They’re sort of the shrubs around the roses that protect the brain environment. “The brain’s 90 billion neurons share the garden inside the skull with supporting cells called glia. Here are five changes Dr Jandial recommends. So, don’t adopt any lifestyle changes without considering whether it’s sensible to do so at this time. Remember, whatever health advice you follow right now, staying sensible and following the guidelines on minimising the spread of coronavirus is everyone’s top priority. “Let’s see if we can make a difference with small changes, rather than waiting for a silver bullet or a single pill or food that fixes everything.” It would be great to have this be a new focus because there’s no treatment if you get dementia,” he says. “Fortunately, our brains ask so little of us that very manageable changes, like replacing your steak for salmon a few times a week, eating more plants, less fried food, a bit of brisk walking – all these changes add up. There’s always a window to make a difference,” he adds. And doing it early – early being your 40s, 50s, even 60s. Since we don’t have a medicine for dementia, it’s really about lifestyle modification. “There are habits some people have, that tend to link with them having resilience of thought and emotion as they get older. “I’ve operated on over 5000 skulls, and they’re all different ages so you see the developing brain to the ageing brain, and everything in between,” says Dr Jandial, who also spent years trawling through scientific research in order to come up with what he believes are the best ways to help boost memory, manage stress and reduce Alzheimer’s risk. But the disease doesn’t have to be an inevitable part of ageing.īrain surgeon and neuroscientist Dr Rahul Jandial, who works at City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles, has seen for himself in thousands of operations the difference between a young brain and an ageing one, and how the way a person lives their life can affect their grey matter – which he explores in his new bestselling book, Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon. But there’s lots of evidence that lifestyle factors can potentially make a big difference.Īround 50 million people worldwide have dementia, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), with about one in 14 over-65s affected, as well as a significant number of younger people. There’s nothing we can do about the biggest risk factor for developing dementia – getting older.

Life lessons of a brain surgeon