and that you can do things to protect your brain against alzheimer disease by improving your heart. do the things that you know are good for your heart and your brain will benefit. in the next segment of the program, i'm going to tell you about how fascinating the brain is. i will also tell you how laughing more often may be really good for your brain. i'll see you. (audience applauding) >> this is really amazing and important information that we all can use. hi everybody, i'm tony hill and i want you to stay tuned for more of "fight alzheimer's early: six steps to keep your brain young" with doctor majid fotuhi. there is a lot more great information coming up in the next part of the program so please don't go anywhere. also, rhea's going to be talking to doctor fotuhi. he's here in the studio. this informative program is offering us great advice on how to combat memory loss and avoid the onset of alzheimer's disease

later in life. not only will doctor fotuhi give us an in-depth tour of how the brain functions but he's also going to give us more tips and advice on how to keep your brain healthy and young. there's much more terrific information on the way but first we would like to talk to you about keeping all of your favorite programs right here on public television. if you feel this show is helpful to you or someone you love, now is the time to support it. please make a call to this public television station and make a generous financial contribution. the number is on your screen so please do it and make the call right now. and when you support us at certain membership levels, we're going to say thank you so much by offering you some thank you gifts that you'll definitely want to have. here's more about them. >> help combat memory loss and support public television. call the number on your screen and make a generous financial contribution to this station. when you contribute $90, we'll say thank you with a copy of "fight alzheimer's early" six steps to keep your brain young on dvd.

it contains a bonus question and answer session with doctor majid fotuhi. make a pledge of $80 and we'll send you doctor fotuhi's book, "crosswords to keep your brain young" the six-step age-defying program. if you would like both, the crosswords book and dvd of the show, please make a contribution of $160 and we'll send you both. help support this show and all the other great programs that you watch all year long on public television. please call now. >> i'm rhea feikin and i'm here with doctor majid fotuhi. it is so fascinating - that your number one step is to forget about worrying about alzheimer's. >> doctor fotuhi: i think worrying about alzheimer's is a waste of time. most people have memory problems are because of things they can do something about. they may have depression, they may have problem with sleep, they may be working

too much, so let's do something to improve memory and not worry about alzheimer's disease. >> rhea: actually we can improve our brain. it can get better. >> doctor fotuhi: that's what i find quite fascinating, rhea. your brain, your brain cells are a lot like your muscle cells. you can make them stronger, you can improve them. lots of scientific studies show that you can increase the volume of your brain with exercise, with certain diet and with brain stimulation. and i tell you all about these things in this program. >> rhea: well, you know, watching this program, i could just hear a collective sigh of relief of everybody thinking, "wow, i can do something." and we're going to help you do something. if you can make a pledge at the $275 level, we're going to say thank you with the "memory power combo." if you make a contribution at this level, you will receive everything that you need to improve your memory and help combat the onset of alzheimer's. you will receive both the "fight alzheimer's early" dvd and also

the "crosswords to keep your brain young" book which also, besides having crossword puzzles, has a lot of information in it. you will also receive doctor fotuhi's first book, "the memory cure." and this is a wonderful book that gives you even more tips and information about fighting memory loss. and we will send you the "fight alzheimer's early" audio cd so that you can listen to doctor fotuhi wherever you go! and everybody who makes a pledge of $80 or above will receive this "lifestyle choices to rejuvenate your brain" key card. the small part of it just breaks off and goes on your key chain. the larger card fits into your wallet. on it are six strategies to improve your memory and keep your brain young. stay tuned for more of "fight alzheimer's early" with doctor majid fotuhi. and don't forget, our thank you gifts - $90, you will get the "fight alzheimer's early" dvd. at the $80 level, we'll send you "crosswords to keep

your brain young" book. at $160, "fight alzheimer's early" the dvd and "crosswords to keep your brain young" book. and at the $275 level, we have our "memory power combo." and it includes the show dvd, "crosswords" book, "memory cure" book and "fight alzheimer's" audio cd. and all pledges of $80 or higher will receive the "rejuvenate your brain" key card. so please make that pledge. it will make you feel good and it'll make us feel great. (audience applauding) >> doctor fotuhi: in this segment of the program, i would like to share with you some of the fascinating aspects of the brain. i want to tell you how the brain works and how you can make your brain a better brain.

i will also tell you how reducing stress, relaxing, taking care of yourself and smiling is really good for your brain in the long run. so the third step in our six-step program is: i honestly believe that most people don't use anywhere near their full brain potential. your brain's ability to do things is almost endless. as a neurologist, i always see patients who have had amazing recovery and i would like to share with you some of the stories about these patients. but important thing is, your brain has an innate ability to recover from injury and to grow. and i want to share with you about the mechanisms involved and how you can tap into your brain's innate ability to grow and become stronger.

i personally first became interested about the brain when i was a teenager myself. i saw a young boy who had lost his arms in a car accident. he had learned to make beautiful paintings with his right foot. he would hold a painting brush between his first and second toe and make beautiful drawings. let me tell you the story of one of my colleagues when i was at harvard medical school. he was a bright researcher in his 30s. one day he'd gone for a bike ride and forgot his helmet. as he was enjoying going down the hill, somebody suddenly opened a car door. his bike smashed into the door and he went flying over the door and landed on the asphalt. much of his brain was damaged and he was in coma. he was taken to the nearest emergency room and quickly was

taken to the intensive care unit. i went to see him the next day and his mother was standing by the bed. i remember standing next to her looking at the images on the wall, on the light box. the brain images showed that much of the left side of his brain was like a soup of broken bone, blood and pieces of brain. a week went by, nothing happened. two weeks went by, nothing happened. three weeks later, he started to open his eyes. a few weeks later, he started to move his fingers. a few months later, he actually could sit up. the amazing thing about this story is that three years later, he was at work. i remember walking to the office and seeing him in front of a computer typing. i could not believe my eyes. such stories of remarkable

recovery are not rare. the abc news anchorman, bob woodruff, also had a similar severe injury to his brain and he too was in coma for a long time and he too was able to go back to work and i saw him doing interviews. as a neurologist, i also see on a daily basis people who have had stroke in their brain and part of their brain dies. the other parts of the brain who survive work overtime such that people who lose their ability to speak or move one side of their body learn to go back and be normal again. brain plasticity means just that - your brain can grow and become stronger and compensate for the parts that have been damaged. now, sometimes the brain can become stronger even without a damage to the brain.

for example, when a person becomes blind as an adult, the part of the vision in the brain is not as important because the person cannot see. the other parts of the brain can help that person overcome this problem. so your brain can grow and become stronger, whether it's trauma, whether it's stroke or whether it's something happened to your body. it can also happen with environmental pressures. let's just say, i give you a million dollars cash if you learn to play the piano in six months assuming you don't know how to play now. (audience laughing) >> doctor fotuhi: so many of you may think, "oh i can't play the piano" but a million dollars is enough incentive for you to do that. and so after six months, the parts of your brain that are important for controlling your movements will indeed improve and your brain will

indeed become better. this is called brain plasticity. but how does it work? let's dive deep inside the brain and see how the brain cells work. brain cells have extensions which come out of the central cell body. brain cells communicate with each other through contact points between these extensions. these contact points are called synapses. there are 100 billion brain cells and each brain cell may make thousands of connections, which means your brain, as you're sitting here, has trillions of interconnections we call synapses. that is quite interesting but what is more interesting is the fact that the number of synapses can change with your life's experiences. so when the person has injury to one side, the number

of synapses increase on the other side to compensate and make a person function quite well. let me tell you about a concept i find quite interesting. it is called brain reserve. brain reserve means that throughout your life, you have many opportunities to increase the number of synapses in your brain. it is like putting money in retirement funds. and what i like you to do to improve and expand your brain reserve. how can you do that? well, one thing you could do is to stimulate different parts of your brain. to do that, let me give you a tour of the brain. i built this 5-foot tall brain model when i was both a student and a teaching assistant at harvard medical school. my students had a hard time learning the neuroanatomy. so i developed this brain model to help them with general landmarks of the brain. the brain on the outside is covered by the cortex and a cortex in each part has

different functions. the cortical areas in front of the brain help you with planning and execution of movements. so when you plan your weekend, when you plan your day, you're using mostly your frontal lobes. the parietal lobes on either side have slightly different functions. the parietal lobe on the right side helps you with orientation to space. so if i asked you where are you right now in the city, where are you right now in this country, you have a map in your brain as of where you are. the parietal lobe on the left side helps you with arithmetics, simple calculations. so if you are at a restaurant and you're trying to calculate a 15% tip or 20% tip, you're using yourleft parietal lobe. there are parts of the brain called cerebellum. cerebellum helps you with coordination, with balance, with dexterity. so when you can ride a bicycle,

you're using your cerebellum to a large extent. there's also an important part called the temporal lobe. the temporal lobe is where hippocampus lives. the temporal lobe is important for language and for memory. it also has many structures that are important for emotions. parts we called limbic system. and that explains why you remember things that are emotionally important to you. it just happens that the part of the brain for emotion sit very close to the hippocampus and they have direct access to hippocampus. and, in fact, you can use that to your advantage. if you want to remember something, make it funny, make it emotional, you're more likely to remember it. so now let me open the brain and give you a tour of the inside of the brain. this is a model that shows the different structures and can help you orient yourself in different parts.

the cortical areas are like a ribbon of cells all around the brain. the cortex is the part of the brain which is most unique to humans and is most developed in humans.ée it gives us the ability for higher brain functions. so let's say, i ask you to draw a clock and put the hands of the clock so that the time would be 8:25. the cortical ribbon in front would help you with planning your steps involved to draw the clock. the parietal lobe on the right side would help you decide whether you should put the numbers on the right, on the left and how, where would the numbers go. when i want to test someone who has memory concerns, not only i ask them about their memory problems, i also ask them to draa clock, i use that lzcreeng too t that are notave difficultyumt

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60%t,ryo doha in yhe.n soobbies such as tr ying sudu, trying card games oruzzles. it really does not matter whaty as you enjoy doing it. because if you've enjoyed a hobby, you're more likely to keep at it it. if you don't like fishing, don't even go er step 4 in our six-step fight against alzheimer's is t fun one: many research and studies show that people who enjoy life in general tend to sy happier over time and bsharper over ti. on the other hand, if stress is really bad for you, then stress. let me tell you about the story of one of my patients i saw

recently. angela 30s. she was always an a+ student ane edt rk because she did a good job. as a result of her promotion, she was working 16 hours a day. she also had two kids and a husband at home and she had gl responsibilities at her work and at home. many nights she couldn't sleep. and as a result, during the day she would drink five, six, sometimes 10 cups of coffee just sy akto keep up with the work. she would get 50 e-mails and many dozens of phone calls every day. and she wantedo epp. bushhanoticed that she had become more forgetful. in one occasion, she forgot the name of the person she had inteied. this was quite unusual for her. she panicked and she came to see me. as is usually the case, there's somebodyith alzhmer's disease in the famil and she did not want to be

the person developing alzheimer's disease. as you can imagine, she clearly does not have alzheimer disease and i knew that the moment she told me that she's a reporter, she's working full time and she has all these things. but i wanted to tell her about stress. and i wanted to educate her that stress is affecting her brain both in the short-term and in the long-term. you know well that stress leads to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, headaches but also stress leads to shrinkage in the brain. i think it's not fair. the stressed people ne their memory. and stress really damages the memory parts of the brain more so than other parts patients who have depression associated with anxiety over time have a smaller hippocampus also. ma sdi he owth those who have been depressed for a longer period of time have a smaller hippocampus.

in fact, people with long-term depression are seven times more likely to have alzheimer's disease. fortunately, this apparent atrophy in the hippocampus is reversible and patients who receive treatment experience an increase in the size of hippocampus. in other words, the hippocampus is a dynamic structure anyo le n fe not only the size of your cortex as we mentioned but also the size of your hippocampus. soitanlaas dwith all my patients, i did a memory test on her. she aced all parts of the test. sometimes people are so busy with their lives, don't realize that the stress may be the cause of their memory problems. sohe decided to go to her boss and ask for help. and not surprisingly, a part-time secretary became available for her to answer her e-mails and phone calls.

so she had more time, she also made it a priority to spend time with her husband and went dancing and she went shopping more often. in a few months she felt much better, much, much better and the worries of alzheimer's obviously went away. so what are the strategies that you can use to ward off the stress and keep your hippocampus in good shape? every time there is a fight, i look at people fighting, i say, "oh, i feel bad for your hippocampus." (audience laughing) >> doctor fotuhi: so what i, one of the things i ke to do if i ever get stressed, which doesn't happen very often, thankfully, is to meditate. i sit down in a quiet room, i close my es, i take a few deep breaths and i repeat a mantra every time i breathe out and within minutes i feel more relaxed. sometimes, when i'm busy in the office, i close the door and i give myself a 10-minute meditation time. the other point that's very

important for fighting stress is to have a positive attitude. you can see the bottle half-full or you can see it half-empty. it will not change the outcome but it sure makes a difference on how you view the life and how your brain stays stressed out or happy. the other important thing about fighting stress is for you to know your limits. there are people who can have 50 different responsibilities and still feel in control. yet, there are others who feel overwhelmed with only two or three responsibilities. people are different and you need to know your limits. you may want to push your limits a little bit but if you push too much and feel helpless and hopeless, you will not get any job done. so know your limits and work accordingly. the other thing that's important, please relax, enjoy life and laugh more often. did you know that children laugh 300 times a day?

adults only laugh 30 or 40 times a day. i wonder what happened? we take life too seriously. we need to relax, relax our shoulders, relax our mind and enjoy life. one of my recommendations is to spend more time with people who like to tell jokes and have a good sense of humor. you can also learn jokes yourself. it will serve two goals: it will help your memory, to memorize something and would also give you a chance to laugh and also will help you to create a fun environment around you. and if you can create a fun environment around you, you and other people will be less stressed and everybody will be happier. the other thing i use to make sure i don't get a stress is i get organized. at the beginning of each month, i set priorities for that month. at the beginning of each week, i set priorities for that week.

and at the beginning of each day i make myself a list of things to do. and the list has to fit in a small card. when you're organized, you feel more in control and you're less stressed. the other thing that's quite important to fight stress is to make sure you have a good night's sleep. many, many, many americans have problems with sleep. some have difficulty falling asleep, some cannot stay asleep and some wake up early in the morning. whatever the cause of your difficulty sleep is, chances are, they are treatable. most cause of sleeping problems are treatable. and taking sleeping medications really should be one of the last thing on your list of things to do for your sleep. so in summary, in this segment of the program, i hope to have convinced you that when you use your brain, you're actually increasing the volume of your brain, you're creating new synapse of your brain. your brain is a dynamic structure like your muscles.

and also, if you're happy, if you have a positive attitude and if you limit stress, you keep your hippocampus, the part of the brain important for memory in good shape. and you make sure that your hippocampus stays strong when you get to your 70s and 80s so you can fight alzheimer's then. in the next segment of the program, i'm going to tell you about the best food for your brain. i will also share with you some new information about exercise and the brain which i'm sure you've never heard before. i will be right back. (audience applauding) >> hello, i'm rhea feikin. please stay tuned for more of "fight alzheimer's early: six steps to keep your brain young" with doctor majid fotuhi. and in the next part of the show, doctor fotuhi is going to tell us how we can improve our brain health by making simple changes

to our diet and exercise routines. we'll be going back to the program in just a few minutes so please don't go away. with very direct and clear steps, doctor fotuhi is giving us some great ways to increase our chances of keeping a fit and healthy mind. doing crossword puzzles and playing games like suduku are just two examples. this special, like a lot of the programs you watch on public television, provide useful information that can improve the lives of you and the ones you love. if this is the kind of television that's important to you, we hope that you are going to call in right now and support this station with a generous pledge of financial support. you know, public television really cannot exist without your help. so won't you please call the number on your screen right now and support smart, useful tv that really does make the world a better place. and when you support us at certain membership levels, we will say thanks by offering you some terrific thank

you gifts. if you'd like to make a pledge at the $90 level, we'll say thank you with "fight alzheimer's early" dvd. now this is the program that we're watching right now but it is even better because it includes a bonus question and answer session with doctor fotuhi. and we also have a very popular "memory power combo." and here's more about it. >> please support public television and contribute to this station at the $275 pledge level. when you do, we'll say thanks by sending you the "memory power combo." you'll receive the dvd of "fight alzheimer's early" and the "crosswords to keep your brain young" book. you will also receive a copy of doctor fotuhi's, "the memory cure." this informative book tells you all about the new discoveries related to the brain, aging and memory. it also outlines a dynamic 10-step memory protection plan. we'll also send you a copy

of the "fight alzheimer's early" audio cd so that you can listen to doctor's fotuhi's advice wherever you go. please call now and support this station at the $275 level. >> this is extremely important information. i'm tony hill along with doctor majid fotuhi and i'm going to tell you in a couple of minutes how you can get a copy of that book with the crossword puzzles that will help you keep your brain sharp. doctor fotuhi, i want to ask you something that probably many people in our viewing audience experience. myself, i'm extremely busy, long hours. am i doing damage to my brain by being up for long hours and doing a lot of work? or is it only when i get into the area of stress that i'm doing damage. >> doctor fotuhi: working hard is ok, being stressed is not ok. i recommend to people to smile more often. it's ok to work a lot as long as you're happy. stress is one of the worst things for the brain. it shrinks the hippocampus, the very part of the brain for memory. on the other hand, feeling good,

having a positive attitude is one of the best things you can do foryour brain. >> tony: ok, so if you're being happy and maybe if you're happy at the work that you do, even if you're putting in long hours, not necessarily a bad thing. >> doctor fotuhi: yes, make sure you have time for your family, make sure you have time for exercise, make sure you have time for relaxation and if you still have time to work 18 hours, then do it. >> tony: alright and i'll tell you what you can do to help improve your brain and your memory and also support this station. if you want to get everything that you need to improve your memory, you can make a pledge at the $275 level and we'll send you the "memory power combo." you'll receive both the "fight alzheimer's early" dvd and the "crosswords to keep your brain young" book. you will also receive doctor fotuhi's first book which is "the memory cure." this is going to give you lots of additional information, even more tips about fighting memory loss. and we'll send you the "fight alzheimer's early" audio cd so that you can listen to doctor fotuhi wherever you go. maybe if you're stuck in the car in traffic, you can do that. also, all pledges of $80 or above, you're going to receive the "lifestyle choices to rejuvenate

your brain" key card. and i'm going to show you that there on the screen. part of it you will simply break off and put on your key chain to keep that with you. the other part goes into your wallet. so you always have those six strategies to improve your memory and keep your brain young. you have them right with you. make sure that you go to the phone and make a generous pledge as you can and please remember that no pledge is too large or too small. simply ask the operator about this station's basic membership rate. the most important thing, though, is that you call and help keep quality programming on public television. rhea? >> rhea: we're here for a very important reason today and that is to ask you to please call and support the high quality program on this public televisionstation. please just take a minute and think about all that this station brings to our community. a lot of education, some fine music and entertainment, children's programs that are just terrific and, of course, wonderful specials like this one that we're watching right now. so please give us a call and support excellent television right now. you are doing yourself a favor

because this is the kind of television you want for yourself and your family and you keep it on the air by making your pledges of support. you might want to think about making a pledge of $90 so that we can send you the "fight alzheimer's early" dvd. now i suggest that you get this because this is a program you're not going to want to watch just one time as you've done right now. you'll want to watch it again and again because you'll learn something new each time and it also has a bonus question and answer session with doctor fotuhi. and some of the questions may be the very ones that you have in mind yourself. at the $80 level, we have "crosswords to keep your brain young" book. now this book has over 120 "new york times" crossword puzzles to keep your mind sharp. doctor fotuhi uses the different aspects of crosswords in his six step program to keep your brain fit and healthy. so if you like to do crosswords, you'll get the crossword puzzles but you get a lot more when you get this book. and if you make a pledge of $160 level, we will say thank you with "fight alzheimer's

early" the dvd and "crosswords to keep your brain young" book. also want to remind you that all pledges of $80 or above are going to get the "lifestyle choices to rejuvenate your brain" key card with the small part that breaks off and goes on your key chain and the larger part that fits in your wallet. and on it are six strategies to improve your memory and to keep your brain young. please remember to put your pledge on a charge card and remember also that these membership levels are really just suggestions. we want you to feel free to pledge whatever amount you can afford, any amount that you're comfortable with. just ask the phone operator about this station's basic membership level. it really doesn't matter how much you pledge, as long as you do pledge. we want to make our public television family grow and be stronger and be able to continue to bring you wonderful programs like this and many, many more in the future. >> i'm going to tell you how you can get a copy of the program and a copy of the crosswords book in a moment but doctor fotuhi, let me ask you a question, lots of us have long days

and a lot of stress and we worry about whether or not we're going to get alzheimer's. if there is one thing we can do to make sure that we don't or at least stave it off, is it to stop worrying? >> doctor fotuhi: stress is one of the worst things for your brain so if you do one thing is please minimize stress in your life. be happy. and the other thing that is really good for your brain is to exercise. when you exercise as you will see in this program, you increase certain proteins in your brain and they keep your brain cells happy and sharp. so simple lifestyle modifications can make a huge difference on whether you become a forgetful person who's always unhappy or whether you stay sharp and always eager to learn. the stronger your brain, the better you function and the better you feel. >> tony: you also said when you go into the program, you're going to be talking about some of those foods that help you with your brain as well. >> doctor fotuhi: yes, most people know that certain foods affect the heart but most people don't realize that the food they eat has an important impact

on their brain. there are certain foods that are really bad for you; for example, high salt, high sugar diet are really bad. but there are also good foods like fish, like fruits and vegetables and i'll tell you about it in the next session. >> tony: alright, we want to tell you at home what you can do as well to improve our being able to bring you programs like this again and again and again. and that's why going to your phone and making a pledge. when you do that at the $275 level, we'll send you the "memory power combo." you're going to receive both the "fight alzheimer's early" dvd and the "crosswords to keep your brain young" book. you will also receive doctor fotuhi's first book, "the memory cure." and this will give you even more tips and information about fighting memory loss and we'll send you the "fight alzheimer's early" audio cd so that you can listen to doctor fotuhi wherever you go. if you happen to be stuck in the car in traffic, you can get some information to help you with your memory so please go to your phone and call and make a pledge. rhea? >> rhea: thank you very much. this is such an optimistic program to realize that your brain can grow.

that you can do good things for your heart and for your brain and all at the same time. i don't know about you but i feel that i have learned so much and i feel prepared to do something about it, to keep my brain in shape. you know, we all work out, we do all these kinds of things and worry about our health, and this is a way to worry about our brain health and that is really why this program, i think, i so valuable. i hope that you're going to stay tuned for more of "fight alzheimer's early" with doctor majid fotuhi and i hope also that you're going to think about making a pledge. maybe $90 to get the dvd of "fight alzheimer's early" or $80 to get the "crosswords to keep your brain young" book. or $160 to get the "fight alzheimer's early" dvd and the "crosswords to keep your brain young" book. and, of course, at the $275 level, our "memory power combo" which is everything that we've talked about. we hope that you'll like the next part of the program. we hope most of all that you're going to call and make a pledge.

(audience applauding) >> doctor fotuhi: in the first two segments of the program, i have shared with you four of the six steps to help you fight alzheimer's early. we talked about how you should not take memory lapses seriously. we talked about how improving your heart health is good for your brain health. we also talked about how hobbies and brain stimulation can increase the number of synapses in your brain and can actually increase the size of your brain. finally, we talked about the importance of laughter, about enjoying life. in this last segment of the program, i want to talk

to you about diet and exercise. i want to share with you a diet that would be most helpful for your brain health. so step five in this six-step program is: richard is a successful businessman in his 50s. last year, he went to see his doctor for a regular check-up. the doctor said, "you have metabolic syndrome." now he had never heard of that syndrome before. it turned out that he was overweight, his cholesterol levels were high. more specifically, his bad cholesterol levels were high and his good cholesterol levels were low. his blood sugar was slightly elevated and he had high blood pressure. he was surprised. he thought he was in good shape. so he was really taken by this information and he decided

to cut out all the junk food from his diet. every morning he prepared himself a freshly squeezed fruit juice. and he never touched pretzels or chips. over one year, he lost a few pounds, his cholesterol improved and his blood sugar improved. he went back to his doctor and the doctor said, "yeah, you don't have metabolic syndrome any more. you were successful in improving your health and no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome." he was happy. but then he had noticed that in doing the kind of lifestyle changes he had pursued for treatment of his overall health, his memory had improved. and he said "dr. fotuhi, is it possible that the change in my diet may be responsible for why i feel sharper?" and the answer is, of course, yes. diet can affect your memory and your brain function both

today and in the long run. those of you who have a salty pretzel or you eat a sweetened soda and feel that your mind is cloggy and foggy, you know very well that the diet can affect your brain within hours. but did you know that the diet can affect your brain in the long-run? there is, in fact, a close link between diet and the affects of aging. three things happen with aging: atherosclerosis, clumping of some proteins, as well as inflammation. and a good diet that addresses these issues can reduce your risk of alzheimer's disease by more than 50%. so let's go over each of those factors and let me tell you how diet can affect each of those issues. let's begin with atherosclerosis. atherosclerosis means

the narrowing of the blood vessels because of cholesterol plaques. when you eat a diet which is high in cholesterol and high in sugar, cholesterol plaques form which narrow your blood vessels. your brain weighs only three pounds. your brain weighs about 2% of your body weight. but did you know that your brain consumes 20% of the blood that comes out of your heart? your brain is hungry, is thirsty for good, fresh blood. and if you have atherosclerosis, you block all these blood vessels which limit the amount of blood that goes to your brain. how can you prevent that? well, eat a diet that will not increase your cholesterol. and many of you are familiar, if you eat hamburgers every day, that will not be good for your cholesterol levels. but more importantly, please, be careful about salt and sugar.

our diets in united states are extremely rich in salt and sugar. we consume far more salt and sugar than we need. so when you have choices, please choose low salt food and cut back on sweetened sodas. cut back on the amount of glucose you consume. the second factor with aging is accumulation of certain proteins. we don't know why but some proteins such as amyloid have a tendency to accumulate to aggregate and form clumps. we call these amyloid plaques. they don't happen in the blood vessels, they happen inside the brain. many pharmaceutical companies are trying to develop drugs to reduce the amount of amyloid produced and increase the amount of amyloid from the plaques.

but there is one herb, one spice, which may actually help you reduce the amount of amyloid plaques. and it's called curry cumin. curcumin is the indian spice you taste when you eat curry chicken. i was recently traveling to japan giving lectures at different universities. and when i was in kanazawa university, doctor yamata and his colleagues were showing me the results of their experiments with curcumin and these amyloid plaques. they were showing me pictures of how, when they add curcumin to the clumps of amyloid, the clumps resolve and dissolve and open up. this may be the reason why alzheimer's disease is not as common in india as it is here. did you know that indians have a quarter incidence of alzheimer's than we do in the united states? it's not clear why but curcumin

may be one of the reasons. there are clinical trials now in progress to determine whether giving people curcumin will heal and will treat early alzheimer's disease. until these results become available, we cannot make specific recommendations. but i think it's fair to say if you have a choice of adding some spice to your food, you may want to consider curcumin as an option. third factor which happens with aging and which can be dealt with with diet is inflammation. you have all heard how inflammation happens in your joints and causes arthritis, how inflammation can happen to your skin and cause skin wrinkles. well, some degree of inflammation can happen to your brain for the same reason it happens to the joints and the skin. and diet can affect that. fruits and vegetables are high

in antioxidant vitamins. and these antioxidant vitamins can reduce the amount of inflammation in your joints, in your skin and in your brain. so many studies have shown that people who eat fruits and vegetables four or five times a day reduce the risk of alzheimer's from 50 to 70%. this is almost too good to be true but i can tell you as a part of a team at johns hopkins doing this research. we now know that people who take vitamin e in combination with vitamin c cut their risk of alzheimer's disease by 68%. and this is consistent with the results from other groups. so there is plenty of evidence that fruits and vegetables and especially antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin e and vitamin c, are good for your brain. now, let me ask you, do

you think there is a food that would affect all the three steps i talked to you about? is there a food that can affect atherosclerosis, that can reduce the amyloid load in the brain and can reduce inflammation? it turns out that the omega-3 fatty acids such as dha can affect all those three steps. dha can reduce your triglyceride levels which improves your heart health and improves blood flow to the brain. dha, in some studies, reduces the amyloid load in the brain and dha can reduce the inflammation in the brain. so i think that the best brain food is dha. did you know that your brain, your brain is made, in part, from dha? 15% percent of your brain is made up of dha. dha is important for brain

development. that's why we add dha to infant formula. many research studies have shown that people who have alzheimer's disease, people who have depression, people who have chronic fatigue syndrome have low levels of dha. so what is the recommendation that i think most neuroscientists and heart specialists agree on? eating fish two or three times a week is really good for your heart and for your brain. so what is the best diet to rejuvenate your brain and keep your brain young? well, you need to eat four or five pieces of fruits and vegetables every day. i recommend that you put a bowl of fruits on your kitchen table. and every time you need a snack, reach for an apple or reach for a pear. a glass of wine with dinner is great. but remember, only one glass with dinner. when you cook, you can use fresh fruits and vegetables.

and again, these are high in antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin e and vitamin c. eating fish two or three times a week is particularly good for your brain. it contains dha which is the brain food. olive oil which is one of the main features of the mediterranean diet, is also high in vitamin e and i recommend that you use that when you cook. drinking milk is, of course, good for you not only because it has calcium and vitamin d which is good for your bones but it also has b12 in it. you may want to eat meat and chicken also two or three times a week to make sure you have enough b12 levels. eating a high fiber diet such as bread which is high grain is particularly good for your cholesterol. high fiber diet increases your good cholesterol

and reduces your bad cholesterol and, therefore, is good both for your heart and for your brain. and whatever you do, please don't eat too much. now, let me move and talk to you about the next segment of this program which is exercise. i believe that exercise is indeed one of the best ways you can improve blood flow to your brain and improve your brain health. did you know that exercise is a lot better for your brain than it is for your heart? so if you've been thinking about exercising, now you have an additional incentive to do that. let me tell you about one of my patients who came to see me, again, with concern for alzheimer's disease. she's a very lovely lady in her 70s, a retired librarian who has only mild memory problems. but she's particularly concerned because two of her sisters and her mother were diagnosed

with alzheimer's disease and she wanted to know all she could do to ward off and prevent alzheimer's for herself. she was doing crossword puzzles, she was careful about her diet. she wanted to know what else she could do. and my recommendation for her was "exercise." exercise has many affects on the brain. as i mentioned to you, exercise improves blood flow and the more blood flow to your brain, the happier your brain cells would be. exercise actually increases the number of new blood vessels in your brain. it causes generation of new blood vessels so that deeper corner of your brain can get blood supply. exercise can also have a direct effect in the brain. when you exercise, levels of healing proteins in the brain go up. these proteins are called growth factors and one of them is called, "brain-derived

neurotrophic factor." i like to think of it as fertilizer for brain cells. (audience laughing) >> doctor fotuhi: so my recommendations for you is, please, if you've been thinking about exercise, please, just do it. start easy. you may want to park your car a little further away and then walk. you may want to take steps more often. and what i usually do, when i go on a elliptical machine or a treadmill, i'm thinking about my hippocampus. (audience laughing) >> doctor fotuhi: i am telling you i say, "way to go hippocampus." (audience laughing) >> doctor fotuhi: so remember exercise helps you live longer, it improves your brain health, it also make you healthier physically. you feel stronger and more importantly, you feel more confident. it is really important for you in the short-term and in the long-term. many people say, "well, i'm too old for that." doctor carl cotman in california

addressed that question specifically. can you teach old dogs new tricks? he actually did that. he divided 60 old beagles into 4 groups. one group didn't do anything. they just minded their own business. one group received an antioxidant diet. a third group received a lot of physical and mental stimulation and a fourth, what i call deluxe group, received both a good diet and good brain stimulation. as you can imagine, the group that received the diet and exercise treatment did a lot better than any of the other groups as would be expected for me anyway. and this is not surprising. those of you who go to gym and see some of the elderly running and being in good shape know that they are doing things to improve their health and they are not using age as an excuse.

and please, don't do that. you can improve your brain at any age. and diet and exercise are particularly important. every day you do something to take care of your teeth. please, every day, do something to improve your brain health. you can do it and it's easy. i hope i've convinced you. it is easy. well, let's review the six steps that we've been talking about. if you are a baby boomer, the chance that you'll have alzheimer's disease is less than 1%. and more importantly, there are things that you could do to ward off, to delay the onset of alzheimer disease decades later. the sooner you begin, the better it is. the things that are good for your heart are also good for your brain. it is really easy to create and use synapses and to increase the size of your brain; dancing, crossword puzzles, doing mental gymnastics when

you're stuck in traffic. you need to be relaxed, you need to enjoy life. i think it's a good deal, enjoy life. (audience laughing) >> doctor fotuhi: no, i don't want to enjoy life. please, take it easy on yourself and on people around you. enjoy life. it's good for you in the short-term and in the long-term. and when you want to reach for a snack, reach for an apple, reach for a grape. exercise truly boosts your brain power. exercise causes the generation of new blood vessels. so you have more blood flow through big vessels and you have new blood vessels to feed your brain. it also causes the release of healing proteins, feel good proteins. it reduces your risk of a stroke by 57%. no other drug can do that.

now, let me share with you some strategies you can use to incorporate these lifestyle modifications on a daily basis. be exited about your brain and your brain health and improving the quality of your brain over time. do not decide to change everything in one day. you may start with simple exercise or simple changes in your diet. write down how much you walk in a week. and when you reach certain milestones, give yourself a reward - go shopping, go to a trip, buy yourself something you always wanted. enjoy life, be relaxed, laugh. above all, please don't waste your time worrying about alzheimer's disease. worrying will not change anything.

the time you spend worrying, you can do things to improve your brain health. if you want to ward off alzheimer's disease decades later, you need to start your fight today. my name is doctor fotuhi. thank you very much. (applause) >> that's great, television that's entertaining and will actually help you and those around you. hi, i'm tony hill, and dr. fotuhi has shown us many different ways in which we can sharpen our memory and improve our general health and well-being. and a lot of them are really fun to do, and that's a good thing as well, like the crossword puzzles. we hope that this program has inspired you, and we hope that you now use these last remaining moments to call and lend your support to public television. please make a generous contribution to this station and help us bring you more informative and entertaining programs like this one on fighting alzheimer's. remember that whenever you turn your tv on and watch great shows on public television you help to make it possible.

and that's a terrific feeling that you'll never forget. and when you support us at certain membership levels we'll say thanks by offering you some very useful thank you gifts. here's more about them. >> announcer: help combat memory loss and support public television. call the number on your screen and make a generous financial contribution to this station. when you contribute $90, we'll say thank you with a copy of "fight alzheimer's early: six steps to keep your brain young" on dvd. it contains a bonus question and answer session with dr. majid fotuhi. make a pledge of $80 and we'll send you dr. fotuhi's book, "crosswords to keep your brain young," the six step age-defying program. if you would both, the crosswords book and dvd of the show, please make a contribution of $160 and we'll send you both. help support this show and all the other great programs that you watch all year long on public television. please call now.

>> i'm rhea feikin here with dr. fotuhi. you have such a positive attitude that is absolutely contagious! have you always been so positive? >> dr. fotuhi: i feel quite passionate about this subject. i think that there are so many things people can do to stay younger, to stay sharper,