What's New in Brain Health
What's New in Brain Health
Wildfire smoke, vision loss, processed meats, and more
Hello, everyone. I am writing to you from San Diego where I am visiting my mom. Since there are so many new subscribers here, I should mention that my mother has been living with Alzheimer’s since 2015. Her diagnosis is what inspired me to pivot my career from ob-gyn to culinary educator focused on Alzheimer’s prevention. I founded Brain Health Kitchen first as a cooking school, then it became a book, and now it includes this newsletter.
Since my mom is in a late stage of Alzheimer’s, she requires round-the-clock care. I try not to try to work when I visit, but sometimes, if things are calm, I find time to write. So today, while my mom is sitting outside in the sun and dozing a little, I want to update you on the most important papers presented at last month’s Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC).
If you’ve been reading BHK this year, you will be familiar with many of the topics that were big news at AAIC. For example, you are likely well aware that ultra processed foods are especially detrimental to brain health; yet another paper was presented documenting the link between processed red meat and dementia.
We’ve delved into the potential of drugs like Ozempic to reduce dementia in certain people with risk factors, and this was a hot topic at AAIC. It was gratifying to see that the Lancet Commission updated their list of modifiable risk factors for dementia to include vision loss and elevated LDL—a topic we spent a lot of time diving into in this 3-part mini-series on cholesterol.
Of the hundreds of topics presented this year at AAIC, I’ve chosen those that are most applicable to real-life brain-healthy living. Let’s dive in.
Highlights from AAIC 2024
Lancet Commission says 45% of all dementia is preventable
I distinctly remember giving my first talk about Alzheimer’s prevention at Rancho La Puerta in 2015. I stood up in front of a hundred people and said: “Alzheimer’s is largely preventable.” Back then, “Alzheimer’s” and “prevention” were not used in the same sentence. (I’m sure a lot of those people thought I was a quack!) And so it was a real pinch-me moment last month when all the major news outlets proclaimed “Alzheimer’s is mostly preventable.”
These headlines were referring to the biggest story to come out of this year’s AAIC—an update of the Lancet Commission’s statement on dementia prevention, intervention, and care. This group of 27 Alzheimer’s experts from around the world update their list of modifiable risk factors every few years. In 2020, they called out 12 modifiable risk factors for dementia that account for an estimated 40% of all cases. In this 2024 update, they’ve upped the prevention potential to 45% and added two key factors: vision loss and high LDL cholesterol.
Here’s the full list: