If you’re an agebuzz reader, you likely understand the direct connection between what you eat and how well you’re aging– especially how your brain functions. While you likely have a sense of a healthy diet, there is a science behind the nutrition available from specific foods and the aging of your brain, including what you can do to lower your risk of dementia.

If keeping your brain healthy and sharp matters to you (don’t we all want this?), then you need to know about Dr. Annie Fenn, a physician, chef, and author of The Brain Health Kitchen: Preventing Alzheimer’s Through Food (Artisan 2023), a science-based cookbook and care manual for the brain. She founded the Brain Health Kitchen, the only cooking school of its kind focused exclusively on helping people prevent cognitive decline through food and lifestyle. After twenty years as a board-certified ob-gyn, she traded in her stethoscope for an apron to pursue her passion for the culinary arts. But it was her mother’s diagnosis with dementia that helped Fenn find her path and her new calling, one that enabled her to not only help her mother but also create significant and meaningful impact for others.

agebuzz Managing Editor Connie Zuckerman recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Fenn about her work, her insights, and her recommendations for keeping your brain sharp and strong as you get older.

CZ: Dr. Fenn, Thank you so much for sharing your work and insights with agebuzz readers! How did you originally develop an interest in food and cooking? Did you grow up in a household where eating well was prioritized?

AF: Just like a lot of kids in the 1960s and ’70s, I grew up on a junk food diet. My mom was a good cook, but she embraced all the new convenience foods available—frozen dinners, boxed cereal, cake mixes, processed snacks, sugary drinks. But I was fortunate to live near my grandparents who were from Sicily and ate a traditional diet. My grandmother introduced me to foods I didn’t eat at home like lentils and cauliflower and homemade pasta. When I was 16 I lived with a family in Spain as an exchange student, my first experience of being truly immersed in the Mediterranean diet. When I came home from Spain I started cooking all of my own meals, and I have been cooking ever since. 

CZ: You trained in medicine to be an OB/GYN and then practiced for 20 years. What led you to completely shift your focus to brain health issues and to pursue a culinary career?

AF: Working as a gynecologist specializing in menopause is what sparked my interest in brain health decades ago. My patients told me not just about hot flashes and night sweats but also about changes in cognitive function. I became very interested in how the brain changes during menopause. When I retired from my practice to focus on my family, I was itching to do something more creative than medicine. I enrolled in culinary programs in Mexico, Italy, and at the Culinary Institute of America. I was pursuing a passion for cooking but also dreaming of opening a cooking school that would help people eat better and fend off chronic diseases. 

CZ: You have revealed that your mother initially had symptoms of mild cognitive impairment, and subsequently a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Did this influence your career pivot? How has food played a role in your mother’s care and daily life since her diagnosis?

AF: When my mom was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) I was already teaching healthy cooking in my community. I had just created the culinary program for the U.S.’s first community hospital-based dementia prevention program. So I was already accessing the current research on how dietary patterns impact Alzheimer’s and dementia risk. The first thing I did when my mom was diagnosed was to get rid of all the processed foods in her kitchen. I put her on the MIND diet and she still eats that way to this day. I have no way of knowing if this helped slow her decline over the last 10 years, but she is still living at home with the help of caregivers. Back when my mom was diagnosed, it truly gave me an epiphany: my mission was to use my medical background and culinary skills to help people cook and eat in a way that reduces Alzheimer’s risk. 

CZ: What are your daily habits and strategies for “nourishing” your brain? What daily essentials do you recommend we all consider to keep our brains healthy and sharp?

AF: I think of brain-healthy living as a stool with four legs; brain-healthy eating and exercise are the foundation, the seat, but they need these 4 things to support them—social connection, sleep, stress mitigation, and preventive medicine. Most of what I eat comes from the 10 brain-healthy food groups in the MIND diet study, which I adapted into the BHK Food Guidelines in my book. I try to eat something from these food groups every day: berries, leafy greens, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. I drink coffee and green tea every day. I am serious about getting enough sleep; I try to go to bed at the same time each night and get at least 7 hours. I exercise every day. Sometimes all I have time for is a brisk walk with my dogs, but I am committed to strength training three times a week and incorporating cardio into sports I love, like hiking, biking, and skiing. My days are really full so I have to schedule time each day to meditate for about 15 minutes. And I touch base with friends and family every day, whether it’s texting with my adult kids or meeting a friend for a quick coffee break. As for preventive medicine, I stay on top of target numbers for things like LDL cholesterol and blood sugar, and get regular hearing loss screening. 

CZ: What are the “must-have” foods that should be in everyone’s diet to keep your brain functioning as best as possible?

AF: I like to have people think of brain-healthy food groups, not superfoods. There is not one food—like goji berries or Lions’ mane mushrooms—that will protect you from Alzheimer’s and help your brain function better now. There are, however, food groups with ample science to back them up: berries, leafy greens, vegetables, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, extra-virgin olive oil, poultry, fish and seafood, and certain drinks (coffee and tea). Certain foods are neuroprotective—they provide nutrients that block oxidative stress in the brain and actually slow down brain aging. Other foods accelerate brain aging. People who follow a pattern of eating that includes neuroprotective foods and limit or avoid brain-harming foods age with better brain health.

CZ: How do you balance healthy eating for your brain while still allowing yourself an occasional “unhealthy” treat?

AF: Occasional indulgences, like enjoying a chocolate croissant while traveling, won’t have a major impact on long-term brain health. So I give myself permission to enjoy treats and I don’t worry about it. If these become everyday indulgences, like eating a chocolate croissant every day for breakfast, it becomes part of the dietary pattern and can impact metabolic health, heart health, and brain health. I used to have a tremendous sweet tooth but I stopped craving sweets when I started paying attention to the sugar content of what I was consuming, like the sugar in my coffee. Once these things are weaned from the diet, the taste buds really do adapt and now most things taste too sweet for my liking. I still bake cookies and cakes and other treats but use all brain-healthy ingredients, like whole grain or nut flour instead of all-purpose white flour, olive oil instead of butter for a more brain-friendly fat profile, and using less sugar and natural forms of sugar. All my treats are strategically rich in fiber—which slows the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream and makes them more satiating. 

CZ: Is there a special diet you recommend if someone is diagnosed with cognitive impairment? Or as a way to lower the risk of transitioning from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s?

AF: There is data to support eating a brain-protective diet such as the MIND diet to slow the progression of mild impairment to Alzheimer’s, so yes, this is a must for anyone with MCI. One caveat is alcohol. Although a small serving of red wine is part of the MIND and Mediterranean diets, the latest data shows that even moderate drinking can shrink the brain more than not drinking at all. For someone with MCI, it is best to avoid alcohol.

CZ: Are cooking techniques a factor in supporting your brain health or is it only the ingredients you ingest?

AF: Yes, it’s important to cook foods gently, what I like to call “brain-friendly” cooking techniques. When food is processed or cooked with high or direct heat (like frying, searing, or grilling directly over heat), it creates inflammatory particles called advanced glycation end products or AGEs. These particles seep into the bloodstream and cross the blood-brain barrier, inciting inflammation in the brain. AGEs accumulate in the brain cells of persons with Alzheimer’s and are associated with age-related cognitive decline. To avoid them, limit or entirely avoid ultra-processed foods (especially processed meats and dairy products). When you cook, think LOW and SLOW—low heat, slow cooking, braising, poaching, steaming, indirect grilling. Air-frying is probably preferable to frying. Not only do these methods reduce AGE formation, but they also help the food retain its brain health nutrients.  

CZ: What’s your opinion on adding vitamins or supplements to your diet to help boost your nutritional intake?

AF: Although consistently eating a brain-healthy diet is most important, supplements can definitely help fill in the gaps of what you may be missing in your diet. I believe in strategic supplementation. This means individualizing any supplements you may take based on the gaps in your diet and your personal health. For example, if you don’t eat fish and seafood or aren’t hitting target levels for brain health (1 to 2 servings a week), there is a strong argument for taking supplemental omega-3s (DHA and EPA) in fish or algae oil. If you are vegetarian, vegan, or consume very few animal products, consider taking vitamin B12 and check blood levels to make sure you are getting enough. Same with vitamin D—most adults are deficient for numerous reasons, but you can supplement and check a blood test to make sure you’re on top of it. And don’t forget protein—we now have data to suggest that it’s important to maintain muscle mass to fend off dementia. Most older adults don’t get enough protein in their diet, so protein powders may be a smart supplement to consider. But beware of supplements that claim to boost your cognitive function; most are quoting promising results from animal studies or short-term human studies that aren’t followed long enough to sort out the placebo effect. One large clinical trial did find that taking a multivitamin may reduce dementia risk in adults over 65. This “kitchen sink” approach is fine as a public health policy, but for an individual, I believe that personalizing your supplement regimen is a smarter approach. 

I should also mention that I serve on the scientific advisory board (an unpaid position), along with a number of Alzheimer’s experts, of a brain health nutrition company. One of their products is a brain health multivitamin.