Heart expert: dementia may start in your blood vessels — here’s how to prevent it. | Dr. William Li

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55 million people suffer dementia worldwide with numbers expected to double every 20 years. Understanding the link between our heart health and brain function is critical, illuminating the profound impact that heart health has on preventing dementia.

Dr. William Li is an expert in cardiovascular and metabolic health. He reveals how caring for our heart is not just about longevity but maintaining sharp, effective brain function as we age. His groundbreaking work has impacted more than seventy diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Dr. Li is also a New York Times best-selling author.

In today’s episode, Dr. Li explains how simple lifestyle choices in diet, exercise and sleep can drastically shape our brain's health and stave off dementia.

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Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
01:15 Quickfire questions
03:59 Understanding dementia and Alzheimer's disease
05:24 Symptoms distinguishing dementia from ageing
07:10 The role of blood vessels in brain health
08:31 How circulation affects brain function
10:07 What causes blood clots and strokes?
11:18 What is the blood-brain barrier?
11:59 The importance of maintaining healthy blood vessels
13:18 The impact of lifestyle choices on brain health
16:20 What happens in our brains when we sleep?
20:51 What is the glymphatic system?
23:54 Vascular dementia may be the most common form of dementia
25:51 The role of glucose in brain function
28:25 What causes dementia and why does it happen when we get older?
30:13 Preventing dementia with lifestyle changes
32:33 What are healthy blood vessels like?
40:36 The surprising role of EPCs in brain repair
44:17 Can you slow down or reverse dementia?
50:09 Using food as medicine
52:08 The connection between gut health and brain health
54:30 The importance of exercise for brain health
59:26 How to avoid dementia
01:04:12 The link between mental health and cardiovascular disease

📚 Dr. William Li’s books:
Eat to Beat Disease: https://amzn.to/3Vf8ar9
Eat to Beat Your Diet: https://amzn.to/3VhEPwq

📚 Books from our ZOE Scientists:
Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati: https://amzn.to/4blJsLg
Recipes for a Better Menopause by Dr Federica Amati: https://amzn.to/4aAzox0
Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector: https://amzn.to/455DqMz

Relevant studies:
A human brain vascular atlas reveals diverse mediators of Alzheimer’s risk, published in Nature
Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158...

Heart-brain connections: Phenotypic and genetic insights from magnetic resonance images, published in Science
Link: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...

Cocoa flavanol consumption improves cognitive function, blood pressure control, and metabolic profile in elderly subjects: the Cocoa, Cognition, and Aging (CoCoA) Study—a randomized controlled trial, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...

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Episode transcripts are available here: https://zoe.com/learn/category/podcasts