The XX Brain: The Groundbreaking Science Empowering Women to Prevent Dementia

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There is also the possibility of late onset schizophrenia or depression with the onset of menopause. There is also the possibility of worsening mental illnesses in those previously diagnosed with menopause. (p. 11 and 12) Menopause also increases women’s susceptibility to heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Compared to Andropause, which men have, men get low sex drive and irritability, but overall are less affected than women by hormonal changes. (p.12.) An estimated 20 percent of women going through menopause have brains that are unaffected by it, and 80 percent of women going through menopause do have brains affected by it. (p.13) I was really impressed and enjoyed this book and the research behind this book. This really was quite a gem; I was not expecting to find such a treasure trove of knowledge when I meant to do some light refreshing on Alzheimers. I know more about female hormones now than I ever did before. Some fats are bad for you; others are essential. Take trans fats. They’re highly processed and toxic for your body in any amount. On the flipside, the unsaturated fats found in avocados, nuts, and fish help your heart and brain to flourish, especially if you eat them every day. Mosconi is the Director of the Women's Brain Initiative and brings her incredible knowledge base to this book to teach women how to maximize their cognitive health and prevent Alzheimer's Disease. Until now, medical research has focused on “bikini medicine,” assuming that women are essentially men with breasts and tubes. Yet women are far more likely than men to suffer from anxiety, depression, migraines, brain injuries, and strokes. They are also twice as likely to end their lives suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, even when their longer lifespans are taken into account. But in the past, the female brain has received astonishingly little attention and was rarely studied by medical researchers– resulting in a wealth of misinformation about women’s health.

Women’s brains have unique risk factors for dementia that until now have been ignored by science. Lisa Mosconi’s path-breaking work changes this paradigm to show women how they specifically can protect and enhance brain function throughout life. Essential reading!" —Max Lugavere, New York Times best-selling author of Genius Foods After age 35, variable amounts of progesterone and estrogen during each monthly cycle, cause insomnia, anxiety, migraines, miserable periods, irritability, rage and bloating (p.43). Also if women have low testosterone they can get loss of libido, weight gain and low energy. (p.43). If they have polycystic ovary syndrome they can have high testosterone linked to irregular periods, difficulty sleeping, and insulin resistance. (p.43)This extraordinary book gives women cutting-edge, research-based advice on what they particularly need to know to keep their brains functioning at maximum capacity.Highly recommended!” —JJ Virgin, New York Times bestselling author of The Virgin Diet In addition, she crafts a livable diet and exercise plan that will help you reduce stress and return to restorative sleep, helping to manage these hormonal swings.

Dr. Mosconi boldly takes the question of what differentiates men from women away from just the reproductive organs and focuses on the unique characteristics of the female brain. And it is about time! When 2/3 of Alzheimer’s patients are women, clearly a manifestation of the female brain’s uniqueness, we must take notice. The XX Brain is fully empowering, leveraging the very best science allowing women to enhance cognitive health and gain control of their brain’s destiny." —David Perlmutter, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Grain Brain Women are more than twice as likely to develop depression as men over their lifetimes(p.36) and if a woman has midlife depression, that elevates her risk for dementia. (p.37). As many of you may already know (but in case if you don't), here is a little bit of scientific fact about our brains from this book: "Hormones are made by our DNA, and as we know, our DNA is different depending on our sex. However, not many people know that the X chromosome is actually much larger than the relatively tiny Y chromosome, containing a lofty 1,098 genes as compared with the Y chromosome’s 78. This means that a woman, wielding her double X, possesses over 1,000 more genes than a man, many of which are critical for both hormonal production and brain activity." From here, you can kinda guess, just how important it is to approach our brain and overall health from a gender specific view where for centuries, studies, researches and medical practice are mostly (now known as the common knowledge) based on male bodies. And as the author of this book - Lisa Mosconi puts it - even the female specific medicine are mostly focused on "Bikini Medicine" - meaning our breasts and ovaries - excluding our most important organ - the brain. Women over 35 need to know that perimenopause is a dramatic transition state not just in terms of mood, sex drive, and hot flashes—but in terms of brain health and function. Lisa Mosconi is the leading authority on the female brain as it navigates hormonal upheaval, and she is here to close our knowledge gap. I give her extraordinary new book my highest recommendation!" —Sara Gottfried, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Hormone Cure I am so happy to finally read a book about the female brains by a female neurologist, nutritionist and PhD. It's about time!

The XX Brain is an exciting and empowering read for all women. Dr. Mosconi provides actionableadvice to protect your brain and thrive throughout your lifetime! I highly recommend making your brain a priority now and taking charge before the inevitable hormonal shifts of perimenopause. In this book, Dr. Mosconi will show you how.” —Dr. Jolene Brighten, ND, author of Beyond the Pill This extraordinary book gives women cutting-edge, research-based advice on what they particularly need to know to keep their brains functioning at maximum capacity. Highly recommended!" —JJ Virgin, New York Times bestselling author of The Virgin Diet The female neuroendocrine system: Pregnancy and the onset of menopause both have the potential to disrupt the balance of the female neuroendocrine system. Affected parts include: the thyroid, the thymus, the adrenals, the pancreas, the ovaries, the frontal cortex, the thalamus, the posterior cingulate cortex, the limbic cortex, the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus, and the brain stem.

Women with children: differences associated with processing and responding to social signals. (p.46). Women with children develop a sleep debt (p. 48) and often experience “reduced performance on memory tests that place a high demand on free recall and working memory”. Memory difficulties worsen depending on the number of children. (p.47).To support your body in processing all these nutrients, you also need to optimize the good bacteria in your gut. That means eating lots of prebiotics like onions, bananas, and garlic that act as a kind of “fertilizer,” as well as probiotics found in food like yogurt. This is a very practical book full of scientific research and advices to empower us with knowledge and insights into our brain and into how to prevent us from everyday stress, forgetfulness, brain fogs to serious brain diseases like Dementia, Alzheimer’s and depression... It is also full of information on guiding us to face common menopause complications for women facing it or even young women to learn how to prevent those complications and age gracefully. And the book does not just stop here, brain health is also about keeping ourselves physically and intellectually challenged - from exercising, meditation to play board games, read books, learn a new language or new musical instrument and being engaged with our friends and communities... I recommend that every woman and all health care professionals read this fantastically important and insightful book from a true expert in the field. I couldn’t put it down.” —Dr Joanna McMillan, bestselling author of Brain Food It can seem like Alzheimer’s comes on suddenly, but the disease is decades in the making. While the clearest symptoms may only be visible in old age, the groundwork is laid when we’re young. For many women, menopause is when it begins.