Peter Travers: We're going to talk about something we haven't talked about in the AMA before. He says anyone who has a brain is at risk for this, which maybe is even a more pointed statement. "It is going to be a good one," he promises.
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In this “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) episode, Peter goes into depth on the topic of brain health, starting with how Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed, the significance of blood-based biomarkers in diagnosis, and what the various APOE gene variants mean in terms of a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Next, Peter discusses the various strategies for preventing Alzheimer's disease and neurodegeneration. He touches briefly on exercise as a potent tool, but focuses more on lesser-known factors that could impact brain health, such as nutrition supplementation, lipid management, brain games, sauna, oral health, hearing loss, and more.
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We discuss:
- Diagnosing Alzheimer's disease [2:45];
- Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease, the C2N test, and other tools for diagnosis [7:30];
- Genetic component of Alzheimer’s disease: genes that confer risk [12:45];
- Understanding your APOE status and why it’s important to know [17:15];
- The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, and who is at higher risk [21:15];
- Can the risk of Alzheimer’s disease be decreased with behavioral changes? [24:15];
- Overview of modifiable behaviors that potentially play a role in risk reduction of neurodegeneration [30:15];
- Things that clearly impact brain health: smoking, alcohol, sleep, head injuries, blood pressure, and more [34:15];
- How nutrition impacts brain health: common diets, metabolic health, energy balance, and more [46:15];
- Comparing common diets: data showing the association between the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and specific diets [59:45];
- Supplements: EPA and DHA, vitamin D, and B vitamins [1:13:00];
- Supplements: theracurmin, cocoa flavonols, and magnesium L-threonate [1:25:15];
- Impact of exercise on brain health, minimum effective dose, and the most important types of exercise [1:33:00];
- Challenging the mind with brain games—does it impact neurodegeneration? [1:43:00];
- The data on sauna and brain health [1:49:45];
- Oral health and its association with brain health [1:52:45];
- How reducing lipids can improve brain health and prevent neurodegeneration [1:55:30];
- The potential impact of hearing loss on brain health and neurodegeneration [2:04:30]; and
- More.
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