This video, titled "Ageless Brain" by Deb Ford, DCN RDN, explains that brain health and reversing cognitive decline are possible without magic pills. The speaker highlights Dr. Dale Bredesen's "The Ageless Brain" book and protocol, which focuses on personalized lifestyle changes like diet and exercise. The video details specific dietary recommendations, including a ketogenic-influenced Mediterranean diet, intermittent fasting, and avoiding processed foods and sugar, along with advice on sleep, stress management, and social connection to improve brain health.
Key Takeaways
1
Dr. Dale Bredesen's research and book, "The Ageless Brain," offer hope for protecting the brain and reversing cognitive decline through personalized strategies, not magic pills.
2
Lifestyle changes, particularly diet, are crucial, with a focus on eliminating sugar and processed foods, as chronic diseases like dementia (called type 3 diabetes by some) are linked to metabolic and inflammatory disorders.
3
Dementia has multiple causes, not just one, including high sugar/refined diets, hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies (like B12 and omega-3), toxins, and even bad teeth; genetics load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger.
4
The Bredesen protocol emphasizes a personalized approach, recognizing that a one-size-fits-all model doesn't work for brain health.
5
A ketogenic-influenced Mediterranean diet, rich in healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts, fatty fish), low glycemic carbs (colorful non-starchy vegetables, berries), adequate protein, and intermittent fasting, is recommended to fuel the brain with ketones and reduce amyloid plaque.
6
Incorporating herbs, spices (like curcumin, rosemary), fermented foods, and lion's mane mushroom can further boost brain health by providing important plant compounds and supporting nerve growth.
7
Beyond diet, daily movement (30 minutes), continuous learning (new languages, puzzles, reading), 7-9 hours of quality sleep, stress management (mindfulness, nature), and social connection are vital for brain health and preventing cognitive decline.
8
It is never too late to make changes to improve brain health, and taking charge of your lifestyle can lead to a sharper, more vibrant mind.
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0:01
Good morning and welcome to another
0:03
edition of Today's Nutrition where we
0:05
look at what is new in research, what's
0:07
hot in the news, or any topic that can
0:09
help us lose weight, feel great, live
0:11
longer, better. So, let's start with
0:14
something that should excite every one
0:16
of us. That we are not powerless when it
0:19
comes to protecting our brain and even
0:22
reversing cognitive decline. That's
0:25
right. And there is so much hope backed
0:28
by science. Dr. Dale Bredesen has a new
0:32
book out, The Ageless Brain, an
0:36
gamechanging approach to brain health.
0:39
And it's not about magic pills or
0:41
wishful thinking. It's about a
0:43
personalized practical strategy that
0:46
works. And I'm going to share the
0:48
highlights with you today, but I highly
0:50
recommend you get the book, The Ageless
0:52
Brain. So, you know, I've talked about
0:54
Dr. Dale Bredesen before Alzheimer's
0:58
researcher and he has other books among
1:00
my favorites. The first one the end of
1:03
Alzheimer's and the second one the
1:06
survivors speak came out of research
1:09
projects he did on dementia patients
1:11
that were in different stages of
1:13
Alzheimer's. I studied his research when
1:16
I was getting my doctorate and I was
1:18
both amazed and horrified that this
1:20
isn't the standard care for Alzheimer's
1:22
research. you know, in in his research,
1:26
and it's been repeated by numerous
1:29
others, people recover. Some of my
1:32
colleagues are even doing trials at the
1:34
Cleveland Clinic. It's great because
1:38
there is no drug that offers hope for
1:41
recovery. But on the Bredesen plan,
1:45
people get better. In fact, you can go
1:48
online and see the interviews of people
1:50
that go through the program and and
1:52
others that, you know, they go back to
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doing their own taxes, back to starting
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businesses, back to just living life
2:00
independently and reading for enjoyment.
2:04
No drug does that. Another clinician and
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researcher, Dr. Dean Ornish, that I've
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talked about forever, you know, he's had
2:13
programs that reverse heart disease.
2:16
Medicare reimbures and they also showed
2:19
improvement like reversal of early stage
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prostate cancer and they noticed memory
2:25
improvement. So they decided to do a
2:27
study a randomized controlled study on
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reversing memory loss. It was published
2:33
last summer in the journal of
2:36
Alzheimer's research and therapy. It was
2:39
entitled effects of intensive lifestyle
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therapy on the progression of
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Alzheimer's disease and it is intensive
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you know biggest
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changes you know you got to dump the
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sugar you got to dump the processed food
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because all chronic disease really goes
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back to metabolic inflammatory disorders
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you know it's that sugar it's the
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processed food in fact you know
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functional doctors, us functional
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nutritionists, call dementia type three
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diabetes. And of course, it's not just
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sugar. Dr. Dale Bredesen for decades has
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held that there's more than one cause.
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There are at least 36. And you can't
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treat it with just one tool. The analogy
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is kind of like you can't fix a bad roof
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with one patch. You got to fix the whole
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roof. There are many causes. It could be
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high sugar, refined diet. That is the
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most common. In fact, anyone you know
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that has memory problems, think, do they
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have a sweet
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tooth? Do they love to eat bread,
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muffins, pastries, and sweet things? You
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know, I always ask family members, and
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it's almost a universal, oh yeah, with
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an eye roll. That's because what I see
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with my metabolic clients is you clean
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up the diet first and I can tell you
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their brains always improve. I had one
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gal that even told her doc that, "Oh my
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gosh, my brain is like 20 years
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younger." But it's not just the diet. It
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could be hormones. It could be
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nutritional deficiencies like B12 and
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omega-3. It could be toxins, heavy
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metals, mold, bacteria. It could be bad
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teeth. And even though genetics do play
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a role, it is not a given. Not by a long
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shot. Genetics will load the gun as we
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say, but our
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choices making our diet and our
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lifestyle, that's what pulls the
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trigger. So if this is so, you may ask,
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why doesn't my doctor tell me about
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this? Honestly, they haven't been
4:52
trained in it. They don't have time. got
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10 minutes with you. You know, they've
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only been trained in prescribing
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medicine, referring out to a specialist.
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And there is no drug that is effective
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at reversing this horrible disease that
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affects not only the person, but the
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whole family, the community. There's
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another one. Dr. Heather Sanderson, I
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talked about another show. She wrote the
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book Reversing
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Alzheimer's and she even started a rehab
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center where you could go onsite for
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people that wanted help doing the diet
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and lifestyle. Some people just check
5:33
themselves in if they've got brain fog
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or low mocha scores. That's the test
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that we do for the progression of the
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disease. They just can check in
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temporarily and check out when they
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recover. People improve. And I love to
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shout this one from the rafters because
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you know depending on the approach
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whether it's the Bredesen or the Ornish
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approach there is between 71 and
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89% rate of
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improvement. That is between 70 and 90
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people out of a 100 get better if you're
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willing to do the work. Okay. So here
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are the basics of what's involved.
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Number one, it is a personalized
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approach. You know, Bredesen throws that
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onesizefits-all model out the window.
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Forget it. Instead, he focuses on a
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personalized treatment plan based on
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unique biology, lifestyle, and risk
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factors. He calls it the Bredesen
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protocol. And he has helped thousands of
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people reclaim their life.
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Personalization is key. Second thing,
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eat for a smarter, younger brain. And
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that's my wheelhouse. Here we go. Food
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is medicine, my dear friends. The
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Mediterranean style diet is at the heart
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of his protocol. Leafy greens, wild
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caught fish, nuts, berries, lots of
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olive oil, and plenty of color on your
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plate. And these aren't just healthy
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choices. They are brainbuilding blocks.
7:10
Nutrition is the magic that builds our
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cells, every one of them, including the
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brain. And these building blocks, reduce
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inflammation, fuel your mitochondria,
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and even clean up toxic proteins linked
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to dementia. He calls it his ketolex
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123. You know, the brain optimized diet
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plan. So basically it is a ketogenic
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influence diet, lots of healthy fats but
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low carbs. And the goal is to gently
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shift the metabolism to fat burning. And
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we don't use the undesirable bacon and
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butter version of keto, but more of a
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plant-rich, nutrientdense approach that
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fuels your brain with clean burning
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ketones rather than dirty burning
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glucose. Same diet I have recommended
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since 2001 and myself used to reverse my
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own PCOS back when I was in my 20s and
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now I'm pushing 70. So darn good. I love
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it. So, the cornerstone of the diet
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approach, healthy fats, olive oil,
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avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, fatty
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fish, good healthy fats, low glycemic
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carbs. So, you got the cruciferous
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veggies, you got the leafy veggies, you
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got the nonstarchy veggies, and colorful
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berries, really low starch and sugar, no
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refined grains, no sugar or processed
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foods. and adequate protein from wild
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caught,
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pasture-raised, good, healthy eggs,
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grass-fed meats, and you've got some
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good plant sources, too. Ketones fuel
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the brain efficiently and reduce that
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amalloid plaque, one of the hallmarks of
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Alzheimer's. In his diet, he also uses
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intermittent fasting. I love it. So you
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have at least 12 hours overnight not
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eating. So you know you like take your
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last bite at 700 p.m. and then you don't
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eat again till 7 in the morning at
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least. By stopping early that food
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intake you got about 3 hours between
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your last meal and bedtime. That keeps
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insulin spikes overnight down and
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supports I love this word autophagy. And
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that's where you got the little Pac-Man
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cleaning up all the cellular debris,
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cleaning out the beta amaloid, cleaning
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out those daily toxins that our brain
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gets. So if somebody is insulin
9:55
resistance or you got a little cognitive
9:57
decline, you may want to see if you can
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stretch that window to maybe instead of
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just 14 hours, but
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maybe 12 hours, but maybe 14, 16 hours,
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but tailor it to what your body thrives
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on.
10:12
So you got the diet, lots of colorful,
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lots of lot deep greens, but also herbs
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and spices are really important because
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they pack a lot of those really
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important plant compounds. I love
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curcumin, you know, it's my favorite,
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but rosemary coming right up there. But
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all of them, oh my gosh, they're just
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all of them packed. And of course, a
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little fermented food for that gut brain
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connection. And maybe the oldest known
10:42
brain booster, lion's mane mushroom. Let
10:47
me tell you a little bit about this
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ancient brain booster and it's getting a
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lot of attention. Lion's mane mushroom
10:55
has been used since ancient times to
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enhance memory, enhance the whole body.
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Chinese emperors loved it, kept it only
11:06
for themselves. Now, modern studies are
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showing how it can actually regenerate
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brain cells and protect against memory
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loss, especially early Alzheimer's. In
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fact, taking lion's mane daily in
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clinical trials showed real
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improvements, something no drug has
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managed to do. And the Mayo Clinic even
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has shown that it has potential in
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supporting nerve growth and fighting
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neurological damage. Not a magic bullet.
11:39
You know, there are no magic bullet, but
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it may be another powerful tool in the
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health toolbox for our brain. Another
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reason I believe our bodies are designed
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to heal when we give them the right
11:54
support. You know, number number four
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when it comes to, you know, the diet is
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you got to support the mitochondria and
12:01
detox pathways. So that's, you know,
12:04
foods high in sulfur, onions, garlic,
12:07
broccoli, and methylation support. Maybe
12:10
some of you have heard about
12:11
methylation. Beets are really good at
12:13
that. And you got to have the
12:15
antioxidants with come from the berries
12:17
and the green tea. The basically that we
12:20
avoid refin refined carbs and sugar,
12:24
processed fried foods and those horrible
12:28
seed oils, you know, corn oil, canola
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oil, bad. Soybeans, safflower, oloss are
12:36
bad. Um, and limiting alcohol to no more
12:40
than three a week. It's inflammatory,
12:44
throws in a lot of toxins, and limiting
12:47
dairy. It is also inflammatory and
12:50
loaded with a lot of hormones we don't
12:52
need. Avoiding gluten because most
12:56
people are a little sensitive and if
12:58
you've got any autoimmune, gluten is the
13:00
first thing that's got to go. Another
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thing to avoid environmental toxins, all
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the things I talk about in my book,
13:07
pesticides, plastic, mercury rich foods,
13:10
and moldy foods.
13:13
Bonus things I like to tell you about is
13:16
testing for insulin resistance, testing
13:20
your insulin for fasting, testing your
13:25
triglycerides. What is your hemoglobin
13:27
A1C? You've also might want to use a
13:30
CGM, that continuous glucose monitor.
13:33
You know, I use it seasonally, at least
13:36
once every season. I love to use the
13:39
continuous glucose monitor. And then you
13:41
can fine-tune to your own tolerance. You
13:45
got to hydrate well, including
13:47
electrolytes. Maybe some supplements
13:49
will be necessary based on your
13:51
individual labs, but that's that's
13:53
basically it when it comes to the diet
13:55
and and the nutrition part. But then
13:58
some of the other things, number three,
14:00
you got to move it or lose it. Daily
14:03
movement is a must, not just for your
14:06
waistline, but for your brain. It boosts
14:09
that favorite thing I like to talk
14:11
about, BDNF, brain derived neurotrophic
14:14
factor. Miracle growth for those
14:16
neurons. Walking, dancing, maybe doing
14:19
some resistance training. Whatever gets
14:22
your heart pumping and your spirits
14:24
lifted. Aim for oh gosh, if you can get
14:29
30 minutes of movement in a day, your
14:31
brain will thank you. Number four, got
14:34
to keep learning. Got to keep those
14:37
brain cells growing. Your brain loves a
14:39
challenge. Bredesen calls it mental
14:41
stimulation. And it builds cognitive
14:44
reserve. And we can do that with our
14:46
little ones, you know, playing with them
14:49
so that they really are making a lot of
14:51
connections early on. Your brain needs
14:55
to get stronger and more resilient over
14:58
time. Learn a new computer program. Take
15:01
up a language. Take up an instrument. Do
15:04
puzzles. Do read challenging books.
15:08
Stretch that beautiful mind of yours.
15:11
You know, think about Dick Van Djk or
15:13
even Clint Eastwood. He says, "Don't let
15:16
that old person in." Be and act as young
15:20
as you can. Don't give into the
15:23
calendar. Don't accept it when you're
15:25
told, "Well, you know, you're getting
15:27
older." You know, that's a surefire step
15:30
into a nursing home. Number five,
15:33
protect sleep. It's sacred. It is not
15:37
just rest. It's repair. During sleep,
15:40
your brain clears out those toxins,
15:43
consolidates memory, and resets for a
15:47
new day. If you're skipping some of your
15:51
sleep, if you're waking up all night,
15:53
your brain's taking a hit. You got to
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shoot for 7 to n hours of quality sleep.
15:59
Might want to consider a bedtime
16:01
routine. I talk about it in my book. I
16:03
talk about all of these things in my
16:05
book, Get Out of Hormone Hell. In fact,
16:08
all of them are in my book. Number six,
16:10
stress less, think better. Chronic
16:14
stress actually shrinks your brain
16:18
measurably.
16:20
So we we've got to think about
16:24
mindfulness, prayer, deep
16:27
breathing, time in nature that reverses
16:31
the trend. When you manage stress, your
16:34
brain heals. Simple daily practices.
16:39
Number seven, don't isolate. You got to
16:42
connect. The last thing you should be
16:44
doing is staying home alone.
16:48
powerful things to be with other people,
16:50
those meaningful connections. You know,
16:53
when we look at all the blue zones
16:55
around the we around the world where
16:58
people live a long time healthfully,
17:01
they all have connection. Stay engaged.
17:05
Join community events. Laugh with
17:08
friends. Share meals. Volunteer. Our
17:11
brains are wired for love and
17:14
connection. So, don't stay home. Get
17:17
out. Get
17:18
involved. Giving back is powerful
17:22
therapy. So what does this mean for all
17:24
of us? It means that cognitive decline
17:27
is not inevitable. It means that no
17:30
matter our age or our family history, we
17:34
can take charge. We can strengthen our
17:37
brains, reclaim clarity, feel sharper,
17:41
more alive, more hopeful starting today.
17:45
So let's age not only with grace but
17:47
power not settling for decline. Choose
17:51
vitality. Live every day playing full
17:55
out. And I believe it starts with one
17:58
small step. Most important one diet. You
18:01
know if you don't get that right well no
18:04
guarantees. You know if you'd like a
18:07
simple diet plan or would like to work
18:10
with me I'd be thrilled. I've taken Dr.
18:12
for Bredesen's training. And while his
18:14
recode plan is fabulous, it is expensive
18:19
and many people like to see if they can
18:21
get results working with less intensive
18:24
testing. And I'm willing to work with
18:26
you. So, thanks for listening to another
18:28
edition of Today's Nutrition. I hope
18:31
this information helped you or someone
18:33
you love. As always, you can listen
18:35
again or reach out to me on my website,
18:37
debford.com. You can listen on YouTube
18:40
under Dr. Deb Ford or any place you
18:43
listen to podcasts under today's
18:45
nutrition. I truly believe it is never
18:49
too late to make changes. It is never
18:52
too late to start because for my
18:54
friends, your best brain is still ahead
18:58
of you. Let's start today.
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Ageless Brain
Deb Ford DCN RDN
25 views
Apr 6, 2025
19:04
Let me start with something that should excite every one of us: we are not powerless when it comes to protecting our brains and even reversing cognitive decline. That’s right—there is real hope, and it’s backed by science. Dr. Dale Bredesen, in his inspiring new book The Ageless Brain, lays out a game-changing approach to brain health that’s not about magic pills or wishful thinking. It’s about personalized, practical strategies that work—and I’m here to share the highlights with you today.