Try This –Top Foods and Lifestyle Tips to Reduce Your Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

If you make it to age 90, you have a 50 percent chance of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease—that’s a coin toss.

And no, you don’t just wake up one day forgetful, wiped of memories. The stage for cognitive decline is set in our 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. 

I sat down with my friend and brain expert, Max Lugavere, to talk about Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer’s prevention, and the truth about this disease is clear: 

• Alzheimer’s disease is a disease of midlife with symptoms that appear in late life. This is a disease that simmers in the brain for decades before it manifests symptomatically.
  

• The food we eat 100 percent has an impact on the health of our brain. For every 10 percent increment in ultra-processed food consumption, we increase our risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 25 percent!
  

• By 2050, 13 million Americans will have Alzheimer’s disease.
  

• Addressing 14 specific, modifiable risk factors in midlife is critical for Alzheimer’s prevention!

Today, I want to share actionable steps that Max shared with me that you can take to support your brain health and work toward reducing your risk of cognitive decline at pretty much any age. 

We’ll dive into the 14 modifiable risk factors, top superfoods that support our brain health and structure, and why LDL and air quality matter when it comes to your brain health. 

Let’s get started… 

2 Big Takeaways on Preventing Alzheimer’s 

1. What You Eat Matters 

Our brain requires specific nutrients to support a healthy structure and function. Max has combed through the research and identified his top superfoods for Alzheimer’s prevention. But there’s a caveat: these foods only work well in the context of a healthy diet. You can’t eat a ton of ultra-processed food, add these in, and expect a great outcome. But within a healthy diet, these foods can help your brain shine. 

• Eggs: Despite the controversy surrounding them, eggs are a health food. One study showed that egg consumers had a 50 percent risk reduction in developing Alzheimer’s disease compared to non-egg consumers. Why is that? Max says it’s the choline content, which serves as the backbone for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is critical for memory and learning. Eggs also contain a plethora of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients necessary for our brains including vitamin B12, vitamin E, and carotenoids. 

• Omega-3-rich foods, including grass-fed meat: Higher levels of omega-3 have been associated with a lower risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Omega-3-rich foods include wild fatty fish, grass-fed meats, and some nuts and seeds. 

• Dark, leafy greens: Max says that dark, leafy greens are “genius foods” because not only are they dense in micronutrients like vitamin C, folate, magnesium, and carotenoids, but they are also low-calorie foods. This means we can eat a lot of them without having to worry about the impact they’ll have on our weight. 

• Carotenoid-rich foods: We’ve previously heard that carotenoids are important for eye health, but new research shows that carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin) are also found in brain tissue and protect the integrity of our brain cell membranes. Carotenoid-rich foods include leafy greens, avocados, eggs, sweet potatoes, and carrots.  

• Berries: One study showed that people who consume berries actually have younger brains! Berries have also been shown to help with memory, learning, and executive function. I aim to have a cup of blueberries daily! 

• Avocados: Max shared that avocados are the best fruit for brain health. They have twice the amount of potassium as a banana, and they’re a great source of fiber, carotenoids, and monounsaturated fats—all nutrients our brain thrives on! 

2. Address These 14 Modifiable Risk Factors NOW 

The 2024 Lancet Guidelines for Dementia Prevention were recently released, and there are fourteen modifiable risk factors that should be addressed if anyone is concerned about their brain health. They include the following: 

• Hypertension

• Obesity

• Type 2 diabetes

• Depression 

• Less education early in life

• Physical inactivity

• Excessive alcohol consumption 

• Smoking 

• Traumatic brain injury 

• Social isolation 

• Air pollution 

• Untreated vision loss 

• Hearing loss 

• High LDL cholesterol 

Now a few of these might sound familiar to you. Hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and obesity are all well-known symptoms of metabolic syndrome that can contribute to Alzheimer’s and dementia. Addressing each of these by maintaining a healthy weight, addressing insulin resistance, and maintaining physical activity is imperative in most disease prevention, including Alzheimer’s. 

But there are a few new factors here that I want to address since they were recently added or might be unfamiliar to you! 

Hearing and vision loss: Protecting your ears and eyes is way more important than we could have imagined. Both have been associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and you might be wondering why. Well, it turns out that when vision and hearing start to go later in life, folks become more socially isolated and withdraw from society. They tend to participate in fewer activities and interact with fewer people, increasing rates of depression as well. 

It’s especially important in our midlife to take care of our eyes and ears. Max’s recommendations for protecting your ears include reducing your exposure to loud environments and loud music. For vision, carotenoid-rich foods are critical: avocados, green leafy veggies, sweet potatoes, etc. 

Increased LDL cholesterol: This one might be a little controversial since there are “expert wars” about the importance of LDL cholesterol. Some say LDL itself is not an important marker, while others argue that we should do everything we can to reduce our LDL. The truth, however, is likely somewhere in the middle.

Max explains that high LDL can be a byproduct of other factors including gut dysbiosis. In my case, I have high LDL because I’m a hyper-reabsorber of cholesterol. Others might struggle with familial hypercholesterolemia. But there’s one recommendation especially that Max emphasizes when it comes to lowering LDL. Can you guess what it is?

Fiber. 

Yes, increasing your fiber can lower your LDL cholesterol. For every gram of soluble fiber you add to your diet, your LDL can drop in equivalent points. So if you add 15 grams of soluble fiber daily, your LDL can drop 15 points over time. Soluble fiber sources include apples, berries, bananas, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds, avocados, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and more. 

Air quality: This one I’m particularly passionate about because I live in a big city with a lot of pollution. During our interview, Max said, “The nose is the front door of the brain.” Everything we inhale impacts our brain health, and if you live in a polluted area, it’s especially important to filter your indoor air, which can be even more toxic than outdoor air. I constantly keep my AirDoctor filter on and change my filters often so I can keep my toxic load as low as possible. 

*FYI, AirDoctor is the best filter that I’ve found, and they are also a sponsor of this newsletter, but I love this filter and recommend it to all my friends and family members.  

The good news about these risk factors is that they are mostly ALL modifiable. Alzheimer’s and dementia are scary diseases. No one wants to be robbed of their brain and memories, but the choices we make today can have a significant influence on the way our brains will show up tomorrow. 

Here’s to resilient brain health, 
Dhru Purohit