Protect Your Brain, Extend Your Life: 7 Mistakes to Avoid for Better Cognitive Health with Dr Tommy Wood #681
episode
Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
2h 5m
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 22 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Why does a positive mindset about aging matter for brain health?
It's never too late to start thinking about dementia prevention. Studies in individuals in their 60s, 70s, 80s. They start an exercise program. They start with some dietary change. They do some cognitive training. You know, they start language or dance classes or they start to improve their sleep. You start to see benefits. So start wherever you are, and even just starting with one thing can can have significant benefits.
Hey guys, how are you doing? Hope you're having a good week so far. My name is Dr. Rongan Chatterjee, and this is my podcast, Feel Better, Live More. For many of you listening, today's guest needs no introduction. Dr. Tommy Wood has been on this podcast more times than almost anyone else. This is his fifth appearance, and every time we speak, he gives us something new to think about when it comes to brain health and meaningful longevity. Now, if you're new to Tommy, he originally trained as a medical doctor, and now he's a world-leading neuroscientist and performance coach whose research spans brain development, traumatic brain injury, and dementia. His very first book, The Stimulated Minds, came out earlier this year, and is honestly a fantastic read for anyone who's interested in brain health, focus, and longevity.
In this conversation, Tommy and I explore seven common mistakes that many people are making when it comes to protecting their brains. Now some of them may surprise you, but honestly, there's no need to worry because, as ever, Tommy is full of practical ways to address them. We talk about mindset and why your beliefs about aging shape how you go on to age. We get into blood pressure, blood testing, supplements, oral health, microplastics, and whether or not you should be filtering your water. And perhaps most importantly if all We debate the risk of becoming so focused on optimizing your own health. That you forget about other people. As Tommy says, social connection does not just make life feel richer, it helps protect our brains and extend our lives as well.
So, if we chase longevity but lose our connection to others along the way, well maybe we've missed the entire point. This is a really empowering and practical conversation that, at its core, has the message that it's never too late to make the simple changes that could improve the health of your brain. You are back. This is number five. Wow. I think that's a record. Yes. Think you've just Just gone ahead of Gabo Mate for number five.
Well, uh hopefully it's not uh a competition we have to keep having because I'm I'm sure he'll win out. But while I'm ahead, I will enjoy it. Um
When I was thinking about how to go about our fifth conversation. I was trying to think of a different framing and the framing I thought would be quite fun and useful for people is basically around the common mistakes people make when it comes to brain health and longevity and health span. So are you up for this? Different different kind of format? Okay, let's do it. Mistake number one. I think relates to mindset. We neglect how much our perception of aging impacts. how well we age. And in your latest book, which I love, you quote the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging, and you write that those with a more positive perception of aging were found to live on average seven and a half years longer. What's going on?
There's several things going on and it's difficult to tease them all apart in a study like this. But essentially what they did is they asked people how they felt about the process of aging. So they asked them to rate on a scale of, you know, one to five, how do you feel about questions like when I get older? Or when people get older, they become less useful. Things, you know, things like that. And those who had a higher level of the positive perception of aging tended to live longer, like I said, seven and a half years longer on average. And then you have to adjust for other things like age and health status and some other things. And some of it could be what we call uh reverse causality, right? So if you're already feeling like you're experiencing the process of aging, you're uh you've lost.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why does a positive mindset about aging matter for brain health?
0:01–10:21
2
How does social connection protect the brain and extend longevity?
10:21–40:49
3
Why is uncontrolled blood pressure a major mistake for dementia prevention?
40:49–49:10
4
What early blood‑testing markers (like homocysteine) should be monitored to reduce dementia risk?
49:10–1:07:26
5
Why is measuring homocysteine and supplementing B‑vitamins important for brain health?
1:07:26–1:15:52
6
How do multi‑nutrient interventions like the COSMOS trial show benefits of multivitamins and omega‑3s?
1:15:52–1:23:30
7
What is the link between gum disease, oral health and dementia risk?
1:23:30–1:30:49
8
Should I worry about microplastics, water‑filtering and indoor air pollution for my brain?
1:30:49–2:05:40
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
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