Top Brain Expert Reveals Why Women Are More At Risk of Alzheimer’s & Cognitive Decline and What They Can Do to Prevent It with Dr. Lisa Mosconi
Apr 3, 2024
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Dr. Lisa Mosconi discusses women's brain health during menopause, revealing brain changes and Alzheimer's risk. She shares lifestyle habits, exercises, dietary choices, and hormone therapy to prevent cognitive decline. The importance of support, research validation, and societal attitudes towards menopause are highlighted.
Menopause is a dynamic process, requiring lifestyle interventions for health.
Hormone Replacement Therapy post-menopause can reduce Alzheimer's risk.
Deep dives
Understanding the Impact of Menopause on the Brain
Menopause can significantly impact women's brain health, affecting the risk of Alzheimer's disease and cognitive aging. Research has shown a link between menopause and neurological effects, with brain scans mapping these changes. The transition from a reproductive to a non-reproductive state affects brain energy metabolism, with scans revealing a 30% reduction over seven years, highlighting how menopause impacts brain health.
Lifestyle Factors and Menopause Symptoms
Lifestyle plays a crucial role in navigating menopause, with factors like diet, exercise, stress reduction, and toxin avoidance impacting women's experiences. Clean diets rich in whole foods, avoiding processed foods, and maintaining regular exercise are linked to a later onset of menopause and milder symptoms. Environmental toxins, like endocrine disruptors, can influence menopause age and symptom severity, emphasizing the importance of low-tox living habits.
Understanding Menopause as a Transition Process
Menopause is not a single event but a dynamic process lasting years to decades, encompassing stages from late premenopause to early postmenopause. Lifestyle interventions are key during the transition, especially in the early and late premenopausal and postmenopausal phases. Recognizing menopause as a complex transition involves addressing symptoms, risk factors, and health decisions throughout the stages leading up to and following menopause.
Dietary and Lifestyle Choices for Brain and Overall Health
Maintaining a clean diet, rich in whole foods and avoiding processed foods, contributes to brain and overall health during menopause. Lifestyle choices like regular exercise, maintaining muscle mass, and toxin avoidance are crucial for navigating menopause's impact on health. Prioritizing healthy habits, stress reduction, and balanced nutrition can positively influence women's health and brain function throughout the menopausal transition.
The Evolutionary Significance of Menopause and the Grandmother Hypothesis
Menopause, a biological riddle, challenges the theory of evolution but can be explained by the Grandmother Hypothesis. This theory suggests that women stop reproducing to focus on supporting their offspring, promoting the survival of future generations. This transition highlights the importance of women's post-reproductive roles in society, emphasizing physical fitness and genetic legacy.
Neurological Changes and Emotional Mastery in Menopause
Menopause brings about neurological changes, enhancing empathy and emotional stability. Specific brain regions regulating reactions to stimuli are altered, reducing negative reactivity while increasing response to positive emotions. This emotional mastery aligns with women's evolved post-menopausal roles, contributing to greater well-being and contentment.
The Role of Hormone Replacement Therapy in Menopause and Brain Health
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) in menopause has been controversial due to past studies, but recent research reveals positive impacts on brain health and Alzheimer's prevention. Timing and hormone type are critical factors, with benefits observed in reducing Alzheimer's risk when HRT is initiated earlier. Understanding safe and effective HRT usage post-menopausally can enhance women's brain health and overall well-being.
Women can spend up to 40% of their lives in menopause, and we know that they often experience changes in their mood, cognition, and overall brain health during this time. But these changes aren’t discussed openly or discussed with no helpful solutions, leaving women feeling hopeless, alone, or unsupported. Today’s guest is a brain researcher here to shed light on the changes during this time and what we can do to support women entering this phase.
Today, on the Dhru Purohit Show, Dhru sits down with Dr. Lisa Mosconi to discuss what happens to a woman’s brain when she goes through menopause and the connection to Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Mosconi shares how to care for women’s brains during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, how to prevent dementia and the lifestyle habits that can help women navigate the transition into menopause.
Lisa Mosconi, PhD, is an associate professor of neuroscience in neurology and radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine and the director of the Women’s Brain Initiative and the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of The XX Brain and Brain Food.
In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Mosconi dive into (audio version / Apple Subscriber version):
What happens to the brain during menopause (0:00:20 / 0:00:20)
Research as validation for women’s experience (13:40 / 10:40)
Brain changes during the 3Ps in a woman’s life (16:39 / 13:00)
Life contentment during perimenopause and menopause (20:11 / 16:51)
Epigenetic’s role in menopause (26:03 / 22:34)
Lifestyle changes that are critical for optimal brain health (31:15 / 27:45)
Three types of exercise for menopause and what they activate (37:34 / 33:32)
What is menopause and when does perimenopause start (45:06 / 41:18)
Lifestyle factors that cause the early onset of puberty (52:36 / 48:50)
Environmental toxins that Dr. Mosconi removed from her home (57:30 / 53:35)
Whole foods diet, fiber, and protein for optimal health (1:00:00 / 56:08)
The research behind Hormone Replacement Therapy (1:21:32 / 1:17:22)
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