HCA Talks Health
Preventing Alzheimer’s with the Help of a Health Coach
Is Alzheimer’s really preventable? With Patrick Holford on nutrition, lifestyle and brain health
Published: 12th May 2023
In this episode of HCA Talks Health, Zena speaks with renowned nutrition expert Patrick Holford about the groundbreaking Alzheimer’s is Preventable campaign, run through the Food for the Brain Foundation.
Patrick explains how lifestyle and nutrition can dramatically reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and why prevention needs to start decades before symptoms appear. He shares insights from the latest research, including how diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management can protect brain health, all of the key things a Health Coach can support with.
As Founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition and Trustee of the Food for the Brain Foundation, Patrick has spent decades raising awareness of the critical role of optimum nutrition in mental health.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
Why Alzheimer’s is not an inevitable part of ageing
The key nutritional factors for brain health
How omega-3s and B vitamins protect against brain shrinkage
The role of exercise, sleep, and stress management in prevention
How to take the free Cognitive Function Test from Food for the Brain
The lifestyle habits that can reduce your risk of dementia
Whether you’re considering becoming a Health Coach, currently training, or simply want an honest look at the prevention of Alzheimer’s, this episode is full of practical insights and encouragement.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Welcome & introduction to Patrick Holford
2:00 – Background & philosophy: influences and the origins of optimum nutrition
5:00 – Core science: brain shrinkage and the path to Alzheimer's
7:00 – Drug trials vs. B vitamins and Omega-3: 73% less brain shrinkage
9:00 – Omega-3 and B vitamin mechanisms for brain health
14:00 – Why our brains have shrunk: the evolutionary argument
16:00 – Genetics responsible for less than 1% of Alzheimer's cases
19:00 – The causes of nutrient deficiency as we age
27:00 – Reduced stomach acid, PPIs and B12 absorption
30:00 – The Food for the Brain platform and free Cognitive Function Test
32:00 – The eight domains of Alzheimer's prevention
38:00 – The Dementia Risk Index and self-monitoring your brain health
44:00 – Sugar, ketones and fuelling the brain
48:00 – Insulin resistance and "Type 3 diabetes"
50:00 – Systemic critique: why the prevention message is blocked
56:00 – "You are the only person who can change your health"
57:00 – Closing summary: recapping the eight domains
Patrick Holford - Leading Nutrition Expert
Patrick Holford is the founder of the Food for the Brain Foundation and the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, and one of the UK's most respected voices on nutrition, mental health, and Alzheimer's prevention. Originally trained in psychology, Patrick has spent over 40 years studying how diet and lifestyle can protect the brain, long before it became mainstream.
Patrick currently leads the Alzheimer's Disease is Preventable campaign for Food for the Brain, bringing together nutritional science and practical action. He is a retired Visiting Professor at the University of Teesside, a member of the Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame, and the author of 46 books, including The Optimum Nutrition Bible and Optimum Nutrition for the Mind, which has been translated into more than 30 languages.
At the heart of everything Patrick does is a simple but powerful belief: that complex nutritional science should be accessible to everyone. His mission is to help people take control of their health through food, lifestyle, and natural solutions, not drugs.
For the cognitive function test mentioned in this episode, visit www.foodforthebrain.org.
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Join Kat Chaynor-Norris to discuss healing from the root for the Prevention of Alzheimer’s. To find out more about glowing older and thriving in midlife, join Christine Frey on Redefining Ageing.
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