Food, says doctor-turned-cooking instructor Annie Fenn, is “your most powerful tool to resist cognitive decline with age.” Throughout her 20 years as an obstetrician-gynecologist, Dr. Fenn began to notice cognitive decline in an increasing number of her patients, as well as her local community. When her mother was diagnosed with an early form of Alzheimer’s disease known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in 2015, she decided to focus on helping others improve their brain health.
Dr. Fenn founded the Brain Health Kitchen cooking school, teaching people how to prepare meals to reduce Alzheimer’s risk across the country and abroad, and she recently published a cookbook, “The Brain Health Kitchen.” “Once people begin to understand the connection between what they eat and how the brain ages, there’s a shift that happens,” she said. “People begin to look at everything they eat through a lens of brain health.”
Dr. Fenn spoke with American Essence about her own daily diet, brain-healthier cooking habits, and the importance of looking at the bigger picture.
American Essence: What do you typically eat in a day?
Dr. Annie Fenn: I always eat a serving [1/2 cup] of berries, even in the winter. Berries are their own brain-healthy food group. I always try to work them in, whether with my yogurt, oatmeal, or granola, or even just grab a handful as a snack. I also drink black coffee because it has hundreds of different antioxidants—but it’s one beverage that is usually ruined by adding sugar or sketchy dairy products. I also have a salad every single day with about 2 cups of greens—maybe that’s for lunch or dinner or stirred into a sauce, or maybe even sautéed with eggs.
AE: What kinds of foods that have neuroprotective ingredients should we be incorporating into our diets?
Dr. Fenn: I think that people should begin to move away from the concept of superfoods and think more in terms of food groups, since that is where all the data is pointing. Let’s look at what is called brain-protective dietary patterns, instead of specific foods—patterns in eating based on food groups. For example, the Mediterranean Diet as well as the MIND Diet [Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay; DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension], which is where we derive some of the best research we have on this topic, define certain food groups that are healthier for people to consume. So, for my recently published book, “The Brain Health Kitchen,” I use the MIND Diet as a template, since there is a 53 percent reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by following it.
A lot of what we’re learning about brain health nutrition comes from what we learn about the gut. It’s really important for a brain-healthy diet to draw from a variety of different food groups, since we know that helps cultivate a healthy gut biome. Eating a variety of foods is great, and eating what you enjoy is really important, too.
Aim for a colorful plate that draws from a wide variety of food groups. (Claudia Totir/ Moment/Getty Images)
AE: What are some brain-healthier ways of cooking our food?
Dr. Fenn: Americans tend to overcook their foods and also use high levels of heat, as well as direct heat. They like to use the BBQ and the grill, like putting a piece of meat right on the grill and getting grill marks on it. But high heat actually creates inflammatory particles in the food. The inflammatory particles are called advanced glycation end products, or AGEs, and AGE consumption is associated with Alzheimer’s risk—these little particles are basically what is in the grill marks, especially meat. AGEs can pass through the blood-brain barrier and get incorporated into the brain cells, and are present in the neurons in Alzheimer’s victims.
The cooking techniques that are more favorable for brain health are more of a “low and slow method,” or incorporating a liquid, to just gently cook the food. If you avoid high and direct heat, like when you fry an egg, you’re less likely to denature some of the beneficial nutrients and healthy fats in the egg, such as omega-3 fatty acids. High heat basically makes those nutrients more inactivated. So, I favor poaching eggs. I have a couple of recipes in my book where you poach eggs in a sauce. For example, one of the recipes that my family uses all the time is where we take a can of black beans, some almond milk, and some salsa; bring those to a simmer; and then you poach the eggs right in that mixture. If you like scrambled eggs, that’s great, too, but just keep the heat super-low.
AE: It seems like a long-term eating plan that people can ease into and eventually make part of their lifestyles.
Dr. Fenn: Exactly. Food is such a great way in for people who want to access better health. Once people start doing one brain-healthy habit, such as eating healthy food, they tend to engage in other healthy habits, like exercise.
Annie Fenn’s “Brain Health Kitchen” food guidelines, based on the MIND and Mediterranean diets, identify 10 neuroprotective food groups:
Berries
Leafy greens
Other vegetables
Seafood
Nuts and seeds
Beans and lentils
Whole grains
Meat, poultry, and eggs (optional)
Olives and olive oil
Coffee, tea, and other drinks (mostly water)
3 Healthier Kitchen Habits
Reach for the Olive Oil: Use extra-virgin olive oil as your main cooking oil to provide your brain with healthy monounsaturated fats and polyphenols, potent antioxidants.
Eat by Color: A colorful plate of foods guarantees a meal high in brain-healthy flavonoids (the pigments that give plants their color). Aim for a diversity of green, purple, red, orange, and yellow vegetables. Within brain-healthy food groups, reach for darker leafy greens—they’re the most nutrient-dense—and darker berries—which have more memory-boosting anthocyanins.
Take It Low and Slow: Fish and seafood are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, essential for brain health, but searing, frying, or grilling over direct high heat can destroy those delicate nutrients. Opt for gentler cooking methods, which are better for the brain, such as braising, slow-roasting on a sheet pan, or grilling on a cedar plank or in a grill basket.
Ian Kane is an U.S. Army veteran, author, filmmaker, and actor. He is dedicated to the development and production of innovative, thought-provoking, character-driven films and books of the highest quality.
