113. Can Purpose Help You Heal? Why Having Something to Live For Matters

Does an Alzheimer's diagnosis really mean that memory loss and cognitive decline are inevitable? Research is challenging long-held assumptions about Alzheimer's disease. Recent studies have documented improvements in memory and cognitive function among some people with early Alzheimer's using personalized and multifaceted lifestyle interventions. In this episode, we'll examine what these studies actually found, why addressing factors beyond the brain itself may matter, and how to identify potential contributors to cognitive decline. You'll learn which areas I'd investigate first after an Alzheimer's diagnosis and what practical changes may help support brain function and recovery.

Could your blood sugar be affecting your ability to heal—even if your bloodwork looks normal? If you're facing cancer, Alzheimer's, dementia, MS, Parkinson's, heart disease, or another chronic illness, blood sugar and insulin resistance may matter more than you realize. Research is revealing connections between metabolic dysfunction, inflammation, immune function, brain health, and even cancer outcomes. And surprisingly, insulin resistance can develop long before blood sugar levels become abnormal. In this episode, you'll discover why blood sugar and insulin are important to healing, which blood tests to review—including fasting glucose, A1C, and fasting insulin—and how to recognize metabolic problems that standard bloodwork may miss. You'll also learn practical ways to improve blood sugar regulation through simple dietary changes, meal order, movement, sleep, and stress management.

What if something that happened years—or even decades—ago is still creating a physiological response in your body today? Trauma can trigger a threat response that can affect the nervous system, stress physiology, inflammation, and immune signaling years after the event occured, and research suggests that addressing stressful experiences can sometimes produce measurable changes in physical health. In this episode, we explore the connection between trauma and the body, including fascinating research on PTSD, adverse childhood experiences, inflammation, and chronic disease. You’ll learn how to recognize experiences that may still carry an emotional or physical “charge,” what processing trauma actually means, and several approaches that can help—from journaling and trauma-focused therapy to EMDR, mindfulness, breathwork, and body-based techniques.

What if exercise does more than keep you strong during illness—what if it actually changes your body's ability to heal? In this episode, we look at remarkable research showing what can happen when movement becomes part of a healing plan. You’ll learn what happens inside your body when you move, from changes in glucose metabolism and immune signaling to BDNF, neuroplasticity, cardiovascular function, and the chemical messengers released by working muscles. And if traditional exercise feels impossible right now, this episode is still for you. We’ll talk about how to find the right dose of movement for the body you have today—whether that means resistance training, a 10-minute walk, five minutes at a time, physical therapy, or chair-based movement—and gradually give your body opportunities to adapt. Listen to discover why movement may be one of the most powerful healing signals you can give your body—and how to start wherever you are.

If you’ve been treating symptoms but want to understand what may actually be driving your illness, your health history and bloodwork can contain important clues. In this episode, we’re going beyond the idea of one single “root cause” and building a practical investigation map for chronic illness. You’ll learn how to look for patterns involving nutrition and metabolism, infections, gut health, environmental exposures, medications, hormones, stress, and more. Then we’ll get extremely practical: I’ll walk you through the bloodwork I’d want to see when investigating chronic illness, including CBC, CMP, glucose, A1C, insulin, iron, vitamin D, thyroid and inflammation markers—and explain what those results can tell you. You’ll also learn why “normal” doesn’t always tell the whole story, how to spot trends and patterns in your existing labs, and what to bring to your doctor or practitioner so you can ask better questions. Start by pulling up your latest bloodwork, and listen along as we begin looking for the clues your body may already be giving you. Join my free email community for practical healing tools, research, survivor stories, and encouragement between episodes: https://TheRenegadeNutritionist.com