Exploring the Impact of Fatty Acids on Neurological Health across Life Stages

Fat can have a bad reputation, but certain fats are essential for the healthy functioning of your brain.

Between government guidelines, fad diets, and our endless social feeds, nutrition advice overload has left us all a bit lost with how to incorporate healthy fats into what we eat.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The different kinds of fats (saturated vs. unsaturated) and which ones we actually need to consume

• The myth that “because your brain is primarily made of fat, it thrives on a high-fat diet”

• How the cardiovascular damage caused by saturated fats can increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia

• All the tasty ways you can get more healthy, unsaturated, essential fats into your meals

We welcome esteemed nutrition scientist Dr. Alan Flanagan back to the show, to explore the history of research into the impact of fats and how it shaped one of the most robust bodies of evidence in all of science.

We’re also joined by Dr. Danielle Belardo, renowned cardiologist and science communicator, to talk about the interplay between heart health, brain health, and fats, the controversy around statins, the low-down on LDL cholesterol, and the future of cardiovascular interventions.

‘Your Brain On’ is hosted by neuroscientists and public health advocates Ayesha and Dean Sherzai.

‘Your Brain On... FATS’ • SEASON 2 • EPISODE 4

LINKS

Dr. Alan Flanagan:

Alan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenutritionaladvocate

Alinea Nutrition: https://www.alineanutrition.com/

Dr. Danielle Belardo:

Dr. Belardo’s website: https://www.daniellebelardomd.com/

Practical, Evidence-Based Approaches to Nutritional Modifications to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35284849/

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More info and episodes: TheBrainDocs.com/Podcast

REFERENCES

Scientific articles discussed in this episode:

Mensink, Ronald P., and World Health Organization. Effects of saturated fatty acids on serum lipids and lipoproteins: a systematic review and regression analysis. World Health Organization, 2016.

Okereke, Olivia I., et al. “Dietary fat types and 4‐year cognitive change in community‐dwelling older women.” Annals of neurology 72.1 (2012): 124-134.

Simian Diet paper: Kendall, Cyril WC, and David JA Jenkins. “A dietary portfolio: maximal reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol with diet.” Current atherosclerosis reports 6.6 (2004): 492-498.

Solomon, Alina, et al. “Midlife serum cholesterol and increased risk of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia three decades later.” Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders 28.1 (2009): 75-80. Morris, Martha Clare, et al. “Dietary fats and the risk of incident Alzheimer disease.” Archives of neurology 60.2 (2003): 194-200.

Keys, Ancel, Joseph T. Anderson, and Francisco Grande. “Prediction of serum-cholesterol responses of man to changes in fats in the diet.” Lancet 273 (1957): 959-966

Anitschkow, N. N., and S. Chalatow. 1913. Ueber experimentelle Cholesterinsteatose und ihre Bedeutung fur die Entstehung eini- ger pathologischer Prozesse. Zentralbl. Allg. Pathol. 24: 1–9.

Keys, Ancel, et al. “The seven countries study: 2,289 deaths in 15 years.” Preventive medicine 13.2 (1984): 141-154.

Sherzai, Ayesha Z., Alexander N. Sherzai, and Dean Sherzai. "A systematic review of omega-3 consumption and neuroprotective cognitive outcomes." American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine 17.4 (2023): 560-588.

Rajan, Kumar B., et al. "Statin Initiation and Risk of Incident Alzheimer Disease and Cognitive Decline in Genetically Susceptible Older Adults." Neurology 102.7 (2024): e209168.

Olmastroni, Elena, et al. "Statin use and risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies." European journal of preventive cardiology 29.5 (2022): 804-814.