Kind: captions
Language: en
What is the one thing that you don't
want to have happen to your brain?
Alzheimer's disease, right? It's one of
the most feared brain conditions
associated with aging. But a lot of
people don't realize that Alzheimer's
can even appear in middle-aged people.
Most people think if you have a genetic
risk, game over. You're screwed. There's
nothing you can do. The actual truth is
that there is something you can do.
People eating a diet actually can lower
the risk of Alzheimer's disease even if
they carry a genetic risk. Researchers
have found that people with higher
levels of in their blood. They also have
[music] lower type 2 diabetes also have
lower risk of heart disease and a lower
risk of early death. What are the
practical tips? What can I offer you
that's like really practical about it?
I'm going to tell you to cut.
[music]
Hi everyone, Dr. William Lee here. Today
I want to talk about your brain because
it's one of the most important organs in
your body and no one cares about their
brain more than you. And anybody who
actually cares about health can't ignore
the brain. So let me ask you a question.
What is the one thing that you don't
want to have happen to your brain?
Alzheimer's disease, right? Well, it's
one of the most feared brain conditions
associated with aging. But a lot of
people don't realize that Alzheimer's
can even appear in middle-aged people
and also form other forms of dementia.
But what if I told you that the food
that you eat can influence how well your
brain ages? And in this case, I want to
talk about a threelettered word, fat. F
A T. Yep, that's right. The fat that you
eat is connected to brain health. And
could the fat you eat today change how
your brain ages in decades or from now?
So, here's the thing that I actually
want to tell you because it may not be
what you think. Turns out that fat and
brain are interconnected. In fact, your
brain is made up nearly 60% of fat. So,
it makes a lot of sense that the fat you
eat could influence that brain function,
the structure of the brain, the wiring
of the brain, and actually the long-term
resilience of the brain, which has to do
with how we feel and how we react, how
we behave, and how we respond to life
events around us. Okay? So, this isn't
just stuffed, cushy stuff about
psychology. This is really talking about
how what we eat connects directly to our
brain and how our brain responds. If
you've ever wondered, how much control
do I really have over my long-term brain
health and preventing Alzheimer's? The
answer is much more than you think. Are
you ready to get started?
Let's go. All right. First, let's talk
about the fats that can raise or lower
your Alzheimer's risk. And let's start
with dietary fat and Alzheimer's disease
because they're connected. Before I tell
you about the study, if you're enjoying
this video, I want you to actually hit
the subscribe button because that way
you'll be notified when I actually put
more helpful hints about your health,
food, diet, lifestyle into it. So, just
hit the subscribe, you know what to do,
and that way you'll be getting updates
from me. Let's go back to the study
connecting dietary fat and Alzheimer's
disease. So there was a research study
uh done by scientists at the Zit Jang
University of Medicine in China and they
conducted what's called a metaanalysis.
This is a major one because it looked at
13 different clinical stud studies of
diet and Alzheimer's disease and
involved 21,000
people. And the researchers asked one
simple questions. How does the type of
fat you eat influence the risk of
Alzheimer's disease and dementia and
overall brain health? So what do they
do? Well, naturally they compare
different kinds of fat. saturated fats
like butter, dairy, cheese, and
saturated fat from red meat. They also
looked at trans fat, mostly coming from
ultrarocessed foods. Most of us know
that trans fats are not healthy, but
what about the brain? They also looked
at monounsaturated fatty acids as well
as polyunsaturated
fatty acids. Those are called PUFAs,
especially omega-3 fatty acids, which
you would find in seafood or dietary
supplement. want to know the results
because they were a little surprising.
Here's what they found. First, let's
take a look at saturated fat. They found
the people who ate the highest levels of
saturated fat had a 39% increased risk
of developing Alzheimer's disease. I'm
going to repeat repeat that again.
People who ate the highest levels of
saturated fat had a 39% increased risk
of developing Alzheimer's disease. And
this is important because you should
ask, where do we get saturated fat in
our diet? And there's a whole movement
now looking at the carnivore diet. But
the carnivore diet, mostly red meats,
actually is loaded with saturated fat.
So what are some other sources?
Processed meats, too. We're talking
about the stuff in the deli, the salami,
the baloney, the pepperoni. They also
have saturated fat. Red meats, as I
mentioned, have it. Ultrarocessed foods
have saturated fat. Fried foods that you
might get at a fast food restaurant, but
even fry them at home have saturated
fat. And dairy. Now, dairy is an
interesting thing because some studies
suggest that dairy might actually lower
the risk of dementia by a little bit.
This is some very very intriguing
research study, but it's probably not
because of the saturated fat. It's
because of other things, maybe the
probiotic aspects of dairy. Okay. Now,
one of the questions is why does eating
this kind of fat actually harmful to the
brain? Well, we know that saturated fats
can promote inflammation in the body,
oxidative stress, which can damage DNA,
damage cell function, and we also know
that saturated fats can even reduce
blood flow. Now, there's 400 miles worth
of blood vessels in your body. So,
anything that blocks um that blood flow
could actually have a devastating effect
on brain function. What about trans
fats? Okay, guess what? They are
associated with a 48% even a higher risk
of developing Alzheimer's disease. 48%
higher risk of Alzheimer's disease in
people who ate the most trans fats. And
why is that? Well, trans fats can get
incorporated, meaning they just kind of
find their way into and integrate into
cell me membranes, including in your
brain neurons. That's bad news. You
don't want that. Okay? And when trans
fats get integrated into normal cell
membranes, it damages the cell
structure. It weakens brain function. We
don't want that. What about
polyunsaturated fats? so-called PUFFAS,
poly P, unsaturated U fatty acids, FA.
Okay, now these include omega-3s. All
right, and it turns out that people who
consume the most omega-3s were found to
have a, wait for it, 28% lower risk of
Alzheimer's disease. Okay? In fact,
omega-3s do the opposite of saturated
fats and trans fats. So, I'm going to
repeat this again. Trans fats and
saturated fats increase your risk of
Alzheimer's. Omega-3s, polyunsaturated
fats, lower it completely two different
directions. Probably it's pretty obvious
to you now what would be the healthy
recommendation for dietary fat. Now, why
would omega-3s and polyunsaturated fats
be better for you? Well, we know that
omega-3s, for example, reduce
inflammation throughout the body,
including in the brain. Omega-3s also
protect your blood vessels, and that's
what I study, angioenesis, um the health
of your circulation. By protecting the
health of your brain circulation, it
helps your blood flow, that 400 miles
worth of blood flow, get to all the
parts of your brain that need blood
flow, so you have better brain function.
Omega-3s do another thing. They
strengthen your brain cell membrane. So,
you know, a cell is, think about it like
a a bunch of things floating in a
plastic bag. I know we don't like to
talk about plastic, but I'm just going
to use it as an analogy. Or a balloon.
Okay, now think about it. the um
strength of the bag or the balloon, you
know, it can be perforated, it could
tear. Well, polyunsaturated fats make
the cell membrane, the surrounding
covering a lot stronger, and that's good
for brain health. Okay, anybody paying
attention would have said, well, wait a
minute, you're missing one category of
fat that they were studying, and that is
monounsaturated fatty acids, mono mufas,
monounsaturated unsaturated fat fatty
acids. And it turns out that their
effect in the brain was neutral, meaning
they didn't benefit you. They didn't
harm you. There was no dramatic
protective or harmful effect. Very
interesting research study. Lots of
people, 21,000 people involved, looked
at different kinds of dietary fats, and
looked at a really, really discreet
endpoint, which is really the
development of Alzheimer's disease,
which we all want to avoid. Okay. So,
what are the practical tips? What can I
offer you that's like really practical
about it? One of the most common
questions I get is about sleep. Not just
falling asleep, but staying asleep and
waking up feeling truly restored. Here's
the thing. What many people don't
realize is that sleep problems are often
a nervous system problem, not just a
problem with your bedtime routine. If
your body is stuck in stress mode, it's
very hard to get deep restorative sleep.
Your brain stays on alert. Cortisol,
your stress hormone, stays elevated, and
the windown to sleep is disturbed. And
that's where the vagus nerve becomes
very important. The vagus nerve helps
signal calm in the body. It shifts you
out of fight or flight mode and into
rest and repair mode. Pulsetto uses
targeted vagus nerve stimulation to help
calm the nervous system, which many
people find supports deeper sleep and
better overnight recovery. It helps your
body create the right conditions for
sleep so you can benefit from
restorative sleep. If you want to learn
more, check the link below with more
information and get an extra 10% off
with the code Dr. Lee. D R L I. Okay,
first, and you probably know this
already, I'm going to tell you to cut
down or cut out eating foods with
saturated fats, red meats, processed
meats, a lot of fried foods,
ultrarocessed foods. Now, look, you're
probably not going to eliminate all of
it, and that's okay. But if you actually
deliberately make a an attempt to cut
down those uh foods, it's actually going
to serve your brain function. All right?
So, cut it down way down. All right?
Rarely eat saturated fats. Second, you
should prioritize omega-3s. So, less of
the bad guys, saturated fats, more the
good guys. Omega-3s that actually lower
your risk, right? So, where do you get
omega-3s? Well, you can get a dietary
supplement, of course, but I always like
to tell people supplement is for topping
off. You should get most of what you
need from food. What kind of food?
Seafood. All right. Of course, salmon,
sardines, mackerel, anchovies, those
oily fish, you know the drill on that.
But it turns out, and I wrote about this
in my book, Eat to Beat Your Diet. A lot
of other seafood that are absolutely
delicious, enjoyed in the Mediterranean
and Asian diets, I eat Mediterranean
style, okay? Which means that I I like
to blend the best of both worlds, and
they're both tasty. It turns out other
types of seafood eaten commonly in the
Mediterranean or in Asia also have
omega-3s. All right? Like cod, like
hake, like halibit, and shellfish, like
shrimp and oysters and clams and even
squid, lobster. If you like lobster,
they all have omega-3s as well. Now, if
you're plant-based and you're saying,
"I'm not going to eat anything with a
mother." No problem. You can still get
omega-3s by eating the precursors,
meaning the pre the substances that will
eventually be generating omega-3s in
your body. Your body will make the
omega-3s and those are plants like
walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds. Those
are great sources of the linoleic acid,
your body will convert into omega-3s.
cut down on your saturated fats,
increase on your good fats, uh, the
omega-3s, and then I'm going to make you
a recommendation because presumably you
cook or somebody cooks for you. And what
you should use is olive oil, extra
virgin olive oil for as your cooking
oil. So, ditch the butter, ditch the,
you know, vegetable oils and just use
extra virgin olive oil. Much better.
Doesn't have saturated fats like like
butter does. I got to admit, butter
tastes good. We all know that. But extra
v virgin olive oil also tastes great.
Plus, in addition to the healthier fats,
extravirgin olive oil has protective
polyphenols like oolocanthol. Those are
some of the polyphenols that you
actually get in and hydroxyol. Those are
the things that you get in extra virgin
olive oil. All right? Want to make sure
it's really truly extra virgin. Those
polyphenols lower inflammation and they
can protect your brain circulation, so
better brain blood flow. And they can
actually protect your brain neuron
function. That's function of the nerves
in your brain. I hope that's practical
for you because you know we're always
exposed to eating fat uh every day uh
just as a matter of course. Now we're
going to talk about something else too.
There is one surprising saturated fat as
I told you that might be beneficial for
your brain. Before I tell you what that
is, I want to remind you again, if you
haven't done so already, hit like to
this video and hit subscribe to my
YouTube channel so you can actually
continuously get more information that
I'm actually delivering on food and
health and diet and lifestyle. So, I
just told you that there are some fats
that are bad for your brain health and
some fats that are good for your brain
health and there's some fats that you
should use for cooking. But there is a
twist in the story because researchers
have discovered that although most
saturated fats not good for you, there
is one kind of saturated fat that looks
like it might be the exception to the
rule, might be beneficial to the brain
and might actually lower the risk of
dementia. And this is what's important
in in food is medicine. Got to follow
the science. Sometimes, you know, mother
nature throws us a twist, a surprise.
And you have to be able to be flexible
to adapt your thinking. This is not a
black and white world, good versus evil
or good versus bad. You want to look at
the nuances because the details matter a
lot. So what is a saturated fat that may
be beneficial for brain health? Well,
it's called C15. C is in Charlie 15. And
a better, more accurate scientific word
that I like to call it is penta. P NA
decaninoic. Pentaaninoic. It's 15 acid.
Pentadoninoic acid or C-15 is a
saturated fatty acid that was discovered
less than 10 years ago and from a team
that discovered it from the University
of California, San Diego. Here's how
they actually found it. They found it in
dolphins, but you can dolphins eating
fish, but you can also find pentecionic
acid in other foods uh and even some
plants. Uh so um and there's a little
bit in dairy, especially pecarino ramano
cheese. All right, anybody who likes to
cook, you know that that's actually a
very, very special culinary type of
cheese. It's a treat to actually have.
Don't eat too much because there's a lot
of saturated fat in there. But there's
some pentadoninoic acid in there, too.
And basically what the researchers have
found is that pentadoninoic acid is
very, very important for health. They
found it was first important for the
health of dolphins and now they're
beginning to see that this actually
might play out in humans as well. And in
fact, they're proposing that
pentadoninoic acid or a C-15 might be in
fact called an essential fatty acid,
saturated fatty acid, because you can't
actually, your body doesn't make it. All
right? You need to get it in your diet
or as a supplement. So, let me just tell
you what the researchers actually found
this type of saturated fatty acid
actually does. Well, first, C15,
pentadoninoic acid, restores
mitochondrial function. To me, that's a
wow. The mitochondria are the little
battery packs in your cell that give
your cells energy. And when your cells
have energy, you're going to have
energy. And as we get older, our cells,
our cell batteries, our mitochondria
kind of wear down. All right? And they
kind of build up and the bad batteries
get stuck in there. And you know what
that's like in your flashlight, right?
It doesn't work very well. It's not as
bright as before. You want to actually
get new fresh mitochondria, fresh
batteries. All right? Turns out that C15
or pentadoninoic acid can restore
mitochondrial function. It's like
recharging your battery. Pretty cool.
More energy to the cells. Number two,
pentadonic acid also reduces
inflammation just like omega-3s do.
Reducing inflammation is really
beneficial to countering those diseases
of chronic aging. Number three,
pentaconinoic acid or C-15 stabilize
cell membranes. Remember I told you that
little bag, the plastic or whatever
around or the balloon around the cell
organs, organels, you actually want that
to be strong. And it turns out that
pentadoninoic acid makes the cell
membranes more strong. So the cells are
actually uh stronger as well. So that
way your cells won't t to tend to be
unstable or collapse. When you're
stable, your function is going to be
better when it comes to nerves. One
additional thing I got to tell you and
this is a little bit scientific, but I'm
going to translate it so it's very very
simple. C15 or pentadoninoic acid also
activates a special kind of cell
receptor called the PPA.
Peter, Paul, Adam, Richard. PPAR
receptors. Now, what's a PPR receptor?
No reason for you to know what that is
unless you're a scientist. All right?
But PPA AR receptors are master switches
in the body in the cells that regulate
inflammation and regulate metabolism and
regulate insulin sensitivity. So, that's
pretty cool. Basically, the C-15 also
activates this master switch that
controls your metabolism, lowers
inflammation, and helps with insulin
sensitivity. So, not surprisingly, when
they found C-15 in dolphins, they found
that dolphins who were eating more C-15
had better brain function, they had
better metabolism, they were more
protected against chronic disease, and
human studies seem to bear this out in
humans as well. So this is an area of
emerging research but it actually is
relevant to people because at population
level studies meaning in the community
researchers have found that people with
higher levels of C15 in their blood
higher levels of pentadoninoic acid now
that's coming in from their food they
also have lower type 2 diabetes remember
I told you it actually helps to uh
regulate the PP AR metabolism switch
guess what C-15 higher people also have
lower risk of heart disease that's
really better liver health and a lower
risk of early death. And in dolphins,
dolphins with more C-15 also have a
lower rate of developing Alzheimer's
disease, better for brain health. And in
fact, what they found is that uh C-15
protects against against the formation
of the Alzheimer's plaque, the beta
amaloid plaque that builds up in the
brain. People with Alzheimer's disease,
they found that it's in dolphins, more
C15, less plaque. All right? Protects
it. Pretty amazing stuff, right? So
remember this. You're going to hear more
about it in the future. Penta decaninoic
acid C15. It's sometimes you can find
it, they it's referred to as fatty 15.
Now, because I study food as medicine,
my question is where do you find this in
your diet? Turns out that whole fat
dairy in moderation because there's
other saturated fats in there actually
has some C-15. And fatty fish like
salmon and sardines have a good amount
of C15. You know, I have to say this.
Grass-fed meats also in moderation
because they have other types of
saturated fat comes in a grass and it's
also found in that kind of a beef. But
here's the key. Skim dairy, fat-ree
dairy, almost zero fatty 15. So, I'm not
telling you to get full fat. All right?
Unless it's Greek yogurt, in which case
you should get full fat because it's
actually good for your overall health.
But in terms of fat products, I'm just
telling that getting the skim, getting
the fat-ree doesn't actually benefit you
when it comes to C15. So this whole
demonization of full fat dairy actually
kind of distracted everyone from staying
away from it. And what we may have been
doing at the whole population level is
inadvertently causing people to to
divert from having a kind of essential
fatty acid, an essential nutrient called
C-15 pentadic tekeninoic acid that the
body and the brain actually find
helpful. In fact, it might need. So, how
does this update our thinking in diet
and food as medicine? First, the
research is still in its early days. So,
got to be careful. I'm a scientist. I'm
a doctor. I'm always very, very
thoughtful and careful about how I
articulate things. So, I'm telling you,
this is still research in the early
days. But if you choose to eat dairy,
because that's one source of C15, make
sure you choose wisely. You want to get
whole fat dairy and eat it in small
amounts. All right? So, where do you get
it? whole dairy yogurt or in a small
amount of C15 is found in pecarino
romano cheese. Better eat fatty fish
regularly. So the salmon is a great
source of C-15. And by the way, I'm
trying to encourage you not to just fear
the threeletter word FAT, fat. You got
to actually get into the details on
this. Some fats not so good. Saturated
fat in general from red meat. Some
saturated fat, however, is okay, like
C15. And then the omega-3 fats actually
are really, really good for brain health
as well. I'm just going to actually tell
you one last thing. So hopefully you're
sticking with me on here. And by the
way, if you haven't already, please make
sure that you hit subscribe. Hit like
and hit subscribe. And so that way
you'll hear more as I actually put more
videos on. But I want to tell you that
the Mediterranean diet protects the
brain. All right? Even if you've got a
genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease.
There's a gene called ApoE4 that if you
have it, um, it most likely your parents
or grandparents also suffered from
Alzheimer's disease and it's passed on
put you at higher risk. So, I want to
actually tell you about that. If you
have a family history or genetic risk,
most people think if you have a genetic
risk, game over. You're screwed. There's
nothing you can do. The actual truth is
that there is something you can do.
People eating a Mediterranean diet,
Mediterranean countries, actually can
lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease
even if they carry a genetic risk. So, I
want to tell you about this because this
is new research. Scientists at Harvard
and MIT looked at 5,700 people. It's a
lot of people. They published a study in
the journal Nature Medicine, one of the
premier journals. They got these
databases, these people from databases,
right? 4,200 women came from the nurses
health study followed for 34 years and
1,500 men came from the health
professional follow-up study. So these
are population-based studies that look
at the health of these people over long
periods of time. And what they did is
they looked at who developed Alzheimer's
and what did they eat. And guess what?
Over time, 606 people out of the total
number, which was 5,700 people, actually
did develop dementia, Alzheimer's
dementia. So the researchers looked at
genetic risk that they have the apo4
gene. They looked at blood for blood
metabolites and they also looked at the
type of diet, the pattern of eating that
people were engaged in over the course
of their lifetime. And here is the big
finding from the study. Okay, people who
had two copies of the gene, get one from
mom, one from dad with a E4, this is the
highest possible genetic risk for
Alzheimer's disease. This is like
getting two jokers uh in your card deck
of cards, right? the worst case when it
comes to inherited risk. Guess what?
Even those people at the worst risk had
a lower chance of developing Alzheimer's
if they were eating a Mediterranean
diet. What do I mean by lower risk? They
had better memory. Their biological
markers for brain health were better.
Um, basically overall lower risk, better
brain health. So, the question is why?
How did this happen? Well, it turns out
the Mediterranean diet is filled with
polyphenols and healthy fats, including
omega-3s that lower inflammation,
protect your cells against oxidative
stress and damage, and actually help
your circulation, help your immunity, uh
help your gut microbiome. So, in in
essence, boost your body's defenses,
which is what I wrote about in my book,
Eat to Beat Disease. All right, you
haven't read it, check it out. There's a
whole huge discussion about the foods
from the Mediterranean diet and the
health defenses. And by the way,
Mediterranean diet also improves repair
if you have damage in your brain,
cellular damage. Medit eating
Mediterranean style actually improves
the repair and it also protects your
brain from further damage. For example,
carotenoids from colorful vegetables
like carrots act like shields to protect
your brain nerves. healthy fats like
extravirgin olive oil or omega-3s from
seafood. Plenty in the Mediterranean
protect blood flow in the brain. And I
got to say this, the Mediterranean
drinks a lot of coffee. Coffee related
metabolites like chlorogenic acid. They
have anti- oxidant function and they
appear to protect and improve cognitive
function. That's problem solving,
executive decision- making, thinking
about where you left your keys, you
know, what are you going to do tomorrow,
all those things. Cognitive function.
All right. So the metabolites in the
brain um actually are really really
important uh as well. Foods in the
healthy traditional Mediterranean diet
protect brain over the course of
people's lives over decades. What's the
takeaway? I got some good news for you.
If you eat like you were living in the
Mediterranean or vacationing in the
Mediterranean, that is a pleasurable and
healthy way to approach your food. It's
what I do. I told you I eat the
Mediterranean plus Asian style. I call
it Mediterranean. If I'm trying to
design or plan my dinner and I'm in the
store thinking about it or at my desk
trying to write out a list of what I'm
going to eat, I think either
Mediterranean style recipes or Asian
style recipes, you can't go wrong with
Mediterranean. Pleasurable way to
approach your food based on enjoyment
and quality of of food. All right? Don't
operate on fear. Best way to do this,
build your meals around the produce
section in the grocery store. Colorful
vegetables, fruits, herbs, whatever is
fresh, whatever's seasonal. If you're
not sure of something, search it on
Google on your phone. While you're in
the store, hit recipe, hit video. Let
somebody explain it to you. I'm giving
you an assignment, okay? A passport to
go into the middle aisles because there
are some real treasures there used in
Mediterranean and Asian cooking. Dried
beans, dried herbs, extra virgin olive
oil, tinned fish, dark chocolate, whole
leaf tea. Right? You get my drift on
this? So, oh, by the way, healthy tree
nuts. All right, it's all in there. How
about whole grains? Okay, make whole
grains your grain of choice. Oats,
barley, quinoa, brown rice, and then go
to the seafood section. I know I know
everybody likes seafood, but give it a
shot. Go to the fishmonger, the seafood
section, and see if you can actually
find a way to explore, be curious to
incorporate some kind of seafood two to
three times a week in your diet. I know
it's sometimes tricky to know what how
am I going to cook that thing. That's
what I'm telling you. Watch YouTube
videos. That's what I do. A lot of
people are doing that now to find how to
cook something simple and cut down on
your intake of red meat. I'm not telling
you to avoid it altogether. I'm saying
cut it down and but I would recommend
you avoid processed meats. You know why?
Because processed meats are considered
to be a carcinogen by the World Health
Organization. And remember, if you eat
this way, even if you have a family
history of Alzheimer's disease, even if
you have genetics that would put you at
higher risk for Alzheimer's, eating the
right foods in the right pattern,
prepared in healthy ways, can put the
power back into your own hands when it
comes to protecting your brain and
having better brain health. And you know
what? For brain health, you got to
combine it with other stuff, too.
Exercise, stay physically active, make
sure you get good sleep. All right? And
manage stress. I know all these things
are not that easy to do, but if you're
mindful about it, if you make it part of
your priority, you'll be protecting your
brain. And brain health starts at home.
That's not something doctors do. You do
that as well. And as always, if there's
some particular maneuver you want to do,
you should actually discuss it with your
health care provider, your doctor. And
there may be other medical treatments
and technologies that are going to be
useful for you actually to improve your
overall health, including your brain
health. So, I always tell people,
because I'm a doctor, keep your doctor
in the loop. Don't cut us out. Make us
part of your team. And if you found any
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