373: Preventing Alzheimer’s: Muscle, Sleep, + Metabolic Health | Louisa Nicola
Be Well by Kelly LevequeShow Notes
In this episode, I sit down with neuroscientist Louisa Nicola to unpack what women actually need to know about Alzheimer’s risk, cognitive decline, and long term brain protection.
We break down APOE genetics, advanced blood biomarkers that can now detect amyloid and tau with remarkable accuracy, and why brain health is inseparable from metabolic health. Louisa explains how muscle acts as a metabolic sink for glucose, why resistance training and high intensity intervals stimulate BDNF, and how sleep drives the glymphatic system to clear amyloid from the brain.
If you want practical tools to assess your personal risk, understand your labs, and build a proactive prevention plan decades before symptoms appear, this conversation is for you.
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Topics Discussed:
→ What does APOE4 mean for Alzheimer’s risk?
→ Can exercise prevent cognitive decline?
→ Do blood tests detect early Alzheimer’s?
→ How does perimenopause affect brain health?
→ Does hormone therapy reduce dementia risk?
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Timestamps:
→ 00:00:00 - Introduction
→ 00:01:27 - Mission to end Alzheimer's
→ 00:03:28 - Women’s rate of Alzheimer's
→ 00:04:11 - Alzheimer’s overview
→ 00:07:44 - Education level & health
→ 00:09:57 - Anatomy
→ 00:14:16 - Neuroplasticity & glucose
→ 00:19:38 - Amyloid-beta
→ 00:26:41 - LDL Cholesterol
→ 00:28:36 - Preparing for menopause
→ 00:31:30 - Blood testing recommendations
→ 00:34:26 - Lifestyle interventions
→ 00:39:05 - Nutrition & the MIND diet
→ 00:42:19 - Zone 2 vs zone 5 training
→ 00:44:36 - Lactic acid
→ 00:47:58 - HRT is protective
→ 00:50:19 - When to test for HRT
→ 00:51:56 - Testosterone + brain health
→ 00:53:40 - Cognitive reserve
→ 00:57:12 - Hot flashes
→ 00:58:13 - Quick fixes
→ 01:00:01 - Brain surgery
→ 01:05:38 - The brain code
Show Links:
→ Function | Own your health for $365 a year. That’s a dollar a day. Learn more and join using my link. Visit https://www.functionhealth.com/bewellbykelly and use gift code BEWELL25 for a $25 credit toward your membership
Further Listening:
→ How to Take Control of Your Health in a Toxic Food Landscape | Max Lugavere
Check Out Louisa:
→ The Brain Code
Check Out Kelly:
→ Youtube
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