Dr. Majid Fotuhi

I saw them like they were three ladies in their 80s.

But they were all like thin and all nice ski outfits and giggling.

And I thought, this is the way to do it.

You want to get through your 80s and enjoy life.

You don't want to be dragging yourself through 80s and die with fear that you have Alzheimer's disease.

The problem with telling people that you have Alzheimer's disease or that you're going to get Alzheimer's disease is that when they have memory problems, they say, oh,

Alzheimer's is kicking in and they withdraw from social gatherings, from doing things because they feel like I am the beginning of the end.

And the less they do, the more their brain shrinks.

Your brain is like a muscle.

The more you use it, the stronger it gets.

I think people need to appreciate that, hey, I can always get better at any age.

I can get better in 12 weeks.

If I change my habits a little bit, it may take me six months.

But the things I have to do don't require any equipment, don't require any magical supplements.

Just normal daily habits can make a huge difference on the trajectory of whether you end up someone sharp or end up someone who's becoming demented.

When you're stressed out, you increase levels of a hormone called cortisol and a limit of spike in cortisol levels with day to day stresses is a part of life.

If you're late catching a flight or somebody is really ill in your family, it's OK to be stressed out and have cortisol levels.

It is what it is.

When you're in a dangerous situation, the high cortisol levels allow you to run faster and breathe faster and deal with emergencies.

And fortunately, some people's carriers like the one you had, the cortisol levels are made high all the time.