The human brain is the seat of memory, identity and decision-making—yet few treat its health with the same seriousness as heart or lung function.
For Harvard neuroscientist Dr. Rudy Tanzi, one of the world’s most-cited Alzheimer’s researchers, that imbalance is set to become a public health crisis.
“We now have the longest life span in history, but our brain health span isn’t keeping up,” Tanzi told Newsweek. “This is especially true as our life span continues to increase.”
Tanzi directs the McCance Center for Brain Health at Massachusetts General Hospital and serves as a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. He has spent four decades studying the biological roots of Alzheimer’s disease and advocating for proactive brain-health strategies. His message is: wait until symptoms appear, and you may already be too late.
At the heart of Tanzi’s advocacy is a framework of preventive strategies—some simple, all science-backed—that target the twin threats behind cognitive decline: amyloid plaque buildup and neuroinflammation.
“Amyloid build-up is the match that lights the tangles, which spread like brush fires and ultimately initiate a wildfire called neuroinflammation,” Tanzi said. “The goal is to blow out the match…and quell the wildfire.”
Tanzi and his peers say that brain health is not determined by genetics alone. It is shaped by daily choices too. Here are three natural, expert-endorsed approaches to safeguarding your brain, drawn from the work of leading neurologists and neuroscientists across the field.
Master Your Lifestyle
At the McCance Center, Tanzi developed the SHIELD mnemonic to simplify the most-powerful lifestyle interventions: Sleep, Handling stress, Interaction with friends, Exercise, Learning new things and Diet.
“Nearly half of dementia cases could be delayed or prevented by addressing modifiable risk factors,” Tanzi said.
Sleep: Getting 7 to 8 hours is essential, not just for energy, but also for neurological cleaning.
Sleep serves to clear away the plaques that lead to cognitive decline.
Handle stress: Cortisol, the hormone released during stress, can damage neurons and accelerate plaque formation.
Stress also produces the hormone cortisol, which can kill brain cells and trigger brain inflammation, which is an even-bigger killer of brain cells. Tanzi recommends trying meditation to lower stress levels.
Interact with people you like: Loneliness increases the risk for dementia. Interaction with close friends—even via phone or video—activates key cognitive networks.
Exercise: Exercise also reduces excess amyloid in the brain, creating the birth of new nerve cells.
Amyloid plaques are sticky clumps of protein fragments in the brain that can kill nerve cells and the inflammation it induces, which causes 10 times more cell death.
“A recent study showed that each 1,000 steps you take in a day—with an upper limit, of course—delays cognitive and functional decline by one year,” Tanzi said. “For example, walking 3,000 steps every day can delay decline by three years.”
Learn new things: Lifelong learning builds synaptic connections—essential scaffolding for brain resilience.
Diet: The Mediterranean diet, rich in plants, healthy fats, fiber and proteins, not only fuels the body but also supports the gut microbiome, which in turn protects the brain.
“A perfect food for breakfast is granola, giving you whole grains, and yogurt, which feeds your gut microbiome,” Tanzi said.
Watch Your Vascular and Metabolic Health
“Diabetes, heart disease and stroke contribute to poor brain health,” Tanzi added.
The connection lies in inflammation and blood flow. Tracking key health markers—blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar—can help prevent the conditions that accelerate neurodegeneration.
Dr. David Traster, chief clinical officer at the Neurologic Wellness Institute, noted that midlife metabolic risks—including obesity and sleep apnea—are among the top risk factors for dementia.
“Higher physical activity is linked to a 30—40 percent lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia, including Alzheimer’s,” Traster told Newsweek.
Intermittent fasting, he added, is a promising tool.
“It improves blood pressure, reduces inflammation, and lowers oxidative stress…And supports the brain’s cleanup process for damaged cells and waste,” Traster said.
Among the popular approaches: the 16:8 method, which limits eating to an 8-hour daily window.
Nourish the Brain Naturally—With Food, Oxygen and Movement
Diet remains a foundational element of brain health.
“What’s good for the gut is good for the brain,” Tanzi said.
He emphasized reducing processed foods, which feed harmful bacteria, and increasing fiber-rich plants to support a healthier gut-brain axis.
While many supplements are ineffective, Tanzi has backed omega-3 fatty acids, ideally from algae sources to avoid heavy metals found in fish oils. These fats reduce inflammation and support brain cell membrane function.
Certified neurology nurse Kiara DeWitt emphasized the importance of cerebral oxygenation.
“I believe that the best natural intervention is adequate cerebral perfusion,” DeWitt told Newsweek.
She highlighted movement, diaphragmatic breathing, and sleep ergonomics as key to ensuring consistent blood delivery to the brain’s most-vital areas.
“Ten hours slumped over a desk with one hand in your coffee is no rest for that brain,” DeWitt said. “In fact, in this state, it is atrophy at rest.”
She also champions glymphatic drainage—a system that clears metabolic waste from the brain during deep sleep.
“Sleep consistency is more important than just duration. I think a two-hour swing could be the difference between sufficient clearance or chronic inflammation,” DeWitt said.
Small Habits, Lifelong Impact
Access to ongoing learning, meaningful relationships, and environments that support both nutrition, and movement repeatedly came up as the best ways to naturally protect the brain’s condition.
“Adequate nutrition is a vital component of brain health,” said Dr. Jon Stewart Hao Dy, a board-certified neurologist, told Newsweek. “Learning leads to cognitive stimulation.
“Cognitive stimulation leads to a better cognitive reserve. A better cognitive reserve leads to a significantly lower risk of developing dementia in later life.”
Tanzi echoed that sentiment, urging action before decline begins.
“Your brain holds all your memories, your relationships, your intelligence,” he said. “But with age, that tapestry of connections gets slowly torn apart, thread by thread.”
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