Show Notes
In this episode, Sarah Court and Laurel Beversdorf begin a two-part investigation into Louisa Nicola and the rapidly growing industry built around Alzheimer's prevention, brain optimization, and women's brain health. They examine how legitimate scientific concerns about dementia become transformed into highly marketable narratives, and explain the difference between what current evidence supports and what many online health personalities confidently claim.
Sarah and Laurel break down the strongest evidence on dementia prevention, including findings from the 2024 Lancet Commission, and discuss what is known about exercise, vascular health, hearing, vision, education, social connection, and other modifiable risk factors. They also introduce concepts they call mechanism theater, evidence cosplay, and the fear-to-action marketing pipeline, showing how preliminary research is often stretched into certainty to sell protocols, supplements, and personal brands. Along the way, they critically examine several of Nicola's most common claims—including that Alzheimer's starts in your 30s, that women face six times the risk, and that heavy resistance training is uniquely protective—and compare those claims with the available evidence.
Part 2 of this series will continue the investigation into Louisa Nicola's recommendations, products, and marketing strategies.
SIGN UP [https://mailchi.mp/3df6c7e39643/lflwaitlist] FOR THE INTEREST LIST for Lift for Longevity
FREE [https://mailchi.mp/d4c544ab3a5d/minicourse] Barbell Mini Course when you get on our mailing list
FOLLOW [https://instagram.com/themovementlogic] Movement Logic on Instagram
WATCH [https://www.youtube.com/@TheMovementLogic] Movement Logic on YouTube
LEARN MORE [https://themovementlogic.com/] on the Movement Logic website
Foldable Home Barbell Rack [https://verse.fit/movement-logic] by Verse, coupon code MovementLogic10%OFF at checkout
RESOURCES
113: Debunking Menopause Grifters: Dr Mary Claire Haver and Dr. Vonda Wright [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/movement-logic-strong-opinions-loosely-held/id1614469934?i=1000731912781]
111: Make Stacy Sims Make Sense [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/movement-logic-strong-opinions-loosely-held/id1614469934?i=1000729470062]
Correction: In this episode, Laurel cites a study erroneously as being from the Lancet. It's not from the Lancet, it's the Generation 100 study. PMID: 34878637
The Lancet Commission: Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care: 2024 Report [https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(24)01296-0/abstract]
Alzheimer's Association 2025 Fact Sheet [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12040760/]
Neuro Athletics [https://go.neuroathletics.com.au/brain-code]
Narrative review on resistance training and Alzheimer's disease (co-authored by Louisa Nicola) [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38823487/]
Dr. Vonda Wright podcast featuring Louisa Nicola [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBlpfJJ4WYI]
The Diary of a CEO podcast featuring Louisa Nicola [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t_DD5568RA]
APOE4 and Alzheimer's disease research [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26969397/]
New England Journal of Medicine (2024) biomarker study on preclinical Alzheimer's disease [https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2310168?__cf_chl_f_tk=dMosN6d8_Mh905vKTRtE1jyMid6LTZZXmLoCOBoGNPo-1782867568-1.0.1.1-2Ln2R7d8VZfAUV5cnXYXZhy.SmyzsxoAjTnwfN5IJso]
More from Movement Logic: Strong Opinions, Loosely Held
In this episode, we talk with Dr. Kemi Doll, a double board-certified OB-GYN and gynecologic oncologist, about endometriosis, fibroids, uterine cancer, PMOS, and hormonal birth control. We examine how wellness influencers exploit real experiences of medical dismissal to promote fear, undermine trust in established treatments, and sell alternatives.
In this episode, Sarah Court and Laurel Beversdorf investigate the bone supplement company AlgaeCal and ask whether its marketing claims are supported by good evidence. They unpack the company's promotion of algae-derived calcium, its use of strontium supplements to claim increases in bone density, and why improvements on a DEXA scan don't necessarily mean stronger bones. Along the way, they explain how appeals to nature, authority, and fear are used to sell expensive supplements to women worried about osteoporosis.
SIGN UP [https://themovementlogic.com/bone-density-course-lift-for-longevity/] Lift for Longevity. Enrollment closes Sunday, September 20th. Classes begin September 28th.
In this episode, we look back at how our thinking about exercise has changed over the years, from our beginnings in yoga and physical therapy to strength training, bone density, power, fall prevention, and longevity. We talk about the ideas we stopped believing, the evidence that changed our minds, why "lift heavy shit" was an important corrective but ultimately an incomplete message, and how all of this has shaped the newest version of Lift for Longevity.
In this episode, we talk with bone health researcher Dr. Lora Giangregorio about what the evidence really says about resistance training, impact exercise, menopause, fracture prevention, balance, and falls. We also get into claims from OsteoStrong, why not all published research deserves equal weight, and why confident claims about the "best" way to build bone often outrun the evidence.