066 Brain Health Programs to Keep Your Mind Sharp with Henry Mahncke Ph.D
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
Release Date: 04/24/2026
Growing Older Living Younger: About longevity, wellness, healthspan,
What if the path to healthy longevity lies not in choosing between ancient healing traditions and modern science, but in learning how to integrate both? In this episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with Dr. Mao Shing Ni—38th-generation doctor of Chinese medicine, co-founder of Tao of Wellness, and author of Secrets of Longevity—about how Traditional Chinese Medicine can complement modern approaches to healthspan optimization. Dr. Mao explains the foundational principles of Chinese medicine, including balance, the five elemental systems, and the links between organ function,...
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How does our immune system change as we age, and what role can vaccines play in supporting healthy longevity? In this informative episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch welcomes physician, healthcare executive, and medical writer Dr. Michael Myers for a thoughtful, evidence-based discussion about immunosenescence—the age-related decline of immune function—and its implications for healthy aging. Together they explore how vaccines work, why vaccine recommendations evolve throughout life, and the importance of understanding both the science and the uncertainties...
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What role does muscle strength play in healthy aging, longevity, and independence? In this episode, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with Jeanne Phares about why maintaining and building muscle becomes increasingly important for women during and after menopause. Drawing on her personal experience as a leukemia survivor and decades of strength training, Jeanne explains the connections between muscle mass, metabolism, bone health, resilience, and recovery. Listeners will learn practical strategies for strength training, nutrition, and lifestyle habits that support vitality...
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THIS FLASHBACK FRIDAY EPISODE OF GROWING OLDER LIVING YOUNGER focuses on the impact of low carbohydrate and ketogenic nutrition on health and aging well. Today’s Featured Expert is Anne Mullens, an award winning Canadian journalist and author specializing in Health and Science Writing, At a time when the twin hazards of diabetes and obesity are so prevalent in our society that we say that there is a diabesity epidemic, we are bombarded with discordant messages about what, when, and how to eat, to stay healthy and age gracefully. A goal of this podcast is to cut through the noise and provide...
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Is chronic pain really an inevitable part of aging—or could it be a warning sign that deeper imbalances are affecting your healthspan, mobility, and quality of life? In this episode of Growing Older Living Younger, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with physical therapist, registered nurse, educator, and functional wellness expert,Stacey Roberts, about the root causes of chronic pain and why conventional treatments often focus on symptom relief instead of true healing. Stacey explains how chronic inflammation, food sensitivities, hormone imbalance, gut health issues, biomechanics, and lifestyle...
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“You got to just move. It doesn’t matter how efficient your movements are, what matters is that you are moving.” - Susan Bock Smith
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Grief is not a problem to be solved or something we simply “get over.” In this profound conversation, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with philosopher and grief expert Thomas Attig about mourning as a lifelong process of relearning how to live in a world forever changed by loss. Drawing on decades of scholarship and personal insight, Thomas explains how grief can deepen our love, strengthen resilience, and help us find wisdom and meaning in life’s most difficult transitions. This episode offers compassionate guidance for anyone grieving a loved one or supporting someone through loss. Thomas...
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I talk with Brian Morgan. President of Think Deeply, Write Clearly about bridging the many divides that are polarizing our society, through creative thought and communication.
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What if fatigue, weight gain, brain fog, and declining strength after 50 are not inevitable signs of aging, but signals of underlying metabolic dysfunction that can be corrected? In episode 275, Dr. Gillian Lockitch speaks with metabolic restoration practitioner, Lori Balue, about how women can restore energy, reduce inflammation, preserve muscle, and regain metabolic resilience through personalized nutrition and functional testing. Lori shares her remarkable journey of losing 100 pounds, reversing prediabetes and chronic inflammation, and transforming her health in midlife. Listeners will...
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THIS FLASHBACK FRIDAY EPISODE OF GROWING OLDER LIVING YOUNGER focuses on the effect of aging on brain functions, affecting many attributes of cognition, like memory and processing speed; and on the importance of recognizing the early warning signs of dementia for early treatment. Today’s guest is neuropsychiatrist and creator of the SAGE test, Dr. Douglas Scharre. Dr. Scharre is board certified in neurology, behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry with special interests in cognitive assessment, degenerative dementias and dementia-related behaviors. He joined The Ohio...
info_outlineFlashback Friday Episode 66 from 2022
"Brains at any age are capable of rewiring and changing. No one should be aging, thinking that it's all downhill from here' (Dr. Henry Mahncke).
This comment on brain plasticity, made by research neuroscientist, Dr. Henry Mahncke, in Episode 10: Rewiring Your Brain, echoes in my head, whenever I reflect on the goal of Growing Older Living Younger, namely to extend our health span by preserving a healthy mind in a healthy body. My brain is a year older since that episode but I’m sure that by following my personal roadmap for aging well, my cognitive functions have not aged in parallel with my chronological age. Preserving brain health, cognitive functions and warding off dementia, is a desire that is frequently expressed when I talk to men and women during the complimentary Growing Older Living Younger Discovery call I offer. Many people are living into their 80s or 90s and have relatives or friends diagnosed with dementia. They may be aware that the prevalence of dementia is increasing dramatically. Prevalence refers to the proportion of people within a population at a given time who have a specific characteristic. Since dementia occurs more in elderly people, the more elderly people there are, the greater the number of people there will be who have dementia.
But as individuals we are more concerned about individual risk. I was intrigued to read that a recent study showed that the incidence of dementia in people of European ancestry living in Europe and the USA (that is the number of new cases in a population) has actually declined an average of 13% every decade over the last 30 years. Reflecting on what could be causing this decrease in the incidence of dementia, I suspect that it reflects an increasing understanding of the effects of lifestyle management, nutrition, targeted wellness products, exercise, socialization, sleep, and. keeping mentally active.
In that vein, I invited Dr. Mahncke back to Growing Older Living Younger to describe a new community based Brain Health Program that is being developed in conjunction with the YMCA of San Francisco and also to share updates on some of the studies we discussed in the earlier episode.
Dr. Mahncke is the CEO of Posit Science, the leading provider of plasticity-based brain training and assessments. BrainHQ is an online and app program of plasticity-based brain training exercises to improve cognitive measures like attention, memory, processing speed and executive functions. that impact real world activities like driving, balance, gait, mood, confidence and everyday cognitive functions.
To Learn More:
Connect with Dr. Henry Mahncke at: www.brainhq.com - you can also download the BrainHQ App LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-mahncke-3b89072/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brainhq/
Connect with Dr. Gillian Lockitch: askdrgill@gmail.com
Order your copy of Growing Older Living Younger: The Science of Aging Gracefully and The Art of Retiring Comfortably at www.gillianlockitch.com
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