The NeuroAge Neuprint

The 9 pillars for optimal brain health

The 9 pillars of the NeuroAge Neuprint™ protocol provide a comprehensive approach to maintaining and enhancing your cognitive wellness as you age. Each pillar represents a critical aspect of brain health backed by scientific research.

The 9 pillars of optimal brain health are 1. diet 2. exercise 3. sleep 4. community 5. staying mentally active 6. lowering stress 7. taking care of your general health 8. taking care of your mental health and 9. and avoiding environmental toxins.

Would you like to assess how you are doing in each area? Take the NeuroAge lifestyle quiz. Below are my results. I’m doing pretty well but have room for improvement in some key areas.

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NeuroAge Neuprint™

The 9 Pillars of Slowing Your Brain Aging

The 9 pillars of slowing your brain aging are 1. Diet 2. Exercise 3. Sleep 4. Community 5. Staying mentally active 6. Lowering stress 7. Taking care of your general health 8. Taking care of your mental health and 9. Avoiding environmental toxins

1. Diet

How many calories should you eat?

Maintain a caloric intake that supports a BMI of 20-26. Research indicates that both underweight and obesity (especially in midlife) are associated with increased dementia risk, while maintaining a healthy weight throughout life is protective against cognitive decline. Read more about BMI and cognitive impairment

Should I intermittently fast?

Intermittent fasting for less than 24 hours (such as 16:8) may be beneficial if it helps you maintain a healthy BMI. Current evidence suggests that fasting’s primary benefit comes from caloric restriction rather than the fasting itself. Extended fasting beyond 24 hours may lead to muscle loss and metabolic slowdown, which can be counterproductive for brain health.

What should I eat?

Research consistently demonstrates that Mediterranean-style dietary patterns are associated with an 11-30% reduction in cognitive impairment and dementia risk. Studies suggest these dietary patterns may delay cognitive aging by as much as 3.5 years. Learn more about Mediterranean diet benefits and brain imaging evidence.

Foods to consume more of:

Vegetables: Aim for at least one large salad bowl of vegetables daily, emphasizing leafy greens, broccoli, tomatoes, and other colorful varieties. Higher vegetable intake is consistently linked to better cognitive outcomes and larger brain volumes. See comprehensive dietary patterns research

Berries: Consume at least ½ cup daily. Berries rich in anthocyanidins (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) show specific promise for slowing cognitive decline due to their high flavonoid content. Research on berries and cognitive decline and mortality benefits

Omega-3 rich foods: Include fatty fish, shellfish, walnuts, and flaxseed. Meta-analyses indicate that adequate omega-3 intake can reduce dementia risk by approximately 20%, with dietary sources potentially more beneficial than supplements. Omega-3 and dementia research

Olive oil: Consume at least 1 tablespoon daily. Extra virgin olive oil, rich in polyphenols and monounsaturated fats, is associated with reduced dementia-related mortality and better cognitive function. Olive oil and dementia study

Coffee and tea: Green and white teas offer more benefits than black tea or coffee. The protective effects come from flavonoids and other bioactive compounds rather than caffeine. Coffee/tea and cognitive disorders research

Lean protein: Include beans, fish, shellfish, eggs, chicken, soy, and plain yogurt. Aim for at least 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight daily (approximately 56 grams for men, 46 grams for women). Plant-based proteins show associations with lower mortality compared to animal proteins. Protein types and mortality study

Fermented foods: Emerging research supports the gut-brain connection. Include 1-2 servings daily of yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, or similar fermented foods to support beneficial gut microbiota. Fermented foods and dementia research.

Foods to consume less of:

Ultra-processed foods: Avoid packaged snacks, frozen dinners, sugary cereals, and heavily processed items. Research shows strong associations between ultra-processed food consumption and accelerated cognitive decline, smaller brain volumes, and increased dementia risk. Framingham Heart Study findings and comprehensive health impact review

Red and processed meat: Limit to once weekly or less. Studies indicate optimal health benefits with minimal red meat consumption, while higher intake is associated with shorter lifespan and increased chronic disease risk. Red meat and dementia research

Saturated and trans fats: Minimize deep-fried foods, butter, cream, and processed foods containing these fats, which are linked to cognitive decline and cardiovascular disease.

Added sugars: Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages, desserts, and sweetened coffee drinks. High sugar intake is associated with cognitive impairment and increased risk of chronic diseases that affect brain health. Sugar-sweetened beverages and cognition

Alcohol: Current evidence suggests a complex relationship between alcohol and brain health. If you choose to drink, limit intake to fewer than 7-14 drinks per week, with red wine potentially offering some advantages due to its flavonoid content. However, no amount of alcohol is definitively beneficial, and abstaining remains a valid choice for optimal brain health. Alcohol and mortality research

2. Exercise

Regular physical activity is one of the most powerful interventions for maintaining cognitive health. Read Dr. Christin Glorioso’s Substack post “Exercise releases “plant food” for the brain” for a deeper scientific dive. Research demonstrates that higher levels of physical activity are associated with significantly lower risk of all-cause dementia (approximately 20% reduction), Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia. Learn more about exercise and dementia prevention

Exercise for 30-90 minutes, 5-7 times per week

Cardiovascular Exercise:

• Daily steps: Aim for 6,000-10,000 steps daily (approximately 4 miles). Studies show that higher daily step counts are strongly associated with reduced dementia risk and improved cognitive function. Research on step counts and brain health

• Walking pace matters: Faster walking pace is independently associated with lower risk of cognitive decline. Even if you can’t achieve high step counts, maintaining a brisk pace when possible provides cognitive benefits. Walking pace and dementia study

• Heart rate targets: Keep your heart rate above 100 bpm during exercise. If walking or running isn’t possible due to injury or disability, swimming, cycling, or other cardiovascular activities provide equivalent benefits.

High-Intensity Exercise:

• Engage in activities that elevate your heart rate above 130 bpm (Zone 3+) for at least one hour per week. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) shows particular promise for cognitive benefits and can be highly effective even in shorter durations. HIIT and cognitive health

Resistance Training:

• Perform weight lifting, bodyweight exercises (push-ups, pull-ups, squats), or resistance training 2-4 times per week for 20-60 minutes. Research shows resistance training improves executive function and is associated with reduced mortality risk. Resistance training benefits and cognitive improvements

Mind-Body Exercise: Hot Yoga (3 times per week recommended): This practice combines multiple beneficial elements in one session:

• Cardiovascular fitness: Elevates heart rate into aerobic zones

• Heat therapy: Provides sauna-like benefits for cardiovascular and cognitive health

• Strength training: Incorporates bodyweight resistance exercises

• Flexibility and balance: Critical for maintaining mobility and preventing falls as you age

• Mindfulness: Includes meditation components that support stress reduction

• Social connection: Group classes provide community benefits

Research supports yoga’s cognitive benefits, particularly for older adults, showing improvements in attention, executive function, and brain connectivity. Yoga and cognitive function study

Alternative mind-body practices: If hot yoga is too intensive, Tai Chi offers similar benefits with gentler movements, showing positive effects on cognition, balance, and stress reduction.

The Brain Benefits: Exercise induces beneficial changes in brain structure and function, including preserved gray and white matter volume, improved connectivity between brain networks, and enhanced neuroplasticity. Exercise effects on brain structure Even modest increases in physical activity can yield significant cognitive benefits at the population level. Meta-analysis of exercise interventions

3. Sleep

Sleep is fundamental to brain health and cognitive aging. Research consistently demonstrates a U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and cognitive outcomes, where both inadequate (less than 6-7 hours) and excessive sleep (more than 8-9 hours) are associated with increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. For a deeper dive on sleep, read Dr. Christin Glorioso’s Substack on Sleep and the Brain. The optimal sleep duration appears to be 7-8 hours per night. Learn more about sleep duration and dementia risk

Why Sleep Matters for Your Brain: During sleep, particularly slow-wave sleep, your brain clears metabolic waste products including amyloid-beta plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease through the glymphatic system. Sleep also consolidates memories and supports neuroplasticity. Sleep and brain structure research

Quality Matters as Much as Quantity: Beyond duration, sleep quality is crucial. Poor subjective sleep quality, frequent awakenings, and clinical sleep disorders (insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome) are robustly linked to accelerated cognitive decline and increased dementia risk. Sleep disorders and dementia study

Sleep Regularity is Key: Maintaining consistent bedtimes and wake times is emerging as a critical factor. Irregular sleep patterns and social jetlag (varying sleep schedules between weekdays and weekends) are associated with increased cardiovascular risk and mortality. Importantly, regular sleep schedules may help mitigate dementia risk even when sleep duration isn’t optimal. Sleep regularity and mortality research

Tracking Your Sleep: Sleep monitoring devices can provide valuable insights into your sleep patterns, duration, and quality. Consider tracking sleep to identify patterns and potential issues that may need addressing.

Optimizing Sleep Environment:

• Light exposure: Minimize blue light exposure 1-2 hours before bedtime, as it can suppress melatonin production and disrupt circadian rhythms. Blue light and sleep effects

• Room conditions: Sleep in a dark, quiet, and cool environment for optimal rest quality

• Temperature: Cooler temperatures generally promote better sleep quality

Addressing Sleep Challenges: Stress management: Chronic stress significantly impacts sleep quality and duration. Implementing stress reduction techniques can improve both sleep and cognitive health.

Hormonal considerations: Women aged 38-50 should consider that perimenopause may be affecting sleep through hormonal changes. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be beneficial for some women experiencing sleep disruptions during this transition.

Sleep supplements:

• Magnesium: Magnesium threonate may support sleep quality and has additional cognitive benefits

• Melatonin: Can help regulate circadian rhythms, particularly useful for sleep timing issues

The Broader Health Impact: Quality sleep supports overall healthspan and reduces risk of chronic diseases that affect brain health, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction. Sleep and chronic disease relationships

Remember that addressing sleep issues may require a comprehensive approach including lifestyle modifications, environmental optimization, stress management, and potentially medical consultation for persistent sleep disorders.

4. Community

Social connection is a fundamental pillar of brain health with profound impacts on cognitive aging. Research consistently shows that various aspects of poor social relationships predict cognitive decline and incident dementia, while strong social connections serve as protective factors against brain aging.

The Science of Social Connection: Loneliness is a particularly powerful predictor of dementia risk, with meta-analyses indicating a 40-70% increased risk of developing dementia among lonely individuals. This association often remains significant even after accounting for depression and objective social isolation, suggesting loneliness is an independent risk factor. Research on loneliness and dementia

The mortality risk associated with social disconnection is comparable to well-established risk factors like smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity. Social relationships and mortality study

Quality Time Recommendations: Aim for at least one hour daily of meaningful interaction with partners, friends, or family members. The quality of these interactions matters more than quantity - having someone to confide in and receive emotional support from is particularly protective. Social support and cognitive function

Types of Social Engagement That Benefit the Brain:

• Frequent social contact: Regular visits or calls with close friends and family (weekly to monthly) are associated with lower dementia risk

• Group activities: Participation in clubs, religious groups, or community organizations provides both cognitive stimulation and social connection. Social participation and cognitive decline

• Volunteering: Offers dual benefits of social engagement and cognitive stimulation, with studies showing reduced risk of cognitive impairment among volunteers

• Diverse social networks: Having relationships across different social contexts (family, friends, colleagues, community groups) appears more protective than relying on a single type of relationship

Building Your Social Circle: If you’re looking to expand your social connections:

• Join clubs or groups aligned with your interests or hobbies

• Volunteer for causes you care about - this provides both social interaction and sense of purpose

• Adopt new hobbies that involve group activities (exercise classes, book clubs, hobby groups)

• Take classes or workshops to learn new skills while meeting like-minded people

• Participate in community events and local activities

The Brain-Body Connection: Social connections benefit brain health through multiple pathways: reducing stress and inflammation, promoting healthy behaviors, providing cognitive stimulation through interaction, and offering emotional support during challenging times. Social connection as public health priority

5. Staying Mentally Active

The concept of “use it or lose it” has strong scientific backing when it comes to brain health. Engaging in mentally stimulating activities throughout life builds cognitive reserve - your brain’s resilience against age-related changes and pathology. This reserve allows you to better withstand brain aging and delays the clinical manifestation of cognitive decline or dementia.

The Science of Cognitive Reserve: Higher educational attainment and greater occupational complexity are consistently associated with significantly reduced dementia risk (approximately 47% risk reduction for high versus low education/occupation). Beyond formal education and career, engagement in cognitive leisure activities provides ongoing protection throughout life. Comprehensive cognitive reserve research

Daily Mental Exercise - At Least 1 Hour: Aim for a minimum of one hour daily engaged in mentally challenging activities. This threshold ensures consistent cognitive stimulation that can help maintain and build cognitive reserve over time.

Effective Mental Activities:

Work-related stimulation: If your job involves complex problem-solving, decision-making, or learning new skills, this counts toward your daily mental exercise. Occupational complexity throughout midlife is independently protective against later-life cognitive decline.

Reading: Regular reading (at least once weekly) is associated with reduced risk of cognitive decline over 14-year periods, regardless of education level. Reading engages multiple cognitive systems including memory, attention, and language processing. Reading and cognitive function study

Games and puzzles:

• Number puzzles and crosswords: Frequent engagement is linked to better cognitive function across multiple domains

• Board games: Can help prevent or slow cognitive impairment, providing both mental stimulation and often social interaction

Learning new skills: Taking up new challenges like learning a musical instrument, foreign language, or new technology provides novelty that may be particularly beneficial for neuroplasticity.

Creative activities: Engagement in arts, music, and creative writing shows promise for reducing cognitive decline and improving quality of life in older adults. Arts engagement and brain health

The Lifelong Approach: Cognitive engagement benefits accumulate across the lifespan. Early-life education, mid-life occupational complexity, and late-life leisure activities all contribute independently to cognitive reserve and reduced dementia risk. Lifelong cognitive reserve study

Variety and Challenge: Engaging in diverse mentally stimulating activities appears more beneficial than focusing on a single type. The key is maintaining cognitive challenge - as you become proficient at an activity, consider increasing difficulty or adding new elements to continue providing your brain with stimulation.

Cognitive Training Programs: While formal cognitive training can produce modest improvements in specific trained domains, evidence for transfer to everyday functioning and long-term dementia prevention is less robust than for naturally occurring cognitive leisure activities. Cognitive training meta-analysis

Making it Sustainable: Choose activities you genuinely enjoy - intrinsic motivation makes it easier to maintain consistent engagement. Combining mental stimulation with social interaction (book clubs, game nights, classes) can provide dual benefits for brain health.

Remember that the goal is consistent, lifelong engagement in mentally challenging activities. Even starting later in life can provide benefits, as cognitive reserve can be built and maintained throughout aging.

6. Lowering Stress

Chronic psychological stress represents a significant threat to brain health and cognitive aging. Research demonstrates that higher levels of perceived stress and exposure to stressful life events are associated with increased risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Stress and dementia risk study

How Stress Damages Your Brain: Cortisol, your primary stress hormone, can directly harm brain structures crucial for cognition. Chronic elevation of cortisol levels damages the hippocampus (essential for memory), leading to neuronal atrophy and impaired memory function. Chronic stress also promotes neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, further contributing to neurodegeneration. Effects of stress hormones on brain and cognition

Monitoring Your Stress Levels:

• Direct measurement: Blood cortisol levels can be tested at laboratories like Quest Diagnostics

• Indirect tracking: Heart rate variability (HRV) and resilience scores on wearable devices like Oura rings provide ongoing insights into your stress response and recovery

Evidence-Based Stress Reduction Strategies:

Mindfulness and Meditation: Regular meditation practice shows robust benefits for stress reduction, cognitive function, and brain structure. Studies demonstrate that mindfulness meditation can lower cortisol levels, improve attention and executive function, and enhance brain connectivity, particularly between the hippocampus and other key brain regions. Meditation and cognitive benefits and mindfulness brain connectivity study

Practical Daily Strategies:

• Time management: Avoid overcommitment and practice saying no to prevent chronic stress accumulation

• Deep breathing exercises: Simple breathing techniques can activate the parasympathetic nervous system and reduce acute stress

• Regular breaks: Taking frequent breaks during work, especially those involving relaxation or light physical activity, can significantly reduce stress and improve well-being. Work breaks and stress reduction

Relationship Management: Be selective about relationships that contribute to chronic stress. Invest time in nurturing supportive relationships while setting boundaries with those that consistently increase stress levels.

Professional Support: Therapy or coaching can provide valuable tools for stress management and coping strategies. Professional guidance is particularly beneficial for addressing chronic stress patterns or trauma-related stress.

Physical Interventions:

• Exercise: Regular physical activity is one of the most effective stress reducers, lowering cortisol levels and promoting endorphin release

• Hot sauna: Heat therapy can reduce stress and support both cardiovascular and cognitive health

• Journaling: Writing about thoughts and feelings can help process stress and gain perspective

Nature Exposure: Spending time in natural environments (parks, greenspaces, blue spaces) is associated with reduced stress, improved mental health, and potentially lower dementia risk. Natural settings can restore attention and reduce cortisol levels. Nature exposure and mental health

Nutritional Support:

• Polyphenol-rich foods: Coffee and moderate amounts of red wine contain compounds that may help reduce stress and support mood regulation

• Anti-inflammatory foods: A diet rich in anti-inflammatory compounds can help counteract the inflammatory effects of chronic stress

Making Stress Management a Priority: Since stress management techniques vary in effectiveness between individuals, experiment to find what works best for you. The key is consistency - regular practice of stress reduction techniques provides cumulative benefits for both immediate well-being and long-term brain health.

Research shows that effective stress management interventions can significantly improve cortisol profiles and overall health outcomes. Stress management intervention effectiveness Making stress reduction a daily priority is an investment in your cognitive future.

7. Taking Care of Your General Health

Cardiovascular and metabolic health are fundamentally interconnected with brain health. The same conditions that threaten your heart and blood vessels also pose significant risks to cognitive function. Stroke and vascular dementia represent direct examples of how cardiovascular issues manifest in the brain as common causes of cognitive decline.

Cardiovascular Risk Factor Management: Work closely with your healthcare provider to optimize key health markers:

Blood Pressure: Midlife hypertension is a well-established risk factor for later-life cognitive decline and dementia. While intensive blood pressure lowering doesn’t always show direct reduction in dementia incidence compared to standard targets, it significantly reduces cerebrovascular events like stroke, which are major contributors to vascular dementia and cognitive impairment. Blood pressure and cognitive decline research

Cholesterol Management: Statin use shows promising associations with dementia prevention. For a deep dive read Dr. Glorioso’s Substack post “Statins and Dementia Prevention”. Meta-analyses of observational studies indicate statins are associated with a significantly reduced risk of all-cause dementia (15-17% reduction) and Alzheimer’s disease (18-28% reduction), with stronger benefits observed with longer duration of use (over 3 years). Statin use and dementia prevention

Blood Sugar Control: Type 2 diabetes represents a major risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. Poor glycemic control is particularly problematic for brain health. Diabetes and cognitive decline review

Advanced Monitoring:

• Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM): Provides real-time insights into blood sugar patterns

• Continuous blood pressure monitoring: Helps identify blood pressure variability and ensure optimal control

• Cardiac imaging: Calcium scoring and advanced CT imaging (like Cleerly) can assess arterial plaque buildup

Weight Management and GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: For individuals who are overweight, pre-diabetic, or diabetic, GLP-1 receptor agonists (such as Ozempic, Wegovy) offer multiple benefits. Beyond weight loss and diabetes management, emerging research suggests these medications may provide additional protection against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. GLP-1 medications and dementia risk

Maintaining a healthy BMI is crucial, as both midlife obesity and late-life underweight status are associated with increased dementia risk. BMI and cognitive impairment study

Vaccination and Infection Prevention: COVID-19: Infection can cause loss of gray matter volume and neuronal demyelination, making vaccination crucial for brain health protection.

Influenza and pneumonia: Research indicates that vaccination against influenza and pneumonia is associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Vaccination and dementia risk

Shingles: Emerging evidence suggests the shingles vaccine may be associated with lower dementia risk.

Sensory Health: Hearing and vision: Untreated sensory impairments can accelerate cognitive decline through multiple pathways including social isolation and increased cognitive load. Regular screenings and timely interventions (hearing aids, corrective lenses) are essential preventive measures.

Safety and Injury Prevention: Head injury prevention: Traumatic brain injuries can have lasting effects on cognitive function. Use appropriate safety equipment like helmets during cycling, skiing, and other activities with head injury risk.

Oral Health: Maintaining excellent oral hygiene is increasingly recognized as important for brain health. Poor oral health, including gum disease and tooth loss, has been linked to increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. The connection may involve inflammation, bacterial translocation, or shared risk factors.

Regular dental care: Consistent brushing, flossing, and professional dental visits help maintain oral health and may reduce dementia risk.

Integrated Approach: These health factors are interconnected - for example, diabetes increases cardiovascular risk, poor oral health can worsen diabetes control, and sensory impairments can lead to social isolation and depression. A comprehensive approach addressing all these factors provides the best protection for long-term brain health.

Regular health checkups facilitate early detection and management of these risk factors, allowing for timely interventions that can significantly impact your cognitive trajectory.

8. Taking Care of Your Mental Health

Mental health and cognitive health are deeply interconnected, with research demonstrating bidirectional relationships between psychological well-being and brain aging. Mental health conditions not only directly impact brain structure and function but can also interfere with your ability to maintain other protective lifestyle factors.

The Mental Health-Brain Health Connection:

Depression and Dementia Risk: Meta-analyses confirm that a history of depression significantly increases the risk of subsequent dementia. This relationship appears to be bidirectional - depression can accelerate brain aging, while early cognitive changes may contribute to depression. Depression and dementia risk study

Anxiety Disorders: Research shows that anxiety is also associated with increased dementia risk, particularly in community-dwelling populations. Like depression, anxiety can create chronic stress states that negatively impact brain health through elevated cortisol and inflammatory pathways. Anxiety and dementia risk

Cascading Effects: Mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and ADHD can create barriers to maintaining the other pillars of brain health. They may interfere with:

• Sleep quality and consistency

• Motivation for physical exercise

• Social engagement and relationship maintenance

• Stress management

• Adherence to healthy dietary patterns

• Medical care and medication compliance

The Importance of Professional Treatment: Working with qualified mental health professionals is crucial for several reasons:

Comprehensive care: Collaborate with your primary care physician, licensed therapists, and/or psychiatrists to develop an integrated treatment approach tailored to your specific needs.

Treatment adherence: Effective management of mental health conditions often requires consistent treatment. Research shows that adherence to psychological treatments significantly improves outcomes, though maintaining adherence can be challenging, especially when cognitive symptoms are present.

Medication considerations: When appropriate, psychiatric medications can provide significant benefits. However, medication adherence is crucial for effectiveness and requires ongoing monitoring by healthcare professionals.

Positive Mental Health Factors:

Sense of Purpose: Having a strong sense of purpose or meaning in life emerges as a powerful protective factor against cognitive decline, dementia risk, and overall mortality. This psychological factor appears to act independently of other risk factors and may buffer against the negative effects of stress and adversity. Purpose in life and dementia prevention

Resilience and Coping: Developing healthy coping strategies helps manage life’s inevitable stressors more effectively. Active, problem-focused coping and positive reframing tend to be associated with better mental health outcomes compared to passive or avoidant strategies.

Early Intervention Benefits: Addressing mental health concerns early can prevent more serious complications and support better long-term outcomes for both psychological well-being and cognitive health. The mortality risk associated with untreated mental health conditions is substantial, making intervention a critical component of overall health management. Mental health and mortality research

Integrated Approach: Remember that mental health treatment works best as part of a comprehensive lifestyle approach. The other pillars - exercise, sleep, social connection, stress management - all support mental health, while good mental health makes it easier to maintain these protective behaviors.

Breaking the Stigma: Seeking help for mental health concerns is a sign of strength and self-care, not weakness. Just as you would treat a physical health condition, addressing mental health issues is an essential investment in your overall well-being and cognitive future.

If you’re experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, ADHD, or other mental health conditions, reach out to healthcare professionals who can provide appropriate assessment, support, and treatment options tailored to your individual needs.

9. Avoiding Environmental Toxins

Environmental exposures represent a growing concern for brain health, with emerging research linking various pollutants and toxins to increased risk of cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. While we can’t control all environmental factors, making informed choices about our immediate environment can significantly reduce harmful exposures.

Air Pollution and Brain Health: Exposure to ambient air pollution, particularly fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide, is increasingly linked to adverse neurological outcomes. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses consistently find associations between higher pollution exposure and increased risk of dementia and cognitive decline. Living near major roads is also associated with elevated dementia risk. Air pollution and dementia research and environmental factors and cognitive decline

Protecting yourself from air pollution:

• Consider air filtration systems for your home, especially if you live in areas with poor air quality. Check the air quality in your region on a map.

• If feasible, evaluate residential choices based on air quality data

• Limit outdoor exercise during high pollution periods

• Support policies that improve air quality in your community

Pesticide Exposure: Pesticides have been implicated in neurological health, with meta-analyses suggesting positive associations between pesticide exposure and risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Parkinson’s disease shows particularly well-established connections to pesticide exposure. Read Dr. Glorioso’s Substack post “Pesticides, Parkinson’s, and Proximity to Golf Courses” for a discussion on a recent publication linking living near golf courses to Parkinson’s Disease risk. Pesticide exposure and Alzheimer’s risk

Reducing pesticide exposure:

• Thoroughly wash all produce to remove residual pesticides

• Choose organic when possible, especially for high-pesticide residue foods

• Garden safety: If you maintain a garden or live on a farm, investigate non-toxic alternatives to conventional pesticides

• Soil testing: Test garden soil for heavy metals and contaminants before growing food

• Dietary sources: Be aware that chronic low-dose pesticide exposure through diet may contribute to health risks Dietary pesticide exposure study

Microplastics and Chemical Exposures: Emerging evidence suggests that plastic particles can cross biological barriers and may contribute to inflammation and oxidative stress. Chemicals associated with plastics, such as BPA and phthalates, are widespread endocrine disruptors with potential neurodevelopmental and cognitive effects.

Minimizing plastic exposure:

• Food storage: Use glass or silicone containers instead of plastic for food storage

• Cooking: Avoid microwaving food in plastic containers

• Cookware: Choose ceramic, stainless steel, or cast iron pans over non-stick coatings

• Beverages: Drink from glass or metal containers

• Water filtration: Filter drinking water to reduce contaminants

• Fresh produce: When possible, buy unpackaged produce from farmers’ markets or farms

Water Quality: Water quality impacts overall health, and some studies suggest associations between certain water contaminants and cognitive function. While evidence linking specific contaminants to cognitive decline varies, maintaining high water quality supports general health.

Smoking and Secondhand Smoke: Smoking is a well-established modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. The good news is that smoking cessation can provide significant benefits for brain health, even later in life.

Tobacco exposure reduction:

• Quit smoking: Seek professional support for smoking cessation

• Avoid secondhand smoke: Minimize exposure to others’ tobacco smoke

• Support smoke-free environments: Advocate for smoke-free policies in your community

The Positive Side - Nature Exposure: While avoiding toxins is important, actively seeking beneficial environmental exposures can support brain health. Spending time in natural environments (parks, greenspaces, waterways) is associated with improved mental health, reduced stress, and potentially lower dementia risk. Nature exposure and brain health

Practical Implementation:

• Start with the most feasible changes for your situation

• Focus on reducing the highest-risk exposures first

• Remember that small, consistent changes accumulate over time

• Consider the broader health benefits of many environmental improvements (better air quality, cleaner water, more time in nature)

Staying Informed: Environmental health research is rapidly evolving. Stay informed about emerging evidence while maintaining perspective - the goal is reasonable risk reduction, not perfect avoidance, which is neither possible nor necessary for good health.

Making thoughtful choices about environmental exposures, combined with the other eight pillars of brain health, creates a comprehensive approach to cognitive protection and healthy aging.

© 2025 NeuroAge. All rights reserved.

This program is designed to support brain health and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult with your healthcare provider before starting any new health program.