Age 24 and 4/4: Trying to Plan a Healthy (Student) Life
Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 5:59 pm
Hi everyone,
A few weeks ago, my 23AndMe results arrived. Guess what? I'm 4/4. My maternal grandmother has Alzheimer's and my mum is 3/4. I'm still processing the news and think about my results every day.
Thanks for this online community — these forums have been a huge form of support.
I'm an active kind of person: I enjoy running, high-intensity interval workouts, yoga, ecstatic dance and hiking. My parents are health-conscious and I was raised pescatarian. However, I started eating meat in 2014. My maternal grandmother and my dad's sister both have celiac disease. I never had any trouble with gluten, but last year, after reading Kelly Brogan's book "A Mind of Your Own", I decided to go gluten-free. I also started reading David Perlmutter's blog posts. More recently, I've discovered the Bredesen protocol. I can't wait to find more books and resources about preventing cognitive decline.
I'm very skinny, but have some belly fat that I'd like to get rid of. I'm hoping to reduce my carbohydrate intake and work on my insulin sensitivity. My paternal grandfather has type 2 diabetes.
I've been thinking a lot about how to go about making adjustments to my lifestyle. I often find myself struggling with the social aspects of healthy living. For example, although I love the communal nature of shared housing, my friends can be a bad influence. I really want to work on my sleep hygiene and stop drinking alcohol, but when I get invited to someone's apartment for drinks and weed-smoking at 10 pm, I find it incredibly difficult to refuse. Sadly, I find it difficult despite knowing my 4/4 status. This worries me a lot: I know I can't afford to go through life so blasé about my bad habits.
I'm sure that if my friends knew what I was going through, then at least some of them would understand. However, I find the idea of sharing my 4/4 status with anyone outside my family (and this community) too stressful to deal with at the moment. Many of the people I live with are not particularly health-conscious, and I suspect that revealing my 4/4 status would go hand-in-hand with a fair amount of explaining. Lengthy conversations about my DNA, and Alzheimer's in general, just seem impossible right now. But it's definitely a goal that I'd like to work towards.
I'm an introvert, but need a sense of community to keep me going. Thanks again for these wonderful forums!
A few weeks ago, my 23AndMe results arrived. Guess what? I'm 4/4. My maternal grandmother has Alzheimer's and my mum is 3/4. I'm still processing the news and think about my results every day.
Thanks for this online community — these forums have been a huge form of support.
I'm an active kind of person: I enjoy running, high-intensity interval workouts, yoga, ecstatic dance and hiking. My parents are health-conscious and I was raised pescatarian. However, I started eating meat in 2014. My maternal grandmother and my dad's sister both have celiac disease. I never had any trouble with gluten, but last year, after reading Kelly Brogan's book "A Mind of Your Own", I decided to go gluten-free. I also started reading David Perlmutter's blog posts. More recently, I've discovered the Bredesen protocol. I can't wait to find more books and resources about preventing cognitive decline.
I'm very skinny, but have some belly fat that I'd like to get rid of. I'm hoping to reduce my carbohydrate intake and work on my insulin sensitivity. My paternal grandfather has type 2 diabetes.
I've been thinking a lot about how to go about making adjustments to my lifestyle. I often find myself struggling with the social aspects of healthy living. For example, although I love the communal nature of shared housing, my friends can be a bad influence. I really want to work on my sleep hygiene and stop drinking alcohol, but when I get invited to someone's apartment for drinks and weed-smoking at 10 pm, I find it incredibly difficult to refuse. Sadly, I find it difficult despite knowing my 4/4 status. This worries me a lot: I know I can't afford to go through life so blasé about my bad habits.
I'm sure that if my friends knew what I was going through, then at least some of them would understand. However, I find the idea of sharing my 4/4 status with anyone outside my family (and this community) too stressful to deal with at the moment. Many of the people I live with are not particularly health-conscious, and I suspect that revealing my 4/4 status would go hand-in-hand with a fair amount of explaining. Lengthy conversations about my DNA, and Alzheimer's in general, just seem impossible right now. But it's definitely a goal that I'd like to work towards.
I'm an introvert, but need a sense of community to keep me going. Thanks again for these wonderful forums!