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When neurologist Dr. Kim Johnson Hatchett sits across from patients who've just suffered a stroke or received an early dementia diagnosis, she sees the same look in their eyes: regret. "If only I had known," they tell her. "If only I could go back and do things differently."

What breaks her heart—and should concern all of us—is that most of these devastating outcomes were completely preventable.

In this post, I’ll share the biggest takeaways from my conversation with Dr. Johnson Hatchett and how our everyday choices—what we drink, how we sleep, even the containers we use—quietly shape our brain’s future.  

I’ll walk you through the three fundamentals for brain health most people overlook, how the food industry keeps us hooked on products that undermine cognition, and Dr. Johnson Hatchett’s surprising take on dairy. I’ll also share why Alzheimer’s is now being called “type three diabetes” and the troubling discovery of microplastics in dementia patients’ brains.

Your brain is your most valuable asset. The question is: are you protecting it?

The Three Brain Health Basics Almost Everyone Gets Wrong

Dr. Johnson Hatchett’s message is refreshingly simple: you don’t need fancy supplements or high-tech tools to care for your brain. The biggest difference comes from three basics that almost everyone overlooks.

Hydration:

Most people think they're drinking enough water, but when Dr. Johnson Hatchett has patients actually measure their intake, they're shocked by how little they're actually consuming. 

Our brains are largely composed of water, and even mild dehydration impacts cognitive performance and long-term brain health.

Sleep:

Our culture glamorizes the “push through” mentality, but lack of sleep is one of the most damaging habits for brain health. Deep sleep is when the brain clears toxins and consolidates memories. Without it, risk for cognitive decline rises dramatically.

Exercise (Especially Weight Training):

While most people know cardio helps the heart and brain, Dr. Johnson Hatchett emphasizes something many miss: weight training is crucial for brain health.

When examining dementia patients, the hippocampus (where memories are formed) is visibly shrunken. Weight training specifically helps keep this critical brain region healthy and robust.

Her recommendation:

• 20-30 minutes of cardio most days
• Weight training three times per week
• Keep it up for life, just like brushing your teeth

The Alzheimer's-Diabetes Connection

Alzheimer's is now considered "type three diabetes”, which reflects mounting evidence that insulin resistance and blood sugar problems create the pathway to cognitive decline.

Being pre-diabetic or diabetic significantly increases your dementia risk. The connection makes sense as your brain needs steady glucose for energy, but chronic high blood sugar and insulin resistance damage the systems that deliver that energy efficiently.

How the Food Industry Hijacks Your Brain

The food industry has mastered what's called the "bliss point"—that perfect combination of sugar, fat, salt, and texture that triggers our brain's reward systems and keeps us coming back for more. These ultra-processed foods are engineered to be irresistible, which explains why it's so much harder to stop at one cookie than one apple.

Over time, this constant overstimulation affects not just your waistline, but also cognitive function and decision-making. Your brain health is being tested every time you reach for processed food.

Dr. Johnson Hatchett also shared her perspective on dairy. She explained that when cheese is digested, it breaks down into compounds called casomorphins, which can act on the brain in ways similar to morphine. Suddenly, that irresistible pull of cheese makes sense. While she isn’t anti-dairy, she does encourage us to think critically about whether it truly supports your long-term health goals.

The Hidden Threat: Microplastics in Our Brains

Perhaps the most alarming part of our conversation was discussing microplastics. Recent studies have found them in the brains of people who died from dementia and in arterial plaques from heart attack and stroke patients.

This has changed how Dr. Johnson Hatchett approaches everyday choices:

• No microwaving in plastic containers
• Using glass containers when possible
• Avoiding plastic dishwasher pods
• Being conscious of exposure without becoming overwhelmed

Practical Steps You Can Take Today

Dr. Johnson Hatchett's approach isn't about perfection, but sustainable changes that protect your brain:

Start measuring: Track your actual water intake for a few days. You'll likely be surprised.

Prioritize sleep: Establish a bedtime routine that gets you to sleep within an hour of when your household winds down.

Move consistently: Start with bodyweight exercises if you don't have weights. Consistency matters more than perfection.

Shop smarter: Focus on the grocery store perimeter where whole foods live. If you can't understand an ingredient list, reconsider putting it in your body.

Reduce plastic exposure: Use glass when possible and avoid microwaving in plastic.

Respect the Body You’ve Been Given

Dr. Johnson Hatchett leaves us with a powerful reminder to respect the body and brain you’ve been given. Unlike a stroke or diagnosis that appears suddenly, decline usually builds silently over years, shaped by daily choices.

The good news is, those same daily choices can also be your brain’s greatest protection. Hydrate, move, sleep, eat mindfully, and reduce exposures where you can. These aren’t drastic changes, but they can mean the difference between thriving in later decades or struggling with regret.

Want to hear the full conversation with Dr. Kimberly Johnson Hatchett? Listen to the complete episode of The Obesity Guide podcast for more insights on brain health and cognitive longevity.

TRANSCRIPT:

Disclaimer: The transcript below is provided for your convenience and may contain typos, errors, or grammatical inconsistencies, as it has not been professionally edited or proofread. Please enjoy it as-is and read at your own discretion.

Please note: The content shared in this podcast and blog post is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider for personalized medical guidance. 

 Okay. Welcome back to another episode of the podcast everybody. I'm really excited. Today we have Dr. Johnson Hatchet and I have followed her on TikTok of all places for a long time now, and your videos always. Teach me something like every time I'm watching what you do. So she's a neurologist. I'm gonna have her introduce herself in a second here.

But you're one of those channels where every single video I pause, you have amazing knowledge. You've actually changed the way I think about some things. And so I reached out a little while back here and I said, Hey, can we bring you on the podcast? 'cause I think other people need to hear what you have to say.

So can we start out, if you would just introduce yourself and then I have so many questions for you today. Sure, sure. My name's Dr. Kim Johnson. Hatchet. , I am, you already said a, a neurologist. I'm also in hospital administration m those pencil pushers. , But I still practice and, , I am what you would call a geriatric mom.

I had my babies late. I had my second child, and then three months later turned 40. , And then,. I have a business background, so my undergraduate degree is in finance and banking, and came to medicine late in life,, and kinda had a arduous journey to get into medical school. So I'm pretty,, passionate about the fact that I've been given the second chance and the fact that I, , was able to do it lets me know that.

Damn near anybody can do this if, if I can do it. , So that is one of the things that I'm really passionate about. But then I'm also really passionate about health. And so one of the things that I feel like we learned as medical students as, allopathic and probably even osteopathic physicians is how to take care of the disease state.

But we didn't learn a hell of a lot about how to prevent the disease state. So that is something that, I'm really passionate about and I've come to learn on my own once I've got done with training. Yeah, for formal training, I guess. Yeah. You're, it's so right what you're saying, that everybody needs to be incredibly broken by the time we can help them, and that's not.

The way to optimal health. So what even made you want to go into neurology to begin with? I'm always curious about that. Wow. So when I was got into medical school, I thought I was gonna do surgery and I really enjoyed, , my surgery rotation. And I met this person, this woman, who was a vascular surgeon.

And I remember she showed me, one of the, carotid endarterectomy. So it was a person that had had a stroke. , We went in and cleaned out their carotid artery and they let me close. And I was like, oh, wow. And I didn't close the artery, but I got the clothes, you know?

Yeah. The wound on the outside and. I remember asking, how do you all know that you all need to do this? And they said they had, she had this thing called arose fugax. And I thought, what is that? And they said, look it up. And back in, back in the day they were like, look it up, figure out. So I looked it up and I thought, okay, alright.

I a simple artery, okay. And so I learned about that disease process and I remember her parting word. She said, you would make a damn good vascular surgeon, but if you find something that you love more than this. Do that. Oh. I said, okay. And my next rotation was neurology. And I had, I was in the neuro ICU at this hospital in St.

Louis University. I was in the neuro ICU for four straight weeks. Wow. And I took care of all these different types of stroke patients from MCA strokes to hemorrhagic strokes. I saw a patient with locked in syndrome. Wow. I saw her get locked in. It was horrific. It was horrific, but I also saw that there were so many different aspects of neurology and I thought, , I have found something that I really love more than surgery.

Yeah. That's how I ended up in neurology. The, , logical thinking about it. The fact that you could pinpoint where the problem was. I loved that. So that's how I ended up doing neurology. Gosh, I love hearing that. It just gives me, it gives me insight into how you are great with thinking and everything, right?

Like, I, I just, I, I was, I always thought neurology was really tough to understand. I mean, like basic stuff, but like mm-hmm. Really the pathways and everything. It just really, it was, , it was hard, but so fascinating. So, okay. One thing I really wanna ask you about is I don't think that, I think we spend a lot of time thinking about the heart and things like that, but we don't.

Think enough about how to keep our brain healthy. Mm-hmm. And so I'm just wondering if we can just start out with, are there things that people can do that can help their brain, to age better, to stay healthier longer? Longevity, like, I don't care what terms you use. Yeah. , Prevent, atherosclerosis, build up in the arteries.

, Yeah. What are your sort of like, these are the things that you tell everybody where like, people need to know this. Okay, so I am huge on easy stuff, right? Mm-hmm. , Easy things that we know we should do, but we don't do them drinking enough water, like that's huge. Hydration's huge. , And there are so many of us walking around here dehydrated, and we think we drink enough water.

But once you, once I get a patient to really measure out how much water they're actually drinking and do a really good audit of how much water they're drinking, they are shocked at how little they're drinking. I know that before I started measuring out how much water I was drinking, I was, I would go all day and didn't realize, number one, I hadn't peed.

So I'm like, well, that's not healthy. And number two, I haven't drank enough water. So that's number one. 'cause our, our brains are made up of like, I can't remember the ratio, but it's a lot of water. Yeah. , And then number two, sleep. Yeah. We, as we grow older, we have, and a lot of us have this hustle mentality and we went through medical school and went through residency and learned to survive without sleep.

And we have that horrible habit of, okay, I can just push through. What I was telling one of my patients who had just had a baby, I said, don't get away from the mentality of when they sleep. You sleep. So after your kids go to bed, if your kids are going to bed at 7 30, 8 o'clock, guess what? In an hour you should be asleep.

Yeah. This is not revenge. Netflix time. This is not, oh, let me hang out with my spouse. Y'all need to hang out and go to sleep. So that big sleep component is huge for brain health. Yeah. And then exercise. I mean these, these three ba this is basic stuff, but if we could get people to really do it, yeah. Then it would be, it would be game changing the i, everything that you said.

A hundred percent. Right. Like the hydration, it, it's like simple, but it's harder than it sounds sleep. Ugh. That's a problem for a lot of people. But the movement, I find very few, are doing it. How much are you recommending or what's your sort of philosophy on that? So my philosophy is from, because the heart pumps to the brain, you gotta do some cardio.

Mm-hmm., So you've gotta do, you know, I, I try to do 20 to 30 minutes every day. Like it's, and I, that would be me on an a plus plan. I mean, every, and, and there are days that I'm c like a c plus, I'm like, oh Lord, this is not gonna work out for me. So you're human. Right, right. I'm not a cyborg yet. And so, you know, on a, a plan, I'm doing 20 to 30 minutes of cardio every day, and then I'm also three days a week hitting it hard with weights.

I'm doing weight training. , Because I mean, there's so many studies out there that look at the hippocampus, the area where those memories are made and and stored, and you're able to recall that area of the brain. When we are looking at dementia patients. That little seahorse part on both sides of the temporal lobe is shrunken when you are looking at it.

Right. , For dementia patients. So you want that to be nice, big, fat and beefy and, or not beefy, but you know, big and fat. Yeah. You want that to be big. And weight training is something that has been shown to really focus in on that part of the brain, keeping that part of the brain healthy. Pheno. You know, I, this is so interesting.

I feel like I talk about this a lot and I've not ever brought that up. That's just, I mean that like, 'cause that should be something I'm like beating the drum on. So I'm really glad that you bring this up. I've always been under the impression, is this wrong or right? That, that exercise is one of the few things that we have that can either prevent or slow progression.

Like basically we don't even have that many a amazing medications. But, that is like really one of the biggest tools we can use The exercise part. Yes. Yeah, it is. I mean, and when I talk to my patients, they kind of look at me like I'm crazy. I'm like, okay, what are you doing to exercise? And they're like, what?

And I'm like, what? What are you doing? Let's, let's figure this thing out. And they're like, well, you know, I walk and I'm like, okay, that's good cardio, but what kinda weight training are you doing? And they're like, I'm like, do you have any weights at home? I got some hand weights. Do you use them? No. I'm like, okay.

So figuring that piece out for my patients who are 60, 70 plus and getting them to understand that this is an every, every, every other day, three days a week, you need to be doing this. And they're like, how long do I need to do this? I'm like, for the rest of your life. Yeah. Like. This is like brushing your teeth.

You're not gonna stop brushing your teeth at some point in life. Yeah. But you're gonna, you're gonna do this for the rest of your life. And they're like, oh. I said, I mean, that's it. Yeah. And so I think that reality and having that simple of a message is different enough that it's, it's become, it's become second nature for me to say it, but I still feel like there's so many patients that have no.

No one's ever said that to them before. Oh, so true. So, right. No, it. One of the things, so I, I love how you were like, these are the basic essentials. It's like, listen, just don't pass, go without doing these things. Right. I find that if they're not doing these things, then they're coming into my land where they have insulin resistance.

Mm-hmm. Prediabetes, diabetes, things like that. And I don't talk on this podcast often enough about brain health. So I'm just wondering from a neurologist perspective with things like blood sugar, insulin resistance. So how does metabolic health show up in the brain over time? Oh, so the, the thing that is known in other parts of the world, developed world is that Alzheimer's is considered type three diabetes.

Right? And so we know that it's a sugar thing. We know that it's a glucose, insulin resistance. It's a condition that has been in the making for years. Being pre-diabetic and diabetic is setting you up. For Alzheimer's disease. And I think if we told people that straight up you are going in 20 years, if you're still here, you are going to have a very high likelihood of getting dementia It would be a game changer for people.

I know. 'cause even you saying it, I know it, but every time I hear it, it re kind of has an impact on me, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. So, okay, so that is where they're headed. . Do you start with the basics for them or what do you like how, how do you work with people? So, and, and the unfortunate part about neurology is that you're not seeing me for giggles.

You know, I'm not a, a doctor that sees patients for prevention of stroke. Yeah. I'm not seeing you for prevention of head injuries. You've already had it happen by the time you see me. Right. So, on my end, I'm trying to go down the list and giving people light bulb moments of, you know, those Oreo cookies that you're eating.

Every single day, even though you're just having one, it's doing damage or I'm, I'm the one telling them, newsflash your one to two drinks every day. Nightcap is probably what got you into this situation where you're having imbalance issues. Yeah, we've gotta stop you from drinking. Like you gotta stop drinking.

So like, those are the things that I'm going from. Now I'm taking things and, and saying, and pointing out, these are the issues that we've gotta fix. Or so that this doesn't happen to you again. Yeah. One thing that I tell my patients when I'm walking into the room and they have like, say if I have an acute stroke patient, I'm in the, they're in the hospital and they're wrestling on whether they're gonna make the decision to do the right thing.

Mm-hmm. And I tell them there's a fate worse than death. They look at me, I said, there's a faith that's worse than death. I said, and that's a devastating stroke that leaves you alive. You know what's happening to you, but you can't move. You can't do anything. I've seen it. And I said, so you don't want that for yourself, right?

And they're like, no. I said, you will wish you were dead if you had one of these devastating strokes. You've been given a gift. Your stroke is not great, but you're still here. So now what are you gonna do with the rest of your life that you have? Are you gonna piss it away by smoking? Are you gonna piss it away by still eating this fat food?

Are you gonna piss it away by not taking your medicine or are you gonna take what's been given to you and move and do something more? Oh, you know, and they're a captive audience. They're in the hospital, where are they gonna go? So I'm like, so I'm telling them this and hopefully it rings true. And I've had a few patients that's turned their life around.

Some don't, but some of them do. Okay. , Like literally my heart was racing as you were saying that. 'cause I completely agree that the you being severely disabled and not being able to act is very different than, you know, a, a, a swift ending. But if you could kind of go back in time and you could talk to them, what would you tell those patient, like before they became patients?

What would you tell people if you were like, Hey, this is what's up. Here's kind of how it, how it's gonna go down. . I would say that I can envision where your life is going. Mm-hmm. Like you are laying the groundwork now. Every day, every decision that you're making is laying the groundwork for you to be walking into my office one day.

Yeah. And, and again, trust me, I, I, it gives me great pride when I can say, sir, you have, you're good. You don't need to come back and see me. Like your diabetes is better. Your neuropathy's gone away. You, you're good. You're done. You don't need to come back and see me. , The unfortunate reality is there's a lot of neurological diseases that we have no cure for.

So they're with me until they die. But the ones that I can get out and get back, I try to get them back to their primary care doctor so they're not seeing me on a regular basis. Yeah. Yeah. So, okay. So what I'm hearing from you is we all. We know this, but from a, not from a fear place, but we really do need to be taking these healthy actions in life just because it, it, the, the, they're devastating consequences if we don't, right?

Yeah. , Are there other things beyond those basics, right? , The water, the sleep, , the movement. Are there other things like, I hear you talk about different topics like microplastics, things like that. Like are there things that maybe people are not really aware of right now? 'cause I'm hearing you talk about some stuff online that I'm not.

I like, I don't still be, I'm not, it's not talked about everywhere. Lemme put it that way. Well, I mean, I think that the microplastic, , is, we're just at the tip of the iceberg as to what this is doing to our bodies. Hmm. , And so, so much so that I'm very aware of what I put in the dishwasher, like my dishwasher detergent is, is there are these little pellets they have?

No, they're not in those little plastic pods. I don't use plastic pods for my, , washer machine for our clothes. I use liquid. I do it. I, I'm very conscientious about. Microplastics because I know that it's something that we can't get away from. But if I decrease our, my exposure and my family's exposure, I feel like I'm doing something.

The studies on, , looking at the brains of these patients who have died from dementia and seeing the amount of microplastic that's in their brain is. Horrifying. Seeing the amount of microplastic that are in plaques that they've pulled out of people's arteries through, have had heart attacks and strokes.

It's horrifying. So we've gotta do something from a, , conscientious standpoint, , and just be aware of it and be conscious of it and make the small changes. You know, I don't microwave things in plastic. Yeah. Anymore, you know, I don't, I try my best not to cook in things that have Teflon coatings and all the stuff that we don't, are looking at as convenience, I feel like, are the things that are going to be our demise.

Yeah, I, I'm. I feel I've learned more about it, so I'm trying to change my ways and there are some ways, you know, using, , glass, uh, containers and stuff, containers, all that kind of stuff. But there are some things and I'm like, I feel like probably after our conversation I'll go change that, but it's like the fair life drinks.

Like I, I like the taste, you know? And it's like, but from what you're saying is that potentially is not a good thing to conceive. What's a Fair life drink? So, the Fair Life, you know, like the Fair Life Protein drinks, they're in plastic bottles. Oh yeah, yeah. The prepared drinks. Yeah, I, I, I've never talked about milk and my views on milk.

I probably will not expose people to that madness, but my, I have very different views on animal byproducts and us ingesting them. What's your view? I mean, if you're not comfortable, we don't have to talk about it, but I'm curious. You're gonna have people like, what the heck? No, no. My, we always talk about stuff on this podcast.

So the,, the cheese. What cheese breaks down into, and the reason why it has such a choke hold on so many people is that it breaks down into caso morphine, so it acts on your brain like morphine. And that's why so many people are addicted to cheese. Ah, and so that's one. Number two, no other animal in the animal kingdom.

Drinks and consumes the byproduct of another animal. Mm-hmm. You never see a horse drinking dog milk. You never see a lion drinking elephant milk. But humans are drinking cow's milk. Yeah. We make milk and we, and like every other mammal, we make the milk for the baby and then they mo when we move, we should be moving on from to something else.

Right. Yeah. But because it tastes so good. Because it's so tasty and so, so quote unquote nourishing for our bodies. That's the reason why it has such a choke hold on us. Yeah. So I am not a, um, consumer of, I mean, do I eat pizza every once in a while? But I try my darnedest. I would say 90% of the quote unquote milk products that I consume are either organic almond or organic coconut milk product that I'm doing with like my coffee.

Or if I eat cereal, I'll eat it with some cereal. But other than that, I don't really do milk at all. That's just like really interesting. I've not ever had anyone on that's talked about it in this way. So I'm, I am, you know, thank you for bringing this perspective 'cause I really love to learn. I will say it's.

You touch on something that I think is a bigger issue, which is all the processed foods. Like we, we wouldn't be hyper consuming things, right? If it didn't really light our brain up like fireworks. Right. And that's why I'm glad that you bring up kind of what it breaks into and why we like it. And, , a lot of the food industry, I think is really exploiting the, oh, , the bliss point, right?

The textures where, what it's hitting, how it's hitting, uh, you know, sugar, fat, salt, all that kind of stuff. , And I think this is kind of like part of that conversation. Yeah. 'cause it's, it's, it, it leads ultimately to us then having health problems. Right? Yeah. And I think we we're also very oblivious to how we are getting this milk.

Yeah. Because the way that we produce milk is because we've had a baby and we're producing milk. Yeah. So what are we doing to cows to make them produce milk? Yeah. I mean that once I saw, like I saw a documentary on that and I was like, horrified. That this is what has to happen to a cow , for them to make milk.

It's no different than what has to happen to us for us to make milk. We have to have a baby, right? And so that's the other part of the industry and the whole methane, , issue with the environment. Like it's so, it's so many layers upon layers upon layers of the industry of food that is. Ama amazingly horrific in my mind.

I know. I'm like, well, we won't get into all of it. I'm a vegetarian, not because of like ethical reasons, but yeah. It, it's how I grew up and I, I just never, but anyway, the, there, there are so many layers upon layers. I remember I was talking to a friend and she was, I don't remember what state they were driving through, but there was nothing on the windshield.

Right. And then she said when they came into Colorado, suddenly the whole windshield full of bugs. Because they don't use as many, uh, pesticides and things. Right? Oh, and I remember just, I don't know why I literally thought about that example every single day for years right now, I grew up in a family where,, we were eating organic and biodynamic and all this kind of stuff before it was ever a thing.

Like I'm talking, there was like this little health food store in no comas in Wisconsin where it was like. They were like this little, like think a shed. Like, I don't, I can't, it was like a little warehouse and no one else was doing all this. The cross the street was the big industrialized supermarket.

Mm-hmm. But, um, and then now, you know, with time, I think there's increased awareness of all this stuff. But I don't think that people understand the food chain. I don't think they understand where things come from. And then I think it's very overwhelming. Like even me, I have a hard time finding.

Co-ops. I have a hard time finding farmer's markets. Like I feel that it's an incredible amount of work that I put and I understand the privilege, like the place that I come from, to have the finances for it, to have the time for it, like all of it, right? But I'm like, it feels so overwhelming to me.

So what tips do you have for people that are listening today and they're like, wow. Maybe they have, they've never thought about any of this, right? Yeah. And we're just like, whoa. We feel left field to them. What are some tips that you have for where it's like some practical steps that they can take? Or just like what's accessible to them?

'cause we have people listening of all different backgrounds. Oh yeah. So from an accessibility standpoint, there's all these different layers of accessibility. So I don't know where you live if they have Aldi's. Yeah. , But there's, , Aldi's, and if you go through Aldi's, there's organic sections in Aldis.

Right. And they might be a little bit more expensive, but it it, but it's still Aldis. And then at most grocery stores, if you walk around the perimeter of the store, that's where you pretty much wanna stay, right? You wanna stay on the perimeter and you wanna stay and looking at labels and reading things that you can understand.

It should be no more than a high school level. Or even middle school level of ingredients that you could read and understand what's on there in order for you to put that in your body. And so those, those types of things I think would be real practical. The other thing is most large cities have farmers' markets that take EBT.

Yeah. So if you are, you know, have, don't have the means to go to a whole food or even to an Aldi's and you need to get something that's gonna be, , good sustaining for your family, you can get to a farmer's market and turn your EBT your snap into, like at our farmer's market, they turn 'em into these coins or whatever they do, and you exchange it and then you can exchange your coins for buying, , the stuff from the farmers.

, And so I think that's, you know, it's, it tells it is a little bit more work. But it's,, and I mean our farmer's market's right on the bus line. Like they, they make it as convenient as possible to if you live in a food desert to make your way to the farmer's market to get some fresh food. Yeah. Oh, I love that you've given these examples.

I remember the. Hospital that I did part of my training, and it was Eskenazi here in, , Indianapolis, Indiana, and it was the,, think the public hospitals for the safety net, right? Mm-hmm. And one of the things that they did that I just love, this was in the middle of my training, they redid the ca They had, well they had a new hospital, but they redid the cafeteria.

And part of it was, , you could get produce there, there were like buckets of apples. There was this and that. And so part of the thought process was. The staff being able to literally, they could do some grocery shopping there. Like you could get healthier stuff for meals and stuff. But also I know that patients then had access to that 'cause.

Yeah, I mean, even sometimes the hospital meals that are being served in the actual hospital are not that supportive. So, , I love that you bring this up, all these super accessible, you know, at least around me here in the Midwest. And then, , being able to really use your resources in all capacities. Do you think that there's,

any other things that you wish, just like everyone knew, I wish everyone knew that. Uh hmm. No amount of alcohol is good for your brain. Oh, I'm so glad we're talking about this. So that, that is something that I've gotten more nastiness , on the worldwide web. Yeah. , And from even some physicians are like, what are you doing?

Like, why would you even bring this up and. I can't, I mean, there's no getting around it. Like there's no amount that I can say, oh, this is okay. You know, and they're like, what about red wine? I said, it's like the outside of the grape, like the skin of the grape is what is what? What's good about wine? The alcohol itself is not good for you.

Do you remember the whole, this was like early two thousands. I feel It was like, resveratrol was like the thing, it was like Dr. Oz, hopefully I'm getting the dates wrong, but it was like, it's okay to have so many glasses of wine. Yeah. I feel like we've now, I mean, can you tell us some of the reasons why you say that?

Like, I mean, as a physician I think of all the things, but what, what comes mostly to your mind when, , with people consuming alcohol? Because I'm selfish and love the brain because that's the, that's my, my reasoning. It's like I, I know that it's a neurotoxin. I know that it affects the connections that the dendrites have with other dendrites.

I know that it affects the actual nucleus of those cells too, , and causes them to not function and to die. So I know that it's a neurotoxin, but yeah. Selfishly, I know the heart pumps my brain. So it, it affects the heart, it affects every organ in your body. It's into, yeah. So it's pretty, it's, it's not a, um, it's not a, a only, I can only have a drink for, you know, once a week.

Regular steady alcohol use is, I can never, I could never., Recommended amount. Like I had a patient tell me, tell me how much I can drink. And I'm like, it's not like coffee, you know? Yeah. There is no amount that I said We need to look at coffee. That, that this kind of like, mm, crack like, I'm not gonna say, oh, just a little crack is good for you, or just a little bit of meth is good for you.

It's in the same category. Yeah. So, yeah. I, I find that. One thing that I've really enjoyed about the GLP one slash g medications, it's that the desire going down, because I think that is at the heart of all of this, that yes, as as humans, we want to feel better. We want food to taste great, we wanna be with people we love, and alcohol's part of that where people just want their brain to light up in happy ways and mm-hmm.

So that has been, I have found one of the best benefits that people naturally, I don't have to. Because if I come at you, I don't know if you experience this with patients, but if, if I'm gonna ask you to do something that you don't wanna do, we're getting nowhere. In fact, you're gonna double down your, it's a rebellious resistance comes through.

Right. And so to me it's like for the desire to go down, I found that to be helpful. Have you seen that in any of your patients that, 'cause I'm assuming a lot of them are probably at this point on GLP ones if they have any comorbidities or mm-hmm. Or using it for weight management. Yeah, I've, in, in patients and in, , colleagues and friends who are on GLP ones, they have noticed that that key, what you just said, their desire to do things.

The, that's my only worry about the medication is that if they were to ever stop and the ones that I've seen stop. Oh yeah. Their desire comes back and it comes back with a vengeance. Yeah. , And so that's my worry is that if you're not doing the work while you're on the medicine to go into why you desire it, or you know, your relationship with food, your relationship with alcohol, your relationship with all of the things that kind of threw you into the point where you needed this medication, then if you were to ever stop, then I just, I, I wanna make sure that that's being handled from.

The practitioners that just prescribe it, they're trying to help them do the work , to get their minds and their bodies whole, you know? Yeah. I mean, I think so. I think something that's hard is like if someone needs these medications for, you know, there are health reasons, right? Yeah, yeah. . But what's to a point that you're saying is sometimes a contraindication develops or, you know, a side effect, like something happens and then it's this off the cliff moment when the support's no longer there.

And that is really devastating because again, they had hope. And then now again, it's really being in a rough spot to be able to manage that. Have you noticed any., Changes in your patients since these GLP ones have come around? Like any changes in how you see stuff or not really? I don't know if, I mean, I think the only change that I've seen.

, My friends that are bariatric surgeons said that the surgery has started to dry up. They're doing more ectomies now because people are losing so much weight, like without surgery. Right. Right. So that's one thing, and I feel like the patient's pride in what they're doing is so much different than the pride that they have if they've lost weight because they did surgery versus losing weight because they're taking GLP once.

It's a different mindset. I can, , I've even noticed that from an anecdotal standpoint, sitting back and watching those patients, , because they feel like they're in control. Like I'm in control of what I've done. I've done this, I've taken the medication, I've stopped the eating, and I feel like those that actually have the surgery, , even though it was a rough road going through the surgery.

Somebody else did this to them. So their level of pride in what they've done for themselves is different, which I think is sad because I think that any way you can get help. Is valid. Mm-hmm. And I think I always say different tools for different people and we all have different levels of illness and yeah, different physiology, different genetics.

And I mean, some of it's like you might be more dopamine seeking and so that's driving things differently than someone else where it's more just like a hunger insulin resistance, right? So there's so much that goes into it. So to me, , I don't like the fact that we're still like viewing surgery as a failing or a medication, you know?

, It's. I, I wish we could move past that at this point. 'cause I don't, people are not choosing this. Right. Well, and the thing is, I, what I've seen the best results in are people who have had the surgery and then they go on a GLP one. Yeah. I know. Like they get past the, maybe six months after the surgery, they're able to kind of not now eat, like, you know, eat food in a regular way.

Again, and now they're on a GLP one. And those folks have like, their results are un, I saw this one patient, I was like, oh my, you look amazing. And she was like, I feel amazing. And she talked about her exercise and how she was able to incorporate everyday exercise, incorporate this diet, and. She said the GOP ones have just made my diabetes, like I'm in, everything's in control now.

Yeah. And so she feels so much better. And she said the decision I made to have the surgery was a really rough decision. And she said, but I'm, I'm so glad I did it because she went from. Like she was probably over four 50. Yeah. And now she's down to like 1 75 and she just is a totally different person.

But she did both and has had tremendous results. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. About 60% of my practice have had a history with having bariatric surgery in the past and then mm-hmm. Now, you know, 'cause it's a chronic illness and so there's, you know, management long term. Definitely. And you said that, you said that the, the key word is that it's a chronic illness.

Yeah. You know, it's something that we look at as a finite thing. Like I'll lose the weight and then we don't continue on. We don't see it as a chronic thing that we have to manage basically for the rest of our life. Yeah, definitely. Well, okay, I have really enjoyed talking to you today 'cause I feel like we, we really did cover a lot and I know I could continue to ask questions.

Do you think there's anything that we missed today where it's like, people really need to hear this today? Mm-hmm. If this is the only exposure they're getting. I would say that,, one thing from a neurology standpoint is to really respect the body that you've been given. , And I see people at a point where there are folks who get these, these devastating diseases and, , like, you know, parkinson's or a LS and they have no control over what they've been given. So I would say that the big thing is to respect the body that you've been given. Yeah. And treat it the way that you would want someone to treat your mother or someone to treat your child. You need to treat yourself that way.

So. That's what I, I just took a deep breath. That's beautiful. Thank you for that. That is such a nice, , ending to our conversation because Yeah. People are always. I just got a question on a a q and a that I did in my, , program here earlier today, and the person said, you know, how can I give myself more grace?

Like I've been programmed with this all these years. Family wants me to be harder on myself, and they're wanting to do something different. And you just, , you said it better than I did on the call today, so I was so glad that you said this. Can you tell everybody where they can find you online? 'cause I'm sure that people would love to learn more from you over time.

Sure. I'm on, TikTok and Instagram at Dr. Kim Neuro Doc. Our website is dr kimberly j hatchet.com with two t's on the end. And I have a newsletter called the Bottom Line up front. It's kind of like a briefing. It's like a briefing that I would get in, would give in business class. So I give you the bottom line up front.

I give you the, with them or what's in it for you, what's in it for me, kind of statement. And then I give you step by step tools on how to, achieve those things., And then I kind of give you a geek out at the end. , It's a free newsletter that comes out every other week. My most recent one got a little bit of backlash, but that's okay.

About, , school safety, but I talk about all these different things, , not just brain health. I talk about, you know, just life in general. So yeah, if you wanna sign up for that, that would be great. That's amazing. So we'll make sure to put the links to everything down below everybody where you're listening right underneath, , or swipe right, left, however you get to the show notes on the app you're listening to.

And then also you can always go to renta clinic.com/blog and we will have all the information for you. Thank you so much for coming on today and taking the time to, to educate us. Oh, thank you so much for having me. It, this was enjoyable. Thank you. Thank you.