‘Don’t skip leg day’: Plant-based foods, regular exercise boost brain health

Key takeaways:

• Diets that embrace more plant-based products, proteins and unprocessed foods lead to better brain health.
• Regular exercise, particularly to strengthen the legs, also improves brain health.

Consuming a diet with more plant-based foods and the right kind of fats while engaging in daily exercise are sure-fire paths to maintaining brain health, according to speakers at the Lifestyle Medicine Conference.

In her keynote address, Ayesha Z. Sherzai, MD, neurologist and co-director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, said that green, leafy vegetables may be the closest thing to so-called “superfoods.”

Sherzai cited prior research, including one study from investigators in the United Kingdom, which determined that polyphenols, or plant-based compounds known for unique antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, contribute to brain health.

Sherzai cautioned against giving into the “war on fat,” noting that 57% of the brain is composed of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, so “it’s important for us to consume DHA ... for brain health.”

However, high amounts of saturated fats, which are often found in red meat and dairy products, can damage neurons and vasculature, she said.

Multiple studies, she added, have shown that consumption of saturated fats increases the risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Data from the Chicago Health and Aging Project show that those whose diets were high in saturated fats were more likely to develop AD compared with those who consumed fats from plant-based foods.

Additionally, Sherzai mentioned the longitudinal Kaiser Permanente Northern California study, where results showed that, in nearly 10,000 individuals who were followed for 3 decades, those who had high cholesterol in midlife had a 57% higher risk for developing AD. As such, addressing high LDL cholesterol during middle age is vital. This includes using statins in high-risk individuals.

“It seems to be a controversy. It shouldn’t be,” she noted. “We actually have a lot of data suggesting that lowering LDL cholesterol, if need be, with statins does not increase the risk of AD or dementia. As a matter of fact, it reduces it.”

In his portion of the keynote, Dean Sherzai, MD, MAS, MPH, PhD, neurologist and co-director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda, said there is no comparison to be made regarding whether diet or exercise is better for the brain. Both are “critically important,” he said.

Regular exercise has a noticeable effect on neuroplasticity as well as growth and maintenance of cognitive connections, Dean said.

Putting your body in motion increases vasculature of the brain that is essential for better cognitive health throughout the lifespan, he added. It reduces insulin resistance, which has been found as a common factor in neurodegenerative disease, and wards off depression and anxiety as related comorbidities.

Citing data from the Framingham Heart Study, Dean further revealed that enrollees who engaged in a brisk walk for 25 minutes a day reduced their risk for AD by 40%.

Resistance training also provides a desired effect, with prior research establishing beneficial effects to bolster the hippocampus and pre-frontal cortex that preserve memory and executive function.

Another study cited by Sherzai, published in 2016, found that resistance-based exercise performed two to three times per week over 6 months reduced the risk for mild cognitive impairment transitioning to AD by 47%.

If the most important facet of resistance training is working the lower extremities, Sherzai imparted an important lesson.

“Don’t skip leg day,” he said. “Bigger legs, bigger brain.”

References:

Vauzour D, et al. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2012;doi:10.1155/2012/914273.

Solomon A, et al. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2009;doi:10.1159/000231980.

Tan ZS, et al. Alzheimers Dement. 2010;doi:10.1016/j.alz.2010.05.203.

Mavros Y, et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2016;doi:10.1111/jgs.14542.