Dr. Annie Fenn - Protect Your Brain-One Meal at a Time

Transcript with time code:  https://cuttingedgehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Transcript-49-Dr-Annie-Fenn.pdf

In this episode of the Cutting Edge Health: Preventing Cognitive Decline Podcast, host Jane Rogers interviews Dr. Annie Fenn, a former OBGYN who shifted careers after her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis to focus on preventing cognitive decline through nutrition. Dr. Fenn founded the Brain Health Kitchen and now educates others about the connection between food and brain health. She discusses the MIND diet, a scientifically-backed, brain-specific adaptation of the Mediterranean diet, highlighting 10 brain-healthy food groups—such as berries, leafy greens, nuts, legumes, and olive oil—and emphasizing the need to limit processed foods, red meat, and alcohol.

Think moderate drinking, especially red wine, is good for your brain? Dr. Annie Fenn challenges this long-held belief, citing groundbreaking research like the UK Biobank study. Discover the shocking truth: even moderate alcohol consumption (defined as 1 drink/day for women, 2 for men) can shrink your brain faster. Learn why this level is too much for healthy brain aging and why those with cognitive concerns should avoid alcohol altogether. Rethink your drink for better brain health!

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ANNIE FENN is 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 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.

Dr. Fenn hosts Brain Health Retreats in Italy, Mexico, and Costa Rica. She writes Brain Health Kitchen, a twice-weekly newsletter on Substack to a large community of food-loving brain health enthusiasts, where she provides cooking classes, in-depth lifestyle guides, and recipes. Dr. Fenn is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Cincinnati and Harvard University, where she lectures young adults and medical students about brain health. Fenn lives in Jackson, Wyoming, where she enjoys skiing, cycling, foraging for mushrooms and berries, and exploring the Teton mountains with her husband and dogs.

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Special thanks to Alan and Maria on the Cutting Edge Health team!