Why Am I Interested In Brain Health & Nutrition?

In 2023 my father passed away with Dementia. Seeing a person decline with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is not an easy thing to experience. I wanted to learn more about the brain and how we can look after it. During the early stages of my degree Dementia Canterbury held a brain health symposium with some super intelligent professionals as speakers. I had an exam on that day, but I really wanted to go, so I asked to do my exam early!

Inspiring Speakers

At the symposium we heard from Yoron Rick via video link about the Mediterranean Diet. We also heard from about six professionals involved in either brain research or other areas of health related to dementia risk or prevention. The speaker that inspired me the most was Dr Helen Murray. While she spoke about head injuries and dementia, I found everything that she had to say and what everyone else had to say incredibly fascinating. I took a lot of notes and still have them!

Different Types of Dementia

I went and spoke to Dr Helen Murray afterwards, and she was very approachable – hence my interest in this area of brain health was born. Initially my interest came from my father having dementia. Through that I learned that there are many different types of dementia. I had understood that my father had vascular dementia, which was probably caused by a lifelong habit of smoking (since the age of around 12 to about 78).

Problematic Proteins

Throughout the whole symposium I heard a lot about tau proteins and beta amyloid proteins, and where they are formed in the brain. My father had been a heavy smoker and drank alcohol quite a lot in the past. He also used to be interested in boxing and did a bit of social boxing down at the pub. All of these factors were not a good combination for avoiding or preventing dementia and I couldn’t help wondering how his lifestyle and all these factors had impacted his brain and the development of dementia.

From Loss Into Learning

After my father passed, I donated his brain to the Human Brain Bank. Originally his body was going to go to the University of Otago for scientific research, but ultimately his brain was given to the Human Brain Bank for research. I got in contact with Dr Helen Murray, whom I have spoken to a few times, and started the process. I have also spoken to her colleague Professor Maurice Curtis who helped with the arrangements of receiving a brain.

The pathology report came through about 18 months later and with all the information that they knew about him. What they found from the research that was carried out, they could confirm that he did indeed have dementia with age-related changes to the tau proteins and a build up of amyloid proteins in the walls of the arteries of the brain.

Looking After Your Brain

Hearing about tau proteins and beta amyloid proteins may not be everybody’s cup of tea or coffee, but for me, I found all this incredibly fascinating. This is why I developed a strong interest in brain health.

If you want to look after your brain there are several different ways that you can do that, including doing some physical exercise every day and eating whole, real and nutritious food. For example, blueberries and walnuts are super good for your brain. You will be able to read more about the foods that are good for your brain and the Mediterranean Diet in my future blogs.