Hiking for a Great Cause!

Since I have returned home from Africa, I have been regaining connections with family and friends and hearing their stories of events that have taken place in the time that I was living abroad. I have missed births, deaths and marriages, among countless other achievements and upsets. I have told my own stories of life in Zambia, including all the aforementioned staples, albeit with different cultural elements. I mean, I witnessed MANY births, deaths and marriages while I was living in a communal village setting, where generations of large families might all reside in the same area (which I loved in a sense of security). There were countless differences to society between Zambia and the US, of course, but one little aspect that I noticed in Zambia was how strong elderly people there are. While here in America, our aging citizens are riddled with diseases like the one I'm presently calling attention to  - Alzheimer's Disease (and more largely, dementia). Rates of Alzheimer's Disease and dementia are much higher among societies that consume a "Western" diet and, possibly more specifically, animal fat. I recall my mother's late grandfather and other family members who struggled at the end of their lives with memory loss, dizziness, confusion, and depression associated with this disease which chokes and degenerates their brain to the point of nonfunction.

There has not been a single survivor of Alzheimer's Disease but research is being done to decelerate and reverse this abnormally to aging. The numbers in the U.S. are already high - the statistics claim a new case is formed every 65 SECONDS. Now, links are being drawn between Alzheimer's Disease and advanced forms of diabetes - casting blame on genetics and the Western diet that I mentioned. The way civilizations around the world are turning are increasingly toward a diet of fewer grains and more animal products. I have witnessed the increased consumption of salt and cooking oil to the diets of Zambians in both the villages and in the cities. The difference is that in the village, people conduct hard labor daily, while in town people lead sedentary lives with motor vehicle communities and stationary jobs. The only obese people are in town. They ail of ulcers and the number of diabetes patients is on the rise. What does this mean for our global society?

Could we possibly lose our quality of live in old age to more diseases that limit our body function and health? I know that you or someone you know has been affected by Alzheimer's Disease in some way. Loved ones facing memory loss and those who must then care for them face daily struggles to retain the love and strength that this disease wipes away. I'm so passionate about this issue because I believe that not only is it gaining in prevalence but that we are also coming closer to scientifically understanding the disease and how to fight it in order to end it. Will you or I be 1 out of every 4 Americans to develop dementia before we die?

Next, I'll let you know about the Alzheimer's Association campaign that I am participating in to raise awareness for the fight to end the disease.

Thanks for reading and make a new memory with a loved one today,
Brandi

The Longest Day Campaign