Happy & Healthy with Amy

After an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, the conversations are only part of the work. The next step is making sure the right plans, documents, passwords, wishes, and decision-makers are in place — before a crisis forces your family to guess. In Part 3 of this three-part series, Amy and end-of-life doula Sandra Newsome talk about the practical details families need to consider, including healthcare proxy, a...

The conversations that follow an Alzheimer’s diagnosis can feel tender, awkward, and overwhelming. But avoiding them does not make them easier. In this episode, Amy and end-of-life doula Sandra Newsome walk through a practical conversation starter guide that can help you begin with more calm, clarity, and compassion. What to Listen For [00:47] The tender place many families start from.  [01:40] Th...

When a parent receives an Alzheimer’s diagnosis , it can feel like everything becomes urgent overnight. What do we do first? What conversations need to happen now? And how do we talk about end-of-life wishes without making it feel like we’re rushing things? In Part 1 of this three-part series, Amy talks with Sandra Newsome, an end-of-life doula, about why timing matters, why families avoid talking...

What if protecting your brain could start with your very next meal? In this episode of Happy & Healthy with Amy , Amy explains why the MIND diet may be one of the most powerful tools you have for supporting brain health and reducing your risk of cognitive decline. Rather than focusing on one “magic” brain food, Amy walks you through how this eating pattern helps create a healthier internal env...

If your mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you may already be wondering, “Am I next?” But if your dad, husband, brother, or partner is the one you’re worried about, this episode is for you too. Amy breaks down the differences in Alzheimer’s risk in women and men, including why women carry more modifiable risk factors, why certain risk factors may hit women’s cognition harder, and why Alzheimer’s...

What if amyloid is only the match, tau is the brush fire, and neuroinflammation is the wildfire that causes the most damage in Alzheimer’s disease? In this episode of Happy & Healthy with Amy , Amy explains why researchers are paying closer attention to neuroinflammation, what may be keeping the brain’s immune system stuck in the “on” position, and why midlife is such an important window for p...

If your parent was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you may have heard about the latest Alzheimer’s treatments - Kisunla and Lequembi - being described as breakthrough "disease-modifying" drugs. And yes, the science is promising in some ways. But here’s the part most families are not told clearly: a drug may successfully remove amyloid from the brain and still not create a meaningful...

If your mom or dad was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you may already feel the weight of caregiving starting to land on your shoulders. But here’s the good news: being the primary caregiver does not mean doing it alone. In this episode of Happy & Healthy with Amy , Amy walks you through how to build an Alzheimer’s care team early, before caregiving by default becomes an unwanted reality....

If your mom or dad was just diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, your brain may be trying to solve everything at once. What does this mean? How fast will it progress? Are they safe? What questions should you ask? And what are you supposed to do first? In this episode of Happy & Healthy with Amy , Amy walks you through a a practical checklist to help you move from panic and overwhelm into clarity, groun...

If your mom or dad was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's, you're probably wondering: am I next? Watching a parent receive this diagnosis can make every forgotten word, every misplaced key, every moment of brain fog feel suddenly loaded with meaning. In this episode, Amy answers the question directly — with science, with compassion, and with her own deeply personal experience of watching tw...

Have you seen the headlines about anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s drugs showing “no clinically meaningful effect”? If some you love has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, that kind of headline can feel like a gut punch. But before you fall into the pit of despair — or pin your hopes on the next promising treatment — you need to about this essential tool called the hierarchy of evidence so you know how to i...

When Penn Holderness described APOE4 as a “ticking time bomb,” it struck a nerve for a lot of people, especially women in midlife who already feel vulnerable about their brain health. Could a GLP-1 medication protect your brain if you carry the APOE4 gene? Amy unpacks the science in plain English and explains why genes are not destiny, why menopause changes the conversation for women, and what res...

Did you know researchers found a specific bacteria — the one found in gum disease — in up to 95% of Alzheimer's patients' brains? And that menopause makes your mouth significantly more vulnerable to exactly this bacteria? In this episode, Amy digs into one of the most overlooked connections in brain health: the link between your oral health, the menopause transition, and Alzheimer's...

Have you ever been halfway through a bag of chips — or a carton of ice cream — before you even realized what happened? You weren't hungry. You weren't even enjoying it. You were triggered. And by the time your brain caught up, the moment had already passed. In Part 2 of this conversation, behavior change expert Dr. Howie Jacobson gets into the deeper work — what shame does to your body,...

Have you ever thought, I know what to do… so why am I still not doing it? In this episode, Amy sits down with behavior change expert and high performance coach Dr. Howie Jacobson to unpack the deeper reasons habits feel so hard to change. They explore why willpower and insight are often not enough, how your environment shapes behavior, and how hidden "implicit memories" can quietly drive...

Are you stuck in a cycle of starting an exercise program and stopping — or never starting at all? You're not alone, and it's probably not your fault. In this episode of Happy & Healthy with Amy, author, functional aging specialist, and founder of Evolution Fitness & Wellness Jackie Bachmeier joins me to break down the 7 real reasons people stop exercising and exactly what to do a...

An increase of just 40 watts of leg power is linked to cognitive aging benefits equivalent to a brain functioning three years younger. There's also a direct relationship between leg strength and the size of your hippocampus — the memory center of your brain, and one of the first regions affected by Alzheimer's. In the final episode of Move for Your Brain, Amy and Marian Barnick bring it...

Your brain has two jobs when you're injured: keep you safe and keep you functional. So it finds a workaround. It automates it. And it keeps running it — long after the injury is gone. Sound familiar? In part two of Move for Your Brain, Amy and Marian Barnick explore how movement compensations work exactly like thought habits — locked in by the brain, running on autopilot, and quietly working...

You already know movement is good for your brain. But is the way you're moving actually delivering the brain protection you think it is? In part one of Move for Your Brain , Amy sits down with Marian Barnick — registered kinesiologist and movement therapist with 30 years of experience — to explore what the menopause transition actually does to your body's ability to move, and why quality...

If you're carrying quiet fear because Alzheimer's has touched your family — or you're struggling with brain fog and worried about your brain health — this episode is for you. In this episode, Amy breaks down the 5 biggest mistakes women make with Alzheimer's prevention and brain health, plus one bonus mistake that ties them all together. These aren't obscure errors. They&a...

Picture two plates. One has leafy greens, colorful vegetables, berries, salmon, whole grains, olive oil, and water. The other has a big steak, butter, and whole milk. Both reflect official government dietary recommendations. But here's the twist: one plate represents what Canada, Sweden, Germany, China, the Netherlands, and India all basically agree on. The other comes from just one country—a...

Why are the new dietary guidelines pushing full-fat dairy and red meat? Is saturated fat actually a healthy fat? And is Dr. Oz wrong for referring to alcohol as a "social lubricant"?  In this episode, Amy exposes the conflicting nutrition advice, impossible math, and double standards, and helps you make sense of the chaos—so you can eat for your brain, body, and future health. What to Li...

The 2025 Dietary Guidelines are here… and they’ve flipped the food pyramid on its head—literally. In part one of this three-part series, Amy unpacks the new dietary guidelines, sharing the wins (finally real clarity around ultra-processed foods!) and why the emphasis on protein may be misleading and a major misstep that could have long-term consequences, especially for women concerned about brain...

What if the key to making new healthy habits stick wasn’t discipline or self-control... but compassion ? This episode wraps up our 4-part behavior change series with the neuroscience of self-compassion and a proven 3-step process to help you transform habits from the inside out. What to Listen For: [03:00] The 3 things your brain actually needs to create lasting change [04:30] Why fighting your th...

If you’ve ever said “I deserve a treat” or “I’ll start on Monday,” this episode is for you. In Part 3 of this series on why you keep getting stuck, master health coach Amy Lang reveals the hidden triggers most habit frameworks miss that lead to self-sabotage. 🔍 What to Listen For: 0:00 - "I deserve a treat" and other automatic thoughts 1:00 - Welcome + why this series matters for your b...