s prevention, researchers are also studying eating patterns like the
Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet. The National Institute on Aging notes
that people who reported following Mediterranean or MIND-style eating patterns
showed less evidence of Alzheimer’s-related brain changes in some research,
though scientists are still studying how diet may influence risk.
That is important. But let’s
bring it back home.
Most of us are not living in a
research study, we are living in real kitchens. We are feeding families. We are
eating leftovers. We are going to church dinners. We are stopping for fast food
after long days. We are drinking coffee to keep going. We are grabbing what is
easy because we are tired. We are trying to do better while still living real
lives. So the question is not, “How do I eat perfectly?”
Maybe it starts with noticing. Ask
yourself the following questions:
·
What meals leave me clear?
·
What meals leave me sluggish?
·
What foods help me feel steady?
·
What habits make my brain feel foggy?
·
What happens when I drink more water?
·
What happens when I add more vegetables?
·
What happens when I walk for ten minutes after I
eat?
·
What happens when I reduce sugary drinks during
the week?
·
What happens when I pay attention to how my body
feels instead of ignoring the signals?
Those are not punishment
questions. Those are wisdom questions.
And wisdom matters because memory
is not just about crossword puzzles, word games, and remembering where we put
our keys. Memory is supported by the health of the whole body. If blood sugar
is constantly swinging, the brain feels it. If blood pressure is high and
unmanaged, the brain can be affected. If sleep is poor, memory suffers. If
stress stays high, focus becomes harder. If the gut is irritated, inflamed, or
out of balance, researchers are still learning how that may affect the brain. If
the body is exhausted, the brain may not feel sharp.
That does not mean one Sunday
dinner is the problem, it means patterns matter. Here’s what does matter. What
we feed our bodies most of the time. What we ignore most of the time matters. And
what we choose to notice can become part of our brain care.
I love the comfort of Sunday dinner
and I love the memories connected to it. I love the way food can gather people,
tell stories, and remind us where we come from. So no, I am not interested in
shaming our tables. But I am interested in asking better questions about what
we put on them.
Can we honor tradition and still
support our brains? Can we keep the greens and maybe rethink what we put in
them? Can we enjoy the meal and still watch the portion sizes that leave us
sluggish? Can we drink more water with the meal? Can we take a short walk
afterward instead of going straight to sleep every time? Can we add more
berries, beans, nuts, fish, whole grains, vegetables, and healthy fats during
the week? Can we reduce the everyday load of ultra-processed foods, sugary
drinks, and heavy meals that leave us foggy?
Can we make brain care part of how
we love ourselves?
As always, this is not about
perfection, it is about pattern.
It is not about guilt, it is about
stewardship. It is not about giving up Sunday dinner, it’s about learning how
to feed the body that carries the brain. Because memory does not live in a
vacuum.
So this week, maybe we start with
one simple question:
What am I feeding my memory?
Not just on Sunday, but in the
ordinary choices I make every day. And maybe we choose one thing. One more
glass of water. One more serving of vegetables. One short walk after a meal.
One less sugary drink. One more
question at the doctor about blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, or
inflammation. One more moment of paying attention before there is a crisis.
Because graceful aging starts in
the mind, but it is supported by the body.
And sometimes, the first clue is
not a medical test.
Sometimes, the first clue is how we
feel after the meal.
Blessings,
Dr. Janice R. Love
