Full Transcript Introduction to the podcast and Lucy's background 0:00 What would you share with someone who is at the beginning stages 0:05 of looking down the barrel of an Alzheimer's diagnosis? 0:09 What would you want them to know? 0:12 Well, 0:14 that they're very lucky that the Radisson program is like, it's magic. 0:19 We are so lucky it exists. There is. 0:22 And Doctor Bateson is a brilliant scientist and physician 0:27 and a kind man, a humble man. And, 0:31 endlessly curious and caring about his patients. 0:34 So he's making advances, continues to make advances, 0:39 and he hopes that in the future, for some people 0:44 who come late into the oh, if you're early, you should. 0:48 You're really looking for cusp. 0:51 If if it's likely going to be quicker that you're going to get get better. 0:57 So it's good to get started when it's easier. 1:00 That's what I would let's say easier to reverse things. 1:05 Yeah. Than what I mean all yeah. 1:08 This is doctor talks 1:09 real talk from real doctors on the issues that matter to you most. 1:16 Welcome. 1:17 I'm your host, doctor Heather Sanderson, and I am delighted. 1:21 Today, I have the honor of welcoming Doctor Lucy. 1:24 Well, let's get to the podcast. 1:26 Doctor Bielecki is a psychiatrist, philanthropist and conservationist 1:31 who has dedicated her life to service, whether through her work in mental health, 1:35 her leadership in preserving our natural environment, 1:38 or her many contributions to education and the arts, she is carrying forward 1:43 a remarkable legacy of stewardship and care. 1:47 More recently, doctor Will at ski face 1:50 a deeply personal challenge an Alzheimer's diagnosis. 1:54 Instead of accepting the conventional narrative 1:57 that little could be done, she embraced the British Sign Protocol, 2:00 a comprehensive, lifestyle based approach to reversing cognitive decline, 2:05 and she has experienced profound improvement. 2:08 Her story is one of hope, resilience and empowerment. 2:11 It challenges what we've been told about aging and dementia, 2:15 and it shines a light on the possibilities that open up 2:18 when science, lifestyle and determination come together. 2:22 I'm so grateful she's here to share her journey with us today. 2:26 Welcome, Lucy. 2:28 Welcome back. 2:29 I'm so happy to be here and have a chance to share it with your viewers. 2:32 I'd love to hear a bit 2:34 about your professional journey and the values that have guided you 2:37 through this lifelong work in psychiatry, conservation, philanthropy. 2:42 Before we hit record, we were talking about the app that you created, Bowl. 2:47 For people living with disabilities to to start dating. 2:52 You have just this very rich professional history 2:56 that I would love to just have our viewers understand 3:00 that context before we dive into that story of Alzheimer's. 3:04 Okay. 3:05 Well, I, I, I always wanted to be a physician 3:10 as long as I can remember and wanted to do tropical medicine. 3:15 But then I saw that was wasn't for me. 3:18 And since I enjoyed talking to people so much and learning 3:23 their stories, I was always, 3:27 it was a 3:28 natural for me also, because I was not the gift 3:32 to not have learning disabilities and math and science. 3:35 And I think all that, that overcoming them, 3:38 they get through medical school, then healthy, 3:42 be one of the first people to, 3:45 welcome meals overcome by Alzheimer, reverse the cognitive decline. 3:50 It had that lifelong to determination because medical school was very, 3:54 very Harvard and and psychiatry was endlessly fascinating. 3:58 And I headed retiring. 4:00 But one night physician friend said, don't worry about it. 4:04 Your your family and friends will still continue with with the problems
Family legacy, service, and the dating app for people with disabilities 4:08 you won't really have left now this and that. 4:11 In fact, it's true. 4:12 You come from a family, with a strong legacy of service and stewardship. 4:18 How has that shaped your health, 4:22 your purpose, where you derive meaning and just life in. 4:25 General and in a very positive way, because they were role models, 4:30 but they never put all that was there that they took, 4:34 you know, great joy from what they did, whether it was in population, 4:39 overpopulation, environment, 4:42 all of the areas in the arts. 4:45 They were a great inspiration to me. 4:47 And and also they're taught because if you can get what you want to give back. 4:53 Yeah. 4:53 Do you have any favorite projects that you kind of look back on 4:56 and think, wow, that was a lot of fun or those were great people. 4:59 I'm really proud of that. 5:01 Well, that that's the data well, dating service that we were chatting 5:06 about before the recording in my practice, I had three people. 5:10 One lady was blind and she wanted to meet somebody. 5:14 Another woman had, elderly with metastatic cancer there, 5:18 and she wanted to meet somebody and a man with most Gloria. 5:23 And none of them you would much but. 5:27 Well. And. Oh, yeah. 5:28 And the and the man with multiple sclerosis was turned down 5:32 because he was, whatever. Walk with him. 5:35 And the others had some bad experience, too. 5:38 So it just just hit me that it was a good idea. 5:43 And it took off right from the beginning, 5:47 before I even knew the politically correct language to use. 5:52 People with disabilities. 5:53 There we were on the Today show, me and the man 5:57 with Multiple Sclerosis and the bills, and I was kind of 6:00 and articulate and nervous, and he was fantastic, 6:05 which was good because it it broke the stereotypes. 6:09 So at that point, buildings, bathrooms and busses 6:13 had become accessible after the Ada was passed, 6:18 but that there were really barriers in terms of hiring ships, 6:23 which was what this is and how pulled out disability still so mean. 6:28 It wasn't all but and we did share with me people without disabilities join. 6:33 You shared that someone in a very high leadership position 6:37 with someone who had benefited from the service. 6:39 Can you explain a little bit more about that? 6:41 Yeah, yeah. 6:42 A wonderful, wonderful man with severe cerebral palsy, 6:46 who use a scooter amassed in charming and, 6:51 comfortable with people. 6:53 He met his wife as they travel, and they they're married to this day. 6:59 She worked at NIH and, 7:02 and, they've been extremely, extremely happy. 7:07 And then people will come in and they say, well, 7:09 I don't want to meet this person because of this. 7:13 And the he he'd be so good and explaining, well, you haven't even met them. 7:18 You don't know this person. 7:20 You don't want to adopt, but you also give him a chance. 7:24 And so we had parties and and from is an outing for never ended up dating 7:29 but at a bigger circle friends so that was very very rewarding thing. 7:34 Yeah to create those connections that community. 7:37 Now you joined this breadths and community. 7:40 I know you're a good friend of Judy Benjamins, who's doing her walk 7:44 across the country and celebrating her success on the Bredesen protocol. 7:48 What, 12 years later, I want I hear your story about, 7:53 you know, that experience of receiving an Alzheimer's diagnosis. 7:57 What were your initial thoughts and emotions in the context of being 8:02 a physician, but also just being a human with a very scary diagnosis? 8:07 Yeah. 8:08 Well, I had first heard in 2008, 8:12 I thought I in 2018 when I started the protocol, 8:17 but in 2008, I'd gone to Canyon Ranch and taken a, 8:23 a 40 minute 8:24 test on memory, and they said I only had 20% 8:28 of what I memory should evac them and I should seek help immediately. 8:32 And I always say, it's the best thing I ever forgot. 8:36 I told fraud I had ever gone to the Canyon ranch anything. 8:40 But that was such a thing to me. 8:42 But I continued to ask people. 8:44 I'd say I have a memory problem, 8:46 and they'd all say, you don't, or I don't know what to do about it. 8:49 And one day I did say to somebody that same thing, 8:53 and they said, oh, I just read an article. 8:55 And it was after Bresson's, study of the first ten people 8:59 do it refers to their cock decline. 9:03 I read it, I said, that's for me, I can do and, 9:07 and that's what I went to sleep me, I am. 9:11 It wasn't until I went for the neurology testing. 9:14 Never taken the test before I started to say no. 9:20 And then I said, oh my goodness. 9:22 And that's where I with them for that ten year ago. 9:25 So I think I was actually had it was a group in the, the, 9:29 the memory loss for quite a long time before I, before I began. 9:33 So I'm quite lucky that that the cognitive decline has is 9:39 very low. 9:40 I've had so many things contributing to the just oh the 9:43 when I was diagnosed, he offered me aricept 9:47 and I a decline the IRA that this is and they're all fine. 9:51 I'm on a program that reverses that and he travels rolled his eyes. 9:56 But I wasn't scared because of the protocol. 10:00 Did not become first. 10:02 I became scared of the diagnosis. Very.
Alzheimer's diagnosis and discovering the Bredesen protocol 10:04 I was when I got the, the P-Town brain scan to tell me. 10:10 Yeah. 10:10 And I came back with the same diagnosis. 10:14 You know, I've read retest. 10:16 Then it hit me what I felt like I should have had when I was diagnosed. 10:20 The first time, for better some protocol. 10:22 I didn't have it. 10:23 I just remember eight people. And now. 10:26 Yeah, you. 10:27 See that. 10:28 There's thousands as thousands of people. 10:30 So I want your viewers to know that there that this is a very real. 10:36 And there's the trial, successful trial about to be published. 10:41 But when you read about 10:43 the protocol, you mentioned that this would work for you. 10:47 What was it that inspired you to give it a try? 10:49 What was it that made you say, this will work for me? 10:52 I can do this. 10:53 Because I knew there was thing else. 10:55 So the fact there were only eight out of ten 10:59 that were clearly improved, I knew that there was nothing out. 11:02 And now there are or and they you know, I read I read about 11:07 they had to identify what was terrible messed up about protocol. 11:11 They think it's is talk is a crucial part of it. 11:15 And so but you have to find out what's driving it because in my case it was high. 11:21 Mercury and LED were the first two things that I had had to, 11:26 to do, detox from and then, 11:31 Lyme and then sleep apnea. 11:34 And then for years now, mold the big four indices. 11:39 So there's no one pill that could help 11:42 a person with all of those things. 11:46 Yeah. Can you. 11:46 So that's why important to find why. 11:49 Yeah. 11:49 Those drivers of course that not everyone 11:52 with an Alzheimer's diagnosis has the same things causing it. 11:56 I want to get into the first few weeks or months 12:00 where you really started implementing the program by what did that feel like? 12:04 Were there challenges or turning points, or was it just all easy for you? 12:10 One thing I liked right from the start was brain age kill. 12:14 And when I did brain HQ 12:18 and I saw what percent it was in, it was very, 12:22 very low, like 25 or 30% because after many, many, many months, 12:27 I said to dark depression, suicide, I'm up to 50%. 12:32 He says, well, that's what he says, but keep optimizing. 12:36 So now I'm up to 90% across all age groups. 12:38 And, and I think very important to see 12:42 if you can go after he Babbit, Rick Hone, better bred since, 12:47 program they, they, 12:50 have made it even easier to stick 12:53 with the brain age kill and do it. 12:56 So I was doing that right from the beginning that I was being able to do, 13:00 you know, somebody gains 20 gains maybe, and all different levels. 13:05 And so and I correct brain speed and memory 13:10 and people's skills and navigation. 13:14 So it's, not give me some good feedback, 13:19 but there was a, several 13:23 I saw, like my mercury was real high. 13:26 I knew. 13:27 So, Judy, I'm really curious, as you navigated 13:30 the breeders and protocol, which specific parts of the protocol 13:33 was a detox, nutrition, the lifestyle pieces, the supplements. 13:38 What made the biggest difference for you personally? 13:43 For me, it was brain HQ 13:46 because the feedback was instant when when I did it and, 13:54 I started very, very low in the 20s. 13:58 And then after maybe six months, I got up to 12 days. 14:01 And then doctor Bateson said, this is good work, but keep optimizing. 14:07 And then eventually I got up to 90% for all ages 14:12 where I am now, which I'm very, very proud of, 14:15 of that because I do it every, every single day for about a half hour. 14:21 And then I also do Elevate and New York Times, Wordle and Spelling Bee 14:27 because they 14:29 stimulate different parts of the brain. 14:32 And then so when you see what 14:35 percent you're, no matter how low it is, you, 14:38 you can actually get it higher and so that's very rewarding. 14:44 I, I felt as supplements were very helpful too, 14:48 because I saw from the blood tests that these things 14:52 were off vitamin D and zinc and inflammation 14:57 and the inflammation pointed to the toxicity. 15:02 So then the first of the toxic things 15:04 that I was tackling was mercury, 15:08 because I had silver fillings removed as a child, many, 15:12 many of them before they protected the patient and the doctor. 15:18 So now if you get them removed, you won't get the same exposure for it only. 15:24 So it's not that you feel better, because it's 15:28 just that you're doing the right thing. 15:30 The numbers coming down. 15:31 And you know, Mercury's toxic to the brain and so that toxins are gone. 15:36 And that's good. 15:37 And that's the same with led from, buying a house that was, 15:43 had lead pipes and lead paint living there. 15:46 That was a bad idea. 15:48 And, so again, it comes down eventually. 15:52 And Lyme disease, I was lucky I got a second tick borne disease, 15:56 a recklessness, and went to the hospital with, 16:00 and then I had IVs in the hospital 16:02 for they are perfectly offices those and and and doxycycline. 16:07 And then they got rid of the Lyme as well as the everything else. 16:12 So that was that was really lucky. 16:14 Oh yeah. 16:16 And then Doctor Bateson said, well, 16:19 maybe you have sleep apnea because your hippocampus is very small. 16:23 My MRI showed that my hippocampus 16:26 was about 20% of what it should have been. 16:30 So he said that may be because it's not getting enough oxygen at night. 16:36 So he says even though you're 16:38 slim and you don't snore, you take the sleep 16:43 apnea test. 16:43 And I didn't had sleep apnea. 16:46 And just thinking of I can tell on days 16:49 because you get scores from the CPAp machine, 16:52 and if you're having a lot of episodes of not breathing right at night, 16:58 yeah, I'm worse in my thinking and in the day. 17:02 So I know that if it helps and it makes sense that it would help. 17:08 And so it's a nuisance. 17:10 But you just have to do it. And 17:14 the nutrition was, 17:16 I, took a long time to get into it.
Brain training, detox, sleep, and nutrition 17:19 So some people get into it very quickly and, and they're, they're lucky. 17:24 But I didn't. 17:26 And I think in retrospect, I was 17:30 just not 17:33 strict enough. 17:34 One thing I found out that really surprised 17:37 me was the gummies and the SS. 17:41 Another thing I want to talk about is sleep. 17:43 Sleep is so important to getting better, and I monitor it 17:48 by the oral ring and, 17:52 so I wake up a lot. 17:54 And then I was taking melatonin gummies. 17:57 But then I learned way after the fact when I found out 18:00 I had ten cavities, which I haven't had any 18:04 since I was a child, 18:07 that they have sugar in them and you're all night after you 18:11 brush your teeth, you have the sugar on your teeth. So. 18:17 Oh dear, oh dear. 18:19 That was 18:21 And it's also keeping you from getting into ketosis right? 18:25 Right. Exactly. Because you're right. 18:28 I never thought about, all that sugar from the Got Makers. 18:34 So I said, when I, you know, more thoroughly got rid of the sugar 18:38 and then kept up the, I do 18:43 do I walk for about two miles 18:47 every day except for two days where I do strength training? 18:50 Because given my age, I'm 84. 18:53 It's very important to do keep your strength. 18:57 And I like to 18:59 play golf, so I 19:02 have to keep my stripes up to do that. 19:06 And I'm the oldest one on the course playing golf and I. 19:11 Yeah. 19:12 And and they not, not in any form. 19:15 But I play on the 18 hole course with the, 19:19 in the club level tournament. 19:23 So that was I did my biggest challenge came 19:28 when I was hit by a dog. 19:31 I, it was at a friend's house. 19:34 It was a 70 pound dog running full speed into me, and, 19:40 I broke my leg in four places, and the ligaments were out, 19:45 and I was knocked unconscious, and four teeth were loose, loose, and. 19:50 Oh, my. 19:50 And I was a long way back because I was head trauma 19:55 combined with the, the other other things. 19:59 And that's why also the golf took more, 20:02 more effort to get get back to. 20:05 But it's really it's worth it because when you think 20:09 what Alzheimer's is, is really like a it's 20:14 this protocol works for some people as simple if they just simply 20:20 and you can 20:21 correct me with much more experience other and there 20:24 but if the person is simply overweight 20:27 and insulin resistant, 20:30 they can maybe get better 20:33 much quicker than those of us 20:36 or toxic type three Alzheimer's. 20:40 Is that right? 20:41 You know, it's interesting. 20:43 I rarely see a patient who is that simple, 20:47 right, who is just overweight and has diabetes. 20:50 Most the vast majority of my patients, 20:53 once they've lived past 65, they've accumulated toxicity. 20:57 That's significant. 20:59 And we live in a world where you cannot avoid it. 21:04 So I think I think that toxicity is usually now 21:08 there are some exceptions, but usually I think toxicity is a player for 21:13 Alzheimer's patients. 21:15 I think any neurodegenerative patient I would even say so 21:20 I think yeah, my experience has been that no one is as is simple. 21:24 Everyone has this degree of complexity now. 21:27 There's varying degrees, 21:28 but it's when we start to say, oh, the detox isn't that important. 21:32 Now we have people that aren't getting better. 21:34 It's really about taking this comprehensive approach and saying, 21:38 okay, for this individual, which ones are most important and let's start there. 21:42 But I don't know that many people 21:44 get out of this protocol without doing some detox. 21:49 Right. 21:49 That's very interesting. 21:50 I didn't know that. Yeah. 21:52 In our clinical trial that we did at my office, 100% 21:56 of our 23 participants, all 23 of them had significant toxicity. 22:01 Really? Yeah. 22:04 And did they notice 22:06 when they felt better related to the toxicity or more 22:10 just the accumulation of doing everything, which is what I see all over time. 22:17 You know, it's the supplements, the detox, 22:19 the brain HQ, the sleep everything. 22:23 Or did they. Decide or. 22:25 Do they tend to see some thing? 22:29 That's a good question. No we don't. 22:32 I just sort of refused to do things one at a time anymore 22:35 because by the time someone is suffering with cognitive impairment, 22:38 we want to throw everything at it. 22:39 We're asking for a miracle. 22:42 And so we I, I, I, I just lose so much confidence if we start to pick and choose. 22:48 But I will say for the younger patients, I have many younger patients 22:51 that I've seen over the years. 22:54 My, my clinical practice is now almost 100% dementia and people over 65, 22:58 but previously there would be people who really just did need to detox. 23:03 They were in their 20s or 30s and had been exposed to something. 23:06 And you take care of it. 23:07 And yes, their brain fog goes away and their focus and cognition returns. 23:11 Now, they don't have Alzheimer's, right? 23:13 They're not at that stage. 23:15 But there are there are cognitive symptoms that resolve with just detox. 23:20 Certainly. 23:21 Yeah. 23:21 And that's yeah, that's interesting. 23:24 The line between Alzheimer's and 23:28 and cognitive impairment. 23:31 Yeah. Yeah. 23:32 I mean there are so many things that affect people. 23:34 I heard at one stage that's like 1 in 3 Americans 23:38 would check a box that say that they have suboptimal cognitive function. 23:43 So that's, you know, that's 100 million people more. 23:47 That's that's a huge chunk of our population. 23:50 I'm so curious about how you built your team, right. 23:55 Whether I know Doctor Peterson, you're communicating directly with him 23:59 because you were an early and enthusiastic adopter. 24:02 And then who else was on your team to support you on this path? 24:08 Well, right from the beginning, Mary Kay Ross, who was at that time, 24:13 you know, working with Doctor Rosen on the town hall and everything, 24:17 I went out to see her first 24:21 and Seattle 24:25 always at first, and Savannah, maybe first in Savannah, then in Seattle, 24:30 and then I've seen her in New York, and now she's back in 24:34 Savannah and seeing people via zoom. 24:38 And when I was out in, Seattle, 24:42 I met there occur Kerry Mills as a 24:46 as a health coach out there, but she wasn't back here. 24:52 So I didn't have a health house coach, per se. 24:56 But I think that's essential. 24:58 That health coach, you know, for people 25:02 making that the changes and 25:07 it just happened. 25:10 I didn't, I 25:16 but now now I'm friends with Judith Benjamin. 25:19 She's she's health. She's a health coach. 25:22 And but I, I think that the whole team is so important 25:27 that, you know, the nutritional, 25:31 coach and the house coach 25:32 and the physician and, 25:36 I guess maybe 25:39 I under could understand it better being a physician. 25:43 Yeah. 25:44 You know, I can tell, you know, just having this conversation 25:47 with you, seeing you in the documentary memories for life, 25:49 you are just one of those people who's going to figure it out and make it happen. 25:54 I'm also curious. 25:55 So if there are tricks or tips or tools that you found that allowed 26:00 you or helped you to stay consistent with the protocol because as you 26:04 mentioned, it's a long term commitment. 26:07 It's a lifestyle. 26:09 It's an identity that I do this, I live this way. 26:12 And so what keeps you coming back and doing it day to day, 26:15 even when it gets harder, even if there's travel or 26:17 even if there's a wedding or even if something pops up 26:19 or you have an injury like you experienced, what is you on track? 26:26 I guess that's just 26:28 the keeping a firm picture 26:30 of what I'm trying to do, which is not going get all the time. 26:34 As my mother had had Alzheimer's. And, 26:39 and I see so many people who get, get, 26:43 get it and their life isn't their own anymore. 26:46 They can't do what they want to do with other people or anything.
Team support, consistency, and living with the diagnosis 26:50 They've become a. Burden. And, 26:53 I just, 26:55 it's just keeping that idea in my head. 26:59 I'm kind of like that. 27:02 And so in my mind, 27:04 something just I can tell. 27:08 Yeah. 27:09 If I could say, 27:12 I guess. 27:13 And it was fun being one of the pioneers. 27:16 And and it was very exciting 27:19 when the film came out. 27:22 And then an interesting issue that people have is who do you tell 27:27 the to, Alzheimer's. 27:30 You navigate that? 27:32 Yeah. It's 27:34 because when the book came out, the first survivors of Alzheimer's, 27:38 I only use the name Marcy because I didn't even want to disclose my first name. 27:43 So only just the people around me, 27:47 knew. 27:47 And then, 27:50 when the movie came out, of course, had, memories for life, 27:54 which is an Amazon Prime to this day. 27:58 There I am. So 28:01 you're sort of forced to come out, and I did 28:03 Q&A after the screenings of that. 28:07 But then that was a challenge because then I couldn't remember who knew 28:11 and who didn't know, and I might make mistakes 28:15 because it was a vast number of people, and so. 28:18 Well, 28:20 you don't know about my memory from doing that. 28:22 And I'd say, oh, yes, I was at the screening and I said that that was on there. 28:29 So that's a challenge to that. 28:32 To this day, I'm not sure, because now 28:36 a lots of people in my community know, but I know no. 28:38 Who knows? 28:40 And I've reached the stage where I'm beyond a self-consciousness 28:45 because it's just another, 28:49 another problem, medical problem 28:52 that people have is just that. 28:56 We people didn't know 28:59 that people could reverse the cognitive changes of Alzheimer's. 29:03 So it that 29:08 it was harder to, to come out. 29:10 Yeah, there was certainly a bias against anyone who might have that diagnosis 29:15 that people would treat you differently, I'm sure maybe stop inviting you to lunch 29:19 or to play golf 29:20 or it changes, or to take on projects that you might be totally capable of 29:25 and then now that's really shifted into almost an ambassador role, right? 29:29 You're here, you've been in the movie, you've been in the book, 29:32 and you are one of these pioneers sharing your story 29:35 to show what's possible and with with this, 29:41 you know, I want you to describe your day to day life. 29:44 Like, this is a great a great example of that. 29:47 It's like, who knows that you have this diagnosis 29:51 and how does that impact your day to day life? 29:53 And maybe some people, you know, they they delay telling their loved ones 29:58 that they delay mentioning to their doctor 30:00 because they don't want their day to day life to be affected. 30:02 They don't want to lose their driver's license. 30:04 They don't want to lose their friend group. 30:07 How has this process affected your day to day life 30:11 and if you can think back to 2018 or 2017, 30:15 when maybe your memory loss was at it at its peak, 30:18 what are the improvements in that day to day experience today versus then? 30:27 Well, I guess there's less nodes. 30:30 I think it was I at 30:32 the time I had I don't have a position and with new York State Parks 30:37 and it was responsible for parks all over the state, I had so many nodes 30:43 to, to keep track of and, 30:47 and I would be very anxious, about 30:54 not knowing something about that park 30:56 or historic site or those people or everything. 31:00 I don't, I don't have that is much. 31:03 My, my memory is still not what I would want it to be. 31:07 My cognition is. 31:09 But my memory after a few few weeks have gone by, I may forget some things 31:15 about the conversation or something like that. 31:18 And I'm hoping I'm still struggling. 31:21 What's more, that, 31:23 in in my house and in me, 31:25 and I know you're supposed to get all five of the molds negative 31:30 and then continuing detox, and I've only had three negative. 31:34 And I'm really hoping that when all of mine 31:37 are negative and the house is negative, the house is negative. 31:40 Now, this is years 31:44 that that it's going to help 31:46 my my memory and I'll need less prompting, you know. 31:51 Yeah. 31:51 That was sticking straight or look up 31:54 something like I click off a sign on me, look up. 31:58 What do we talk about? 32:00 That's not. 32:03 Having improved your symptoms, 32:06 what would you share with someone who is at the beginning stages 32:11 of looking down the barrel of an Alzheimer's diagnosis? 32:15 What would you want them to know? 32:19 Well, 32:20 that they're very lucky that the breadth and program is like, it's magic. 32:26 We're so lucky it exists. There is. 32:29 And Doctor Bateson is a brilliant scientist and physician 32:33 and a kind man, a humble man and, 32:38 endlessly curious and caring about his patients. 32:41 So he's making advances, continues to make advances 32:46 and the hopes that in the future, for some people 32:50 who come late into the oh, 32:53 if you're early, you're you're really lucky because. 32:59 It's likely going 32:59 to be quicker that you're going to get get better. 33:03 So it's good to get started when it's easier. 33:07 That's what I would would say easier to reverse things. 33:12 Yeah. Than what I call yeah. 33:15 Yeah, yeah. 33:16 And your background, you've been a leader in environmental and conservation causes. 33:22 What do you, have you ever drawn the connected 33:25 the dots between caring for the planet, caring for our environment, 33:29 and caring for our brain? 33:33 No one and I never, I never did, 33:37 how do you connect that? 33:39 Oh, my gosh, so many ways. 33:41 You know, I personally have this experience of, 33:45 if I'm in a big city or if I'm trapped inside for too long, 33:49 my nervous system kind of gets ramped up. 33:51 And I don't think as clearly and I'm not as creative. 33:53 And then if I go for a walk on the beach or if I go to a park, or 33:56 if I go for a walk in the woods, my whole nervous system, like I, 34:00 it's almost visible, like comes down and I'm able to think more clearly. 34:05 I think, you know, in a, I guess, maybe a more political. 34:08 So a societal level just pesticides and herbicides. 34:13 And then. 34:14 The. Link between glyphosate and neurodegenerative diseases 34:17 glyphosate found in roundup. 34:20 But and, and the food that's 34:21 available, when we're disconnected from the environment. 34:25 So yeah, I think that there's a lot of ways and I, I suspect 34:29 that your work in the parks department in New York, and, 34:34 and in your philanthropy, has benefited the brains of others. 34:39 You know, getting away from the emfs that that's 34:42 been one of the things reducing EMF exposure and, 34:47 leaving leaving that if you have an apology, 34:49 you can leave the phone behind what went 34:52 when you're out and, 34:55 Yeah, all that and, definitely. 34:58 That's why the troubles of golf there pesticides on the course. 35:02 And I've noticed that almost all the golfers, 35:05 the applicators and, 35:10 some people who have pesticides in their home, 35:13 they all have their memory affected. 35:17 It's thrilling when the pest management 35:21 committee for our county and it's it's big time. 35:25 Yeah. Trying to 35:28 get back 35:29 to making sure that, you know, that nature's not taking over, 35:33 that there aren't ants in the kitchen and there aren't cockroaches. 35:36 And the the grass looks lovely as people 35:39 want it to, but also, you know, at what cost? 35:43 At lower cost. 35:44 Yeah. 35:45 My, my grass does not like a lot of hay, but.
Environmental connections, grief, and hope for the future 35:48 My, my. 35:51 Yeah. 35:51 There's no, no pesticides there. And, 35:55 Yeah, that's that's definitely true. 35:58 And when I'm, 35:59 walking, I don't really want to talk on my watch or talk. 36:04 I don't even want to go with other people. 36:06 I go by myself. 36:09 You and me both, so I decompress, right? 36:13 Right. It is. It is. Yeah. 36:16 Because you have a busy practice and writing and everything. 36:19 You're doing a lot. I know. Remember that stage. 36:22 So, yeah. You've been there. You. 36:24 I was excited to talk to you because I feel like you can relate to. 36:29 Have you had a lot on your plate? 36:30 I mean, you've been through. 36:33 And excuse me if you don't want to talk about this, 36:36 but I understand you lost a child. 36:39 Right? Yes. 36:40 I mean, you've been through one of the most stressful experiences 36:45 that can happen to a mother or a parent. 36:48 And, your resilience 36:51 and the amount that I can imagine that trauma, and you've just continued 36:55 to transform it into service and supporting others. 36:59 And it's really your story is so inspiring. 37:02 Lucy, 37:04 I'm curious, 37:05 do you want to share anything about that, about navigating? 37:08 Yeah, I do. 37:09 They, Well, the day he was born, he it was my first child. 37:13 It was the happiest day of my life. 37:15 And the day he died was saddest, for sure. 37:20 But even that night, 37:22 he kind of came to me and, 37:27 in my sight, as a as a purple ish color. 37:31 And there's something called the violet flame, and he's been there in an in. 37:38 I mean, it's awful. 37:40 Two years, five years, ten years, you know, 37:44 but, I do feel that, 37:48 I have some contact with him 37:51 and that it's helpful and that he guides me. 37:55 It helps me at some time. 37:57 So I did the wrong thing. 38:00 Makes it clear Clare, too. And, 38:04 the day he died, we played 38:06 golf together, and he knew something was off. 38:10 And, because he could do the New York Times puzzle, crossword puzzle. 38:16 Just by memories. This. 38:17 I can't do it at. 38:18 Also, something's wrong with my brain. 38:21 And he had done so well recovering from cocaine addiction. And 38:26 and he is. 38:28 And then when he played golf, he couldn't play golf. 38:30 He says something's happening, and I'm never going to play golf again. 38:34 I said, well, 38:36 do you want me to come with you or. No. 38:37 And then that night it just took cocaine and heart attack. 38:43 But, so hard for someone to recover from addiction. 38:48 And he had done so well, because you can't slip 38:51 in, you know, people who were, 38:54 just trying to lose weight, they could slip and nothing like that happens, but. 38:59 And it's just such a high 39:02 cost when, you know, 39:05 people make errors and what they do in every way and every part of their life. 39:09 And he just was unlucky. 39:10 It was a wonderful boy, very, very talented. 39:14 I am so. Sorry. 39:15 I have a really fabulous daughter and, 39:21 she has three grandchildren and 39:24 she named the eldest one Lucy. 39:27 So that works. 39:27 And really a gift from God for a beautiful, beautiful child. 39:32 That remains. 39:34 And now these three grandchildren. 39:38 What fun. 39:40 Yeah. 39:41 How has this journey, particularly the Alzheimer's 39:45 chapter of your of your journey, change your perspective 39:49 on growing older and resilience and 39:52 and what matters most. 39:57 During the practice and pro for 39:59 and inspiring other but other people. 40:03 You know this, age. 40:06 Yeah. It's got challenges. 40:07 But if you have things to do that are rewarding and helpful to others, whatever 40:13 it is in your community and your family, whatever, then you're the same person. 40:19 And and so it's a little more leisurely then. 40:24 And if you're blessed not to have something that 40:29 gets in the way of your life 40:31 and the Alzheimer's is not in the way of my life. 40:36 I mean, it is because it takes time, but. 40:39 Yeah, you use the word usually, and I don't think I've ever heard anyone 40:42 mention the words leisurely and reticent protocol in the same sentence. 40:47 But but, 40:48 maybe. 40:49 Will you expand on that? 40:50 Like, Alzheimer's doesn't interfere. 40:54 With, Yeah. 40:54 Well, it's very, very, leisurely the protocol, but I guess 40:59 the rest of my life used to be so, so busy. 41:02 So now it's just the bread is some protocol that's. 41:06 I mean, I'm still busy in other ways with philanthropy 41:10 and boards and things like that, but which. 41:15 But it's different because it's not going to the office 41:20 and being the same people all day and writing it up and, 41:24 and having the children at home, that's, 41:27 that's, that's a much higher 41:31 level of busyness. 41:33 They hard to put the bread and protocol on top of that. 41:37 Yeah. 41:38 You're telling me. 41:39 Yeah. It's, I know all about it. 41:42 And my, my practice is the bread and protocol. 41:45 So I have to practice what I preach. 41:47 And so we we make it work. 41:50 As you look ahead, 41:52 what gives you the most hope 41:55 in terms of brain health and humanity and and neurodegenerative disease? 42:00 I think I know what you might say here, but, 42:03 Yeah, one thing that, I. 42:08 I, I, you know, 42:10 every day I pray for President Trump 42:15 that the side of him is going to manifest themselves. 42:19 That's going to lead to world peace, help 42:22 for the environment and me and my friends. 42:26 And that, 42:28 that same with the all the other people out there. 42:31 That and that helps me. 42:33 I feel like the prayers I, I ask that they join the prayers 42:38 of the Pope and praying people all over the world and 42:44 I'm gonna get to world 42:46 health, peace, have enough people 42:49 pray for pray for this. 42:52 And because it's so hard time now for the environment and and so it's 42:56 so for us. 42:57 When I discovered that prayer 43:00 helps so much, I, 43:03 I feel good. 43:04 I mean, that's that's when you dwell on something that you feel like 43:09 you can't change, like you're being abused by it or something. 43:12 It doesn't help health. 43:15 Yeah. At least. And help me. 43:17 What brings you the most joy at this stage of life? 43:25 Maybe. 43:28 My, I have a significant 43:30 other of 20 years we lived together, and I have, 43:35 and a young dog and and, two cats. 43:40 And, of course, my daughter is very, very high. 43:45 And gals and I think about all of the projects 43:49 that I tell her, I, they 43:52 when we complete something, whether it's building a new, 43:59 access to one of the 44:01 parks, and it gets done, it's, you know, 44:05 and so I probably do the same thing that most people 44:09 and, and it brings me a lot of joy to 44:13 get of my whole I. 44:17 I can imagine you looking at your test results. 44:20 And every time they go up, whether it's brain age cure, the mold goes down or the 44:24 patella comes down, I can see you doing a little happy dance and that bringing. 44:28 You some, right? 44:28 Exactly. All all of those celebrating them. 44:32 And now there is, 44:36 Judy Benjamin, who's going to be on your program another time. 44:39 She started a foundation for the Alzheimer's survivors Foundation 44:44 so that people will know that we exist and that it's real. 44:49 Yeah. 44:49 And of course, her walking across the United States, 44:54 it's amazing. 44:54 How impressive. 44:55 She. Is. Really impressive. 44:57 Yeah. 44:57 So, yes, please stay tuned and look for the podcast 45:00 with Judy Benjamin, a dear friend of Lucy's. 45:03 That will be, also popping up, I hear, I think, well, age. 45:08 Well, Lucy, it is such a privilege to have you here and just has been 45:13 a wonderful, wonderful conversation that I know will inspire so many people. 45:18 Whoever will take the time to listen will get some nuggets of inspiration 45:23 and clarity and, things that help them navigate the Bateson Protocol. 45:28 I'm so grateful to you for spending the time of being here with me today. 45:33 Well, you're an inspiration. 45:35 Your work and how you are as a person and in this podcast. 45:40 So I'm very grateful to have gotten to know you. 45:43 Thank you for thinking to invite me. 45:46 Absolutely. Thank you. 45:48 Thank you so much for listening to the Think Well A12 podcast. 45:52 If you enjoyed today's conversation, please take a moment to subscribe, 45:56 leave a review and share this episode with someone you care about. 46:01 It's one of the best ways to help others 46:03 discover tools and inspiration for aging well. 46:08 To stay connected, get bonus resources, and never miss an episode, 46:13 head over to doctor Heather sanderson.com and join my email list. 46:18 And till next time, keep thinking. 46:20 Well, an 18. On purpose. 46:23 Thank you for tuning in to Doctor Talks. 46:25 We hope today's episode has enlightened 46:27 and inspired you on your path to optimal health. 46:30 Each day is a new opportunity to make choices that empower your wellbeing. 46:34 For more insights and strategies, subscribe to our podcast 46:38 and visit our website w ww di doctor Talksport.com. 46:43 Stay connected, stay healthy and join us next time on Doctor Talks. 46:48 Real talks from real doctors on the issues that matter to you most.
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