June is bustin’ out with Brain Pride, sunscreen, nice cream, we all scream for Morselicious Pistachio Nice Cream!
To celebrate the beginning of summer, I’ve got a Morselicious treat for you.
Enjoy my Pistachio Avocado Nice Cream recipe. As always, feel free to add your sweetener of choice, if needed, or simply stir in 70% or higher chocolate chips for the extra sweetness.
June is bursting with oodles of momentous days, including Father’s Day, the 18th, which will be the third holiday without my dear dad, Mac, who is always in my heart. Juneteenth, observed on the 19th, Gay Pride Month, is a great excuse to wear the rainbow, eat a rainbow (of veggies), 🎵sing a rainbow, and always a good reason to honor our health and each other.
June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Health Awareness and I finally started taking ukulele classes which has been on my list for a number of years. The mission of my Morselicious Life Pie approach is about finding those vital ingredients that make you, you, including what you put into your body, mind, how much you move, ie. exercise, time for relationships, self-care, creativity, rest, giving back, nature, etc. A vital ingredient in my Morselicious Life Pie is music. And, learning the ukulele is not only a ton of fun, but also great for brain health.
Several studies since 2018 have shown that playing a musical instrument is the brain’s equivalent of a “Full-Body Workout.” My incredible teacher, Melanie Kareem, creator of the “Melanie Method”, a fast and easy system for adults to learn to play the ukulele, in a warm and welcoming environment teaches every day on Zoom. Within the first week, I have already begun playing the song, Let It Be, slowly, perhaps, but a song, ’tis. 🙂 To learn more about her virtual classes, click here. You’re welcome. 🙂
Learning a musical instrument is one of the best ways to boost our brain health. I attended the Los Angeles Arts & Health Summit last week led by WHO Goodwill Ambassador, Renee Fleming🎵 and esteemed scientists who confirmed the intrinsic importance the Arts have on our health.
| “One of the secrets to staying young is to always do things you don’t know how to do, to keep learning.” – Ruth Reichl |
| Courtesy of Nice News, “Science has shown that learning additional skills can improve cognition in older adults, so consider trying your hand at something new this week. If you’re in need of inspiration, here’s a list of 125 ideas.” Learning a new instrument is #67. |
In response to one of my readers, Sheila, who asked about eye health and following up on my previous post regarding my late diagnosis of celiac disease, which led to other autoimmune disorders as well as health complications/challenges, and to honor cataract awareness month which is also this month, I’ve decided to share my eye health journey. When I turned 13, I got my first pair of gas-permeable contact lenses and eyeglasses for nearsightedness which I was not thrilled about but through the years, they became my ever-trusty eyeballs. Nothing felt better than at the end of the day when I removed my lenses and swapped them out for my “Sally Jesse Raphael” glasses as my sister and college roommate named them. It’s been five years since I had my eye surgeries and when my eyes get dry, my first thought is that I need to take out my contacts until I remember, “Wait, I don’t wear them anymore.” Instead, I now have glasses for distance and reading glasses. Yes, I tried bifocals and progressives but they gave me vertigo and after three months of experimenting, my doctor and I decided it would be much safer if I stuck with the two pair of glasses and interchange for reading/distance. A royal pain in the you know what but I digress.
Back in 2018, my vision was rapidly getting worse, to the point where I was seeing my eye doctor a few times a week which soon became every day until the third week when he told me, “Your vision has dramatically declined and you need to see an ophthalmologist today or tomorrow morning at the very latest.” I was terrified, and I made an appointment for the following morning. During my exam with Dr. K., he informed me, “You have aggressive cataracts in both eyes and need surgery immediately or you’ll lose your vision.” “WHAT?!!” I was still in my 40s and my mother didn’t even have cataracts. “Aren’t I too young? How did this happen?”
The verdict is still out. Once again, I am what doctors call a fascinoma, not sure how to diagnose me. The word is constructed from the adjective, “fascinating.” In most cases, I love being fascinating but the allure has worn off thanks to medicine. Through the years I’ve played with the new title, Fashionista Fascinoma, and it kind of works. 🙂
The morsel of the story is to take great care of your eyes and see a doctor as soon as you notice vision changes. Thankfully, I was as proactive as I could be considering the rapid decline of my vision which was caused by aggressive cataracts, and had them removed immediately. I wear UV Polarized sunglasses when outside during the day, and eat a diet high in lutein, dark leafy greens, beta carotene, vitamins C & E, Omega-threes, and very low sugar.
Happy June, everyone. Click here to find out how working with me as your Integrative Health Coach may help support your health & wellness journey. Let’s build your Morselicious Life Pie.
XO,
Mo
