Taking Care of Your Cognition and More: A Brain Health Q&A with Davuluri

Details: Published: June 30th, 2022

Sameera Davuluri2 60cbc56dbd865a753bfe961fa6639dc0 Sameera Davuluri, M.D.According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, dementia starts to appear in 10 million people every year, and the number of people with dementia is only expected to increase. However, there are ways to improve brain health and prevent at least some of the complications that come with aging, dementia and similar conditions. As June, National Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, concludes, Sameera Davuluri, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and medical director of the family medicine clinic at UAB Hoover Primary Care, answers four questions about lifestyle changes that can improve brain health.

Which foods should I eat and which should I avoid to support a healthy brain?

“Our diet can affect brain’s ability to think and remember. It could be that certain diets affect biological processes such as oxidative stress or inflammation that underlie diseases such as Alzheimer’s,” Davuluri said. “In general, we know that what is good for the heart is good for the brain. There is not a single food which is key to brain’s health, and there is no evidence that eating or avoiding a single specific food can prevent cognitive decline. Instead, patients should focus on a combination of healthy foods throughout the lifespan.”

Following diets such as Mediterranean, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and a combination of the two called MIND diet could help improve brain health. The MIND diet includes leafy green and other vegetables, berries, whole grains, fish once a week, poultry twice a week, beans, nuts and olive oil as a cooking fat. Moderate amounts of wine are recommended in both the Mediterranean and MIND diet.

Davuluri also suggests remaining mindful of alcohol consumption and how the body handles alcohol as one ages, as well as limiting pastries, processed food, red meat, whole fat dairy and salt. As for foods to eat more of, she suggests fish as the strongest factor that influences higher cognitive function and slower decline.

“Diets high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are beneficial for improving brain health by decreasing the risk factors such as stroke and heart disease,” Davuluri said. “There are no vitamins or supplements that have shown to prevent cognitive decline. Always talk to your primary care doctor as certain conditions and vitamin deficiencies’ (B12 and folate) which can cause cognitive decline are reversible. It’s never too late to start a healthy diet and try to make small practical incremental changes that can sustain longer.”

Please visit Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2022 at health.gov for more specific recommendations about daily alcohol intake and talk to your primary care provider.

What is the best way to exercise to keep my brain healthy?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that regular physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, good for not just muscles and bones, but for your brain.
According to Davuluri, several studies have linked aerobic physical activity to improved cognition. One study, a randomized controlled trial with 120 older adults, showed that aerobic exercise training increases the size of the anterior hippocampus, leading to improvements in spatial memory. The hippocampus is a complex brain structure which has a major role in memory and learning and usually shrinks in late adulthood.

Another study pointed out that among US adults age 45 and older, the prevalence of subjective cognitive decline and resulting functional limitations was greater among those with lower physical activity levels, particularly those who were inactive.

“Most adults should get 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week, this can be broken down in 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week,” Davuluri said. “This does not have to happen in one stretch and happen only at a gym, try to incorporate activities in your daily routine such as walking your dog, being physically active while watching TV, etc.”

What types of activities should I do to keep my brain sharp?

“Be engaged in social activities and communities, this can reduce isolation and improve wellbeing which in turn improve cognition,” Davuluri said. “Keep up with your hobbies, try to learn something new, try to challenge yourself intellectually such as solving cross word puzzles, learning a new language etc. Get good sleep, have a daily routine, and focus on healthy diet.”

Is my brain health impacted by my Vitamin D levels?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, available naturally in certain foods, fortified in others and as a supplement over the counter. It’s also produced within the body when ultraviolet rays touch the skin.

“Vitamin D mainly promotes calcium balance within the body and helps with strengthening the bones. It also has other roles such reduction in inflammation, modulation of immune function, etc.,” Davuluri said. “At this time there is not enough information available to find any correlation between vitamin D levels and brain health.”

The UAB Heersink School of Medicine wants to help patients learn more about the relationship between brain health and lifestyle. This is the main goal of the Brain Health Initiative, established by clinics at the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the UAB Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute. This program helps patients make lifestyle changes to support their brain health. Last year, former UAB Department of Family and Community Medicine Erin Slay-Wilson, M.A., tried out the program and wrote about her experience. To hear her thoughts and learn more about the program, click here.