The Invincible Brain: The Clinically Proven Plan to Age-Proof Your Brain and Stay Sharp for Life by Majid Fotuhi

Your genes do not equal your health destiny. Genetics is about susceptibilities, not destiny. How you live your life determines which genes get activated. Epigenetics is the interaction between genetics, environment, and lifestyle. The things that decrease brain health are: poor diet, exposure to toxins, stress, physical inactivity, smoking, sleep deprivation, obesity, worry, and social isolation.
You get a copy of the ApoE gene from each parent. There are three variants, and one (ApoE4) puts you a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s. There are other gene variants that add to your risk, but we don’t know them all yet. The good news is we do know what does eliminate added risk. It’s exercise! Knowing this should be the motivation you need to get moving.

You have more control than you may think when it comes to dementia. This is a family of diseases, seven of which are outlined here. Late-onset Alzheimer’s is the most common. The rates are going down and the age of onset in increasing unless you have things like diabetes or obesity. The proteins Tau and amyloid form knots in Alzheimer’s brains and lead to cognitive disfunction. You can still think well with these tangles if you lack other factors like strokes or other cardiovascular diseases.
Alzheimer’s is multifactorial. Active blood circulation can rinse Tau and amyloid out of your brain. Think of it as rinsing action. The same interventions that reduce the risk of heart attacks prevent amyloid formation, inflammation, and strokes. Fourteen life-style factors are listed here that appear to contribute to dementia. The ones not listed previously include low education level, hearing impairment, concussion, and vision impairment.

There are drugs and blood tests in clinical trials for late-onset Alzheimer’s. Those that are available are costly, and only help a little if at all. There are side effects and they may be counter indicated for some depending on their existing conditions. Majid is excited about the current progress and hopeful that within five to ten years this disease will be diagnosed and treated like diabetes. In the meantime, people concerned about any kind of dementia can use his lifestyle program, which does work.

Research shows that any damage or disfunction to a major organ can lead to problems for the brain. Such damage pumps bad things into the blood stream, which sooner or later visits the brain. While there are treatments for each organ, the lifestyle changes mentioned earlier can help the other organs the same way they help the brain. A positive attitude and meditation also help. There are separate sections here on the liver, kidneys, lungs, heart, and muscles.
Telomeres are the pieces of DNA on the end of your genes. They don’t code for anything. They are just there to protect the part or your DNA responsible for making stuff. They shrink with age, but shrink slower if you have the kind of healthy lifestyle promoted her.