(CNN) — Maria Shriver and Patrick Schwarzenegger are on a mission to educate you on your brain health.
Shriver has been an outspoken advocate about Alzheimer’s. Her father, Robert Sargent Shriver, was diagnosed with the disease in 2003. That inspired her to create the nonprofit, The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement.
Now she and her son have co-founded MOSH, which stands for Maria Owings Shriver Health. They call it a “brain brand,” to educate people about how what they eat and drink today impacts their brain health tomorrow.
“[My dad] died in 2011 and he was the smartest human being I’d ever met, probably the smartest human being that most people who met him had ever met,” Shriver told CNN. “And to watch somebody that smart lose their mind, lose their brain, lose their ability to know what a fork is or know who I was, was an extraordinary thing to behold. And so I started asking a lot of questions and trying to understand what was it that caused that and how could one prevent that if they could from having that happen to them.”
June is Brain Health Awareness Month and that’s why the mother and son are speaking out about their brand.
MOSH’s first product is a protein bar that the company calls a “brain bar.” The proceeds raise money for the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement.
“We like to be more than just a product; we’re a mission driven company that has different information on our website,” Schwarzenegger said.
The company started a blog that educates consumers about nutrition and sleep.
“We’re really trying to kind of do a whole holistic approach to helping people think about their brain and their body,” he said.
Beyond the protein bar, MOSH features various ways to keep your brain sharp.
“We believe in this kind of holistic approach. That’s why we always say, you know, our bar is not a one all be all fix,” he said. “We have ways [on our site] for you to learn about different tactics. We have ways for you to play different brain games, kind of brain puzzles.”
Shriver says it’s the simple choices in life that can help strengthen your brain, like taking a different route home.
“I try to mix up how I brush my teeth. [When I’m driving] I try to mix up, you know, do I take a left? Do I take a right? How do I find my way home? I try to memorize the grocery list. I try to memorize some phone numbers. So I think challenging your brain in whatever way works for you is an important thing to continue to do.”
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