Weekly Blog

May 8

Rightfully so, brain health has become one of the hottest health topics today. Accounting for a large portion of the neurological conditions, driving illness and disability worldwide, it has received increasing attention. Once thought to be mostly inheritable and encoded in our genes, we now know that our day-to-day habits and lifestyle greatly contribute to our future brain health. Simply put, we have far more power to prevent these conditions than we previously imagined, and all 5 ELEMENTS (Move, Fuel, Recover, Endure, and Connect) play a role.

One of the most fascinating discoveries in the last 20 years is the role of the "glymphatic system". Discovered around 2012, this system is believed to work like a washing machine, pumping fluid in and out of the brain to capture and remove metabolic waste while we sleep.  Research from earlier this year supports this idea, making the value of sleep, especially deep (non-REM) sleep when this system is most active, obvious. 

However, sleep is certainly not the only factor we can control to improve future brain health. Our FUEL choices can also have a significant impact. Diets known to lower inflammation, such as the Mediterranean and Nordic diets, showed promise in this 2025 review, although more studies are needed before causality can be considered definitive. An animal study published earlier this week showed an interesting connection between arginine (an amino acid found in a variety of foods, including poultry, beans, legumes, and seeds) and some of the plaques associated with Alzheimer's Disease. 

Stress and Social Connections also factor in. While psychological stress has been associated with a significant (3X) increase in the risk of self-reported cognitive decline - a risk worsened when combined with other health risks like obesity- the power of CONNECT may play an outsized role in keeping those risks at bay. As published last month in a study on "Super Agers" - individuals who exhibit cognitive abilities on par with those 20-30 years younger than their chronological age - social connections and the brain structures supporting them stood out.

However, perhaps the most intriguing recent finding is also the simplest. A study from a Penn State University team showed (also in animal models) that the abdomen functions like a hydraulic system: one big pressure-regulated vessel. Every time there is enough movement to cause our abdominal muscles to contract even slightly, the pressure gradient - and therefore our circulation patterns - changes. This creates a chain reaction that reaches the brain, stimulating changes in the surrounding fluid. Researchers likened this process to rinsing a dirty sponge by running it under clean water and squeezing it out.

It's unlikely to replace adequate physical activity or the many brain benefits of taxing the muscles any time soon, but if you need a boost, it certainly won't hurt - stand up and MOVE your brain.

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.