Ward off dementia and memory loss
No, this isn’t a plug for a new elixir or an on-line mental exercise. This blog entry introduces you to Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s newest book Keep Sharp. If you think Gupta’s name or face looks familiar, it’s because you may have seen him on CNN. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is CNN’s Emmy Award–winning chief medical correspondent and the host of the acclaimed podcast Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction. Dr. Gupta lives in Atlanta, where he works as an associate professor of neurosurgery at the Emory University School of Medicine.
Gupta has authored other best-selling books–Chasing Life (2007), Cheating Death (2009) and Monday Morning (2012). Keep Sharp will probably become a best seller, also, because who doesn’t want to keep sharp?? We all do, and we are all looking for ways to do so. The author has traveled the world and interviewed top scientists in an attempt to offer research-based strategies to help people stay healthy longer. The book also speaks to brain disease while offering ways to care for a loved one in cognitive decline. You may be surprised by some of Gupta’s recommendations because he debunks many of the current myths on the subject.
I recently watched an interview with Dr. Gupta about his new book, which he found time to write while doing his day jobs — performing brain surgeries and acting as chief medical correspondent for CNN. A couple of things stood out: he said we should think of sitting as the new smoking … that sitting is as bad for our health in 2021 as smoking was in 1970. It certainly made me get off my couch and committ to daily walks. He also suggested that the best brain exercise to stave off dementia is to force your brain to do things differently. This need not be as challenging as learning a new language or how to play a musical instrument; it could be as simple as eating using your left hand (if you’re a righty). Good advise from a talented correspondent, a brilliant scholar, and a gifted surgeon.