A healthy brain in midlife predicts a healthy body in later life

Last month I spoke at the Australasian Metabolic Health Society (AMHS) about diet and dementia. 

For those who were not able to attend, my three key takeaways were:

1. Brain changes leading to Alzheimer’s start 30 years before a person gets any symptoms. This is a disease that takes decades to develop. That means midlife health habits set a person up for long term brain health or otherwise. Having said that, it’s never too late to boost our brain through the many strategies I’ve been writing about over the decades.

2. Midlife brain health as determined by a specific type of MRI scan known as the ‘Dunedin Pace of Aging Calculated from NeuroImaging (DunedinPACNI)’ showed that the greater a person’s risk of cognitive decline and dementia in their 40s, the greater their likelihood of a heart attack, stroke, frailty and early mortality. So there’s a very strong link between an ageing brain and an ageing body. Our brain leads the way to good health as we age. Healthy brain, healthy body.

3. The third thing that most people are unaware of is that dementia is the leading cause of death in Australian women — and the second most common cause of death in Australian men — number one for men is heart disease.

The good news is that the most powerful thing protecting our brain from decline is the way we live our lives. To that end, I’ve listed the 15 factors that increase our risk of dementia that we can all address to eliminate our risk and improve brain function. To make them easy to remember, I’ve made them all start with the letter S. Diet is critically important in maintaining good brain function but it isn’t the only factor impacting the health of our neurons.

1. Sugar and refined Starches
2. Seed oils — Sunflower, Safflower, Soybean oil and other so-called vegetable oils such as rice bran oil, cotton seed oil and canola oil 
3. Smoking
4. Spirits — as in alcohol excess — and when it comes to brain health, anything over 4 standard Australian drinks per week — not per day — starts to shrink our brain and increase our risk of dementia. 
5. Sedentary living and Sarcopenia (muscle loss) 
6. Stress — Severe and chronic, including past trauma if unresolved 
7. Sadness ie depression— including a loss of meaning and purpose
8. Social isolation and loneliness — loneliness is as damaging as smoking 15 cigarettes per day 
9. Sleep deprivation and Snoring ie obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)
10. Sameness, lack of novelty and lack of mental stimulation
11. Sensory loss — correct any hearing or eyesight deficits — and most importantly, stimulate your sense of smell 
12. Smashing your head — traumatic head injury
13. Smog, Smoke and other forms of air pollution
14. Sun Starvation — low vitamin D levels and not spending time in nature
15. Stiff blood vessels ie high blood pressure

Please share this Health-e-Byte with everyone interested in building a better brain and healthier body.

Photo Credit: I took this photo at the Inventions Exhibition at Los Angeles State Library in April this year.