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Eat, Drink, Live Longer


Mar 5, 2020

On today’s show, we are exploring the connection between diet and brain health. What is this connection? Are there foods we can eat to protect our brains against Alzheimer’s and other dementia symptoms? Let’s dive into this fascinating topic together!

Dr. Annie Fenn is a physician, chef, and culinary instructor. For 20 years, she practiced Obstetrics and Gynecology with a specialty in menopause. Her career took an interesting turn, and today, she’s the founder of The Brain Health Kitchen Cooking School, the only culinary school of its kind in the country. Annie’s classes focus on fending off Alzheimer’s and other dementias with brain-healthy foods and cooking techniques. We are going to talk about the MIND Diet, which features ten healthy brain food groups that we should be eating each week. We will also cover unhealthy brain food groups that we should avoid. We’ll share a few recipes, including my take on Annie’s Moroccan Forbidden Rice Salad. You’ll definitely want to check out this recipe, along with Annie’s Rustic Marmalade Cake, made with olive oil instead of butter.

Show Highlights:

  • Annie’s life in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as the mom of two college-aged sons; she’s a board-certified Ob-gyn who retired in 2010 to be home with her boys
  • Annie wanted to learn more about food as medicine, so she went to culinary school and started teaching cooking classes in her community
  • How Annie became interested in how eating choices affect Alzheimer’s, just as her mom was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s
  • In 2017, Annie launched The Brain Health Kitchen Cooking School to teach people to cook and eat foods that prevent Alzheimer’s
  • Her mission is to create irresistible recipes that are nutrient-dense with neuroprotective foods
  • How common food prep methods create particles that are unhealthy for our brains
  • Why Americans shouldn’t grill foods in the traditional ways we love
  • Why you should eat a large serving of leafy greens with your grilled steak
  • The MIND Diet, Mediterranean Intervention for Neuro-Degenerative Decline, a hybrid of two diets that prevent chronic diseases
  • Ten brain-healthy food groups: berries, leafy greens, vegetables, beans, whole grains, olive oil, fish/seafood, chicken, nuts, and red wine
  • Five unhealthy foods to avoid: fast and fried foods, pastries and sweets, butter, cheese, and meat
  • How Annie cared for her brain health with foods and supplements after a recent concussion 
  • The benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids for our brains
  • Feeding kids with Alzheimer’s in mind
  • Forbidden rice, black rice that is rich in anthocyanins, the same phytonutrients that make blueberries so nutritious for us
  • Annie’s recipe ideas for using Forbidden rice
  • Annie’s cooking classes, programs, and wellness retreats
  • The aging of our population, and the increased research on all types of dementia
  • Annie’s website, where you can find free resources, recipes, and her newsletter

Resources:

Tahini-Swirled Brownie Bites: https://www.brainhealthkitchen.com/recipe/tahini-swirled-brownie-bites/ 

Rustic Marmalade Cake: https://www.brainhealthkitchen.com/recipe/rustic-marmalade-cake/

What to Eat to Fend Off Alzheimer's: https://www.brainhealthkitchen.com/what-to-eat-fend-off-alzheimers/ 

www.brainhealthkitchen.com

Find Brain Health Kitchen on Instagram, and email Annie at Brainhealthkitchen@gmail.com