6 dementia fighting tips from Dr Sanjay Gupta and Marc Milstein, experts on brain health – walk, talk, read, learn, relax, and eat and drink properly

TV doctor and brain surgeon Sanjay Gupta and The Age-Proof Brain author Marc Milstein offer tips for how to protect the brain against cognitive decline

From eating well and not drinking too much alcohol, to being socially engaged and exercising regularly, we consider their steps for staving off dementia

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We can protect ourselves against the risk of dementia with some simple lifestyle practices. Exercising (above), eating a good diet, drinking less alcohol, socialising, reading more and trying new things all help keep the brain sharp, say brain experts including Dr Sanjay Gupta. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:15pm, 13 Mar 2023Updated: 6:12pm, 25 Apr 2023

This is the fifth instalment in a series on dementia, including the research into its causes and treatment, advice for carers, and stories of hope.

Before my mother presented with Alzheimer’s, I didn’t give the disease much thought. If I forgot something, I’d roll my eyes, laugh, and ask, “What am I like?” Or excuse myself as having had a senior moment. And then I’d forget about that, too.

Now when I forget something – anything – I’m seized by fear. You don’t think about dementia until you have to. And then it’s almost all you think about. I’m terrified I might one day suffer with what my mother suffers today.

More and more, though, the science tells us there are ways to protect ourselves – the experts speak of “modifiable risks”, things you can do something about. As my mother recedes more into some place where I cannot reach her, I grow increasingly determined to understand those risks better, and do more to protect myself.

Dr Sanjay Gupta is a US-based practising neurosurgeon and writer, who has written a number of bestselling books, including Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age and his most recent book, 12 Weeks to a Sharper You.

The cover of one of Dr Sanjay Gupta’s book. Photo: Simon & Schuster

The cover of Marc Milstein’s book. Photo: Marc Milstein

Marc Milstein, a global speaker on optimising brain health, recently published The Age-Proof Brain. Here are some of the preventive measures both authors suggest we implement now to reduce the risk of cognitive decline later.

Anthea Rowan

Anthea Rowan has written for papers and magazines on almost every continent and on a huge variety of subjects, from travel in Africa to mental illness in the States to education in Europe. Her work has appeared in The Times in London, the Washington Post in America and regularly in the South China Morning Post. She is the author of A Silent Tsunami: Swimming Against the Tide of My Mother’s Dementia.

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