Two Years of BHK + An Anniversary Sale!

Celebrating 20,000+ Brain Health Ambassadors

BHK Subscribers on retreat with me last month at Rancho La Puerta.

Hello, hello! The BHK newsletter on Substack turned 2 years old this week! Our community of food-loving brain health enthusiasts has steadily climbed until we toppled the 20K mark and—as I’m writing this—now number 21,494. If we were all to gather in one place, we’d pack the Staples Center in Denver. We’d fill the Hollywood Bowl. We’d exceed the capacity of Madison Square Garden and spill out into the streets of New York!! Not only that, I recently learned that Brain Health Kitchen ranks #12 on Substack’s leaderboard of top health and wellness publications.

I am trying to wrap my brain around how we have grown as a community.

To be honest, I haven’t focused much on the numbers since launching BHK in 2022. As I’ve mentioned again and again, I don’t think of all of you here as subscribers. I think of you as people united by a common goal. You are life-long learners, passionate cooks, and kindred spirits in the fight against Alzheimer’s. I am grateful for all of you.

As you know, I read and respond to every single comment here on BHK. While you may be learning new things with each BHK post, I get to learn just as much from you, too. And—here’s the best part—I even get to count some of you as real life friends after spending time together at brain health retreats.

Some of the amazing BHK subscribers on retreats: touring Mt. Etna in Sicily, cooking Sicilian sweets, meeting the famous Pasta Nonnas of Bari, making cannoli and cheese, tea tasting in Panama.

Above all, you are Brain Health Ambassadors. I like to envision you out in the real world making small changes each day, each week, and each year that add up to significant gains in brain longevity. It truly gives me goosebumps when I think of all the people you, in turn, influence by sharing what you know. Here’s some food for thought:

It is estimated that each person comes in contact with 2.8 people each day, about 1,000 people each year, and 80,000 people in a lifetime. All of these interactions have the potential to be positive—enhancing how another person feels or behaves. Sharing what you know about brain health has a tangible impact on others lives. If everyone knew what you know about aging with a healthy brain, we’d avoid much of the suffering caused by Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.

For today’s newsletter I thought it would be fun to put together a list of your favorite topics on BHK in the last two years. Plus, I am having a flash sale on paid subscriptions. If you have been meaning to upgrade your subscription or gift one to a friend or family member, now is the time!

BHK 2nd Anniversary Sale

Just this weekend, I am offering 20% off when you purchase a gift subscription or upgrade from a free to an annual or monthly subscription. Upgrading means you get full access to all the articles, recipes, and BHK guides on the site, including all of the posts linked below. Join in the conversation in the comment section and on Chats, and get personalized answers to your questions.

• 20% off annual and monthly subscriptions

• 20% off gift subscriptions

Offer good now through Sunday, December 15 at 10 pm MST.

Your BHK Top 10

I just posted my 205th article on BHK! Revisiting the most popular posts speaks volumes about what resonates with you as a group. So instead of just listing the 10 most widely viewed and shared articles here, I am going a little deeper to understand what this means about us, the BHK community.

1. BHK readers are serious about reducing risk factors for Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Your favorite mini-series was Your Brain On Cholesterol, which included Do Statin Drugs Cause Or Prevent Dementia and My Top 10 Cholesterol-Lowering Foods (the #2 post of all time). If you’ve been using the information to tackle a cholesterol problem, I am curious to know if it’s helped. Please share!

2. BHK readers are making efforts to stay strong and fit with age.

You are curious about getting enough protein on a plant-based diet, and whether supplements like creatine and protein powder are right for you. The protein mini-series that included my top 10 protein-rich brain foods and culminated in this guide were highly read, commented on, and shared.

If you’ve been focusing on getting strong this year, how is that going for you? I would love to know.

3. BHK readers love food, but are also open to taking supplements.

We may be a food-first bunch, but you are also endlessly curious about optimizing your health with supplements. Your favorite supplement post was this one about magnesium and your top BHK Guide was this recent BHK Updated Guide To Brain Health Supplements.

4. BHK readers are prioritizing metabolic health.

We kicked off your second favorite mini-series with How’s Your Metabolic Health? This included one of your top 10 posts, eating for a healthy metabolism, and culminated in The BHK Guide To A Healthy Metabolism.

5. ApoE4 carriers, you are not alone here.

What You Need To Know About ApoE4, An Alzheimer’s Risk Gene, was a top 10 post. Many of the posts in this 4-part ApoE4 mini-series were widely shared: pros and cons of getting tested, how lifestyle shapes genetic risk, and 21 Things You Can Do To Lessen the Impact of ApoE4.

6. Women’s brain health is a hot topic.

Talking To Your Doctor About Hormone Therapy was a top 10 post in 2023. Recently, I shared the data on how dietary changes can help manage symptoms during perimenopause: What To Eat During Perimenopause: The Peri-Medi Diet. If you are perimenopausal, you will definitely want to make sure you didn’t miss this one: How Perimenopause Affects Metabolic Health.

7. You are reaching younger brains.

Some of the most shared posts in the past two years were How To Talk To Young Adults About Brain Health and Here’s Why You Should Toss The Junk Food. Thank you for sharing this information about the young people in your lives!

8. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pancakes, and protein bars were due for brain-healthy make-overs!

Your favorite recipes could fall under the heading of “healthier versions of the comfort foods.” This Pumpkin Olive Oil Bread With Blueberries was a top 10 recipe and the Salted Chocolate Walnut Protein Bars were a big hit. I loved hearing about your experiences making these recipes, and all your ingredient swaps. Seeing dozens of photos of the Pumpkin Tahini Pie this Thanksgiving really made me smile.

Your favorite recipe of all time is one of my faves too.

The #1 recipe of all time on BHK? Protein-Packed Pancakes With Wild Blueberries. I get it! I just made these for breakfast yesterday (with a boost of chocolate protein powder) and I love how easy and good they are.

9. You are compassionate people.

Writing about my mother just days after she had passed was difficult, but it felt good and right to share her story with you. Your engagement on this post still brings me to tears. There are nearly 300 comments on the tribute to my mom. At first, I was overwhelmed. Then, when I was ready, I took the time to read through each of your comments. I still go back to this post when I am feeling down about losing my mom. Your words have become part of my healing and I am grateful for everyone who took the time to write to me.

10. BHK readers are critical thinkers.

Whenever I dive into the details of a recently published study, I am blown away by the thoughtful discussion that follows in the comment section. You were most interested in Is Alzheimer’s Actually Reversible?, a post about Dean Ornish’s dementia prevention trial, and this post about the Green MED diet study. I am always overjoyed to read your real-life takeaways from studies like this, something that is at the heart of the mission of this newsletter.

It takes, on average, 17 years for published data to filter down to the non-scientific community and become common knowledge. One of the goals of this newsletter is to give you access to scientific information about brain health as soon as it comes out. By popping into your inbox once or twice a week, I hope to serve as a gentle reminder to keep your brain health top of mind.

It’s been fun to look at the numbers behind what resonates with you on BHK. One thing that’s impossible to quantify, though, is the sense of community we have built. Meeting online or in person as a community stands out as a key factor in all the successful dementia prevention trials. I feel a strong sense of community here on BHK, and I hope you feel it, too.

I am grateful for everyone here who has chosen to be a part of our BHK community.

I’ll be back next week with the third in our mini-series about better baking with tips on baking with less sugar. I am still accepting your submissions to win a BHK recipe makeover through Sunday, December 15. Find all the details in this post about baking with brain-friendly fats and this one about baking with non-white flours.

Love,

Annie

Brain Health Retreats Update

I can’t wait to see some of you in just a few weeks at the Brain Health Retreat in Costa Rica!

We still have one (possibly two) spots left in Brain Health, Food, and Fun in Puglia this spring: April 27 to May 3, 2025. We’ll be staying at a farmhouse in the countryside, doing some easy yoga, and shopping and eating our way through Puglia.

We just had a few spots open up due to cancellations for this Italian retreat: Sardinia’s Secrets For a Long and Healthy Life: May 18 to 25, 2025. Come explore Italy’s blue zone with me!