Open Thread #5: Is My Favorite Food Giving Me Alzheimer's?
Hearing from you about fear, food, and the choices we make
Hello, everyone. This Sunday morning finds me busy in the kitchen. I am doing the third run of a new cake I plan to cook with students at Rancho La Puerta next week: a dense dark chocolate cake made with clementines drizzled with a chocolate olive oil glaze. I’m working on a brain-healthy appetizer, too, for a special dinner there to celebrate Dia de los Muertos. I’m also tinkering with a recipe I hope to share with you next week—a cinnamon-spiked one-bowl nut and seed bread that fits into this month’s theme of optimizing cholesterol. It has to be absolutely delicious, too. So far, I love what I’m tasting!
Today’s Thread is About Fear and Food
I know there is a lot of fear about Alzheimer’s out there. Studies have shown that it is the number one fear people have about getting older. Likewise, I sense a lot of food fear along with it. With this fear comes guilt. While I am no expert on disordered eating, anxiety or distress about food is surely not healthy for anyone.
This topic is on my mind after I posted a video on Instagram this week about the 3 foods I would not eat as a brain health expert. Here’s what stood out to me by reading through the comments:
People seem to have a hard time breaking up with the foods we know contribute to poor brain health. Then they feel bad about their food choices and worry even more about getting Alzheimer’s.
If you’ve been reading along with me, you know there is not one food that will give you Alzheimer’s. Prevention is all about creating a dietary pattern based on brain-healthy foods and following it most of the time. Perfection is not the goal, nor is it attainable. And yet, we all harbor fears about our food choices. Besides, worrying about getting Alzheimer’s is counterproductive. Finding ways to reduce stress is actually a pillar of prevention.
Heading into the holidays, it can be a challenge to stay on a brain-healthy eating path. I’d love to hear from you about the foods that are tough to resist, and how you deal with the negative feelings that may result from indulging at times.
I’ll go first: I LOVE cookies!
When faced with a platter of different Christmas cookies, I will most likely try each one. Last year while dropping off gifts at friends’ houses, I may have eaten 10 cookies in one day. I feel disappointed in myself for not being able to resist even though I know the combination of saturated fat and sugar is not the best for my brain. Then I remind myself that I rarely eat cookies the rest of the year. If I do, they are homemade with all brain-healthy ingredients.
So this year I promise myself not to worry about seasonal cookie indulgence. I’m reframing my thinking so that Christmas cookies are not “bad foods” but rather just treats that I sometimes eat over the holidays. I plan to enjoy each and every cookie but will try to keep them out of my house so I’m not tempted to over-indulge. Less guilt, more joy.
If you are new here, Open Thread is a space to connect and chat obsessively about a topic. I loved our first Open Thread about book recommendations, our second one about the brain-healthy food groups, and our third one about podcasts. These open forums are meant to be like meeting friends for coffee. Everyone is welcome to follow along and paying subscribers can share thoughts in the comment section.
That’s all for today, friends. I hope everyone is having a restful weekend.
Love,
Annie
Hi Annie - is there any type of charcuterie meat you would eat as a brain health expert and someone who travels and leads trips to Italy? Will you indulge in salami ever or prosciutto? If so- do you get it from a high-end butcher? What would you ask about it?
I do try to remember your mantras of moderation and not trying to beat myself up. It’s good to know you ate 10 cookies one day! #shesnormal
I have struggled with food and restrictive dieting in the past. And though I’d really like to lose some weight now, for my mental health, I know it can’t come from rigid restriction, from counting points as a proxy for calories, or any regimen that is premised on intense scrutiny and documentation. In general, I think I eat quite well, and my diet is definitely « Mediterranean » because that is my cultural background! I limit meat and dairy and eat lots of fruit and veg, and can go days or weeks without alcohol. My biggest struggles have been psychological: in the past, eating to please others, and now, eating out of stress. Chocolate is a favourite for the latter :) I don’t know that I have anything concrete to add about specific foods and Alzheimer’s fears, more that I think it’s worth recalling that there are other controllable factors for AD, including stress, social connection, and ongoing learning. So if I’m not 100% « perfect » about food, and am carrying a few extra pounds, I have to assess what will most benefit me: counting calories/losing weight/being « perfect » with food? Or accepting some of my baggage (physical + psychological) and acting on those other factors that are also neuroprotective? At this stage in my mid-life, I try to allow myself some grace with food, being as « good » as I can without aiming for unrealistic perfection, and instead think about those other aspects of my life I know could be better (stress, in particular).