Health Geeks & Data Freaks, Summer 2024

Minding our brain

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Fellow health nerds!

This is the section you will find meaty scientific nourishment for hungry minds, outside the physical nourishment of Taking the Hell out of Healthy.

And what a whopper it is. Here are seven inspiring recommendations, from best-selling books to in-depth conversations between neuroscientists and academics.

Just like our bones, what we do to our brain today impacts the wealth our brain economy at a later stage.

Don't panic! Information is empowering because we can very probably help change the trajectory of our brain by listening to some of the neuroscientists and experts listed below.

For example, Dr Dale Bredesen specialises in researching cognitive decline, and has firmly concluded that our 40s is an essential age point to help stave off Alzheimer’s. Phew! I'm all ears!

Food choices play one of the largest roles. The idea that your food might be influencing your brain’s behaviour and executive function is hardly surprising. But did you know that we can start looking after our brain TODAY, to literally hold off cognitive decline? Dr Bernard Gesch's research at Oxford University exemplifies the importance of our daily food choices and on the brain (more details below, on BBC Food Programme).

We have arrived at a global crisis in brain health. Depression and dementia seem rife. The logical consequence of adopting a lifestyle of poor food choices, a paucity of exercise, and sedentary career choices is a tangible reduction in brain health. While many of us cannot help the latter (sedentary office jobs), we most certainly can curate our dinner plate.

Let's look after our neural real estate.  

Ready?

Love, light, and shedloads of omega 3s,

Susan Jane

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Photo by BUDDHI Kumar SHRESTHA on Unsplash

(1) (Peri)Menopause and brain drain  

Italian neuroscientist and female health specialist, Dr Lisa Mosconi, speaks about how impactful the menopause is on a woman's brain health. Brain fog, much? Spoiler alert - it's all about hormones!

I really enjoy listening to Mosconi's voice, as well as to her research. This is not a trivial point because it's a 2-hour episode! Very easy listening.

Dr. Mosconi tells us that Alzheimer’s is, in fact, a middle age disease, not confined to the elderly. This is because it starts in our 40s but silently progresses. Shockingly, two thirds of all Alzheimer's cases are women. This is a brain disease that disproportionately affects women. Most diseases are 50-50. Why are women succumbing to Alzheimer’s Disease? Especially when genetics account for only 2-5% of Alzheimer’s patients?

And what can we do about it?

In this episode we learn what bio markers and red flags are; how hormonal changes impact the brain; why we need to look at menopause as a neuro-endocrine state; what we can do now to lessen the effects of cognitive decline later; HRT; and the futility of quick fixes for brain health. This is a really juicy, fascinating and empowering conversation that directly affects 50% of us, and indirectly affects 100% of our population.

Enjoy!