A new dietary approach is gaining traction among scientists and biohackers alike. For those of us over 50, the question isn’t whether we can afford to try it – but whether we can afford not to.
The Dinner Party Conversation We’re All Having
If you’re over fifty, you’ve likely heard it: that sudden hush when someone mentions a friend or relative diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s. A brilliant colleague. A beloved aunt. The quiet words – “She’s not quite herself anymore.”
The table falls silent because everyone knows what hangs in the air: there but for the grace of God go we.
One in three older adults now dies with some form of dementia. Yet despite billions spent on drugs, a cure remains elusive.
More than 50 million people worldwide live with Alzheimer’s or dementia today. By 2050, that figure is projected to triple. So attention has shifted from pharmaceuticals to food. Could the next breakthrough come not from a pill bottle, but from what’s on our plates?
The Sugar Crisis: How Sweet Turned Deadly
Before exploring solutions, we need to confront the villain: sugar – and its impact on the ageing brain. Scientists now call Alzheimer’s “Type 3 diabetes” – and for good reason.
When we consume sugar and refined carbohydrates, our blood glucose spikes. Over decades, this rollercoaster exhausts our insulin system. Brain cells become insulin-resistant, unable to absorb the glucose they need. It’s like having a fuel tank that won’t open while the engine sputters.
The statistics are sobering: people with Type 2 diabetes face a 50-65% higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Even those with pre-diabetes – affecting one in three adults – show measurable cognitive decline and brain shrinkage on MRI scans.
Pull Quote: The average American consumes 17 teaspoons of added sugar daily – quadruple what the World Health Organisation recommends for brain health.
High blood sugar triggers glycation – a process where sugar molecules literally caramelise proteins in the brain, creating toxic compounds called AGEs (advanced glycation end products). These AGEs accelerate the formation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s pathology.
Sugar also fuels inflammation – the “slow burn” that destroys neurons over time. Each sugary snack triggers inflammatory cytokines that cross the blood-brain barrier. Chronic inflammation from high-sugar diets can shrink the hippocampus – our memory centre – by up to 13% over just four years.
Perhaps most insidiously, sugar disrupts the brain’s clearance system. During deep sleep, the brain washes itself clean of metabolic waste, including amyloid proteins. But high blood sugar impairs this crucial glymphatic system, allowing toxic proteins to accumulate night after night, year after year.
The Unexpected Alliance: From Epilepsy to Silicon Valley
Once a niche therapy for childhood epilepsy, the ketogenic diet – high in fat, very low in carbohydrates – has re-emerged in the most unexpected of places: tech start-ups, Hollywood studios, and even Michelin-starred kitchens.
Take Halle Berry, diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at 22. For over 15 years, she’s credited a ketogenic diet with helping her manage – even “reverse” – her condition. Her daily ritual? Bulletproof coffee blended with butter and MCT oil, followed by one meal of fish or chicken with vegetables. “It’s largely responsible for slowing down my ageing process,” she says.
Or consider Alicia Vikander’s transformation for Tomb Raider. Her trainer had her consume less than 25 grams of carbs daily, focusing on seafood, avocado, and coconut oil. She gained 12 pounds of muscle in two months – all while maintaining extraordinary definition.
In Silicon Valley, the diet has become something of an obsession. Sami Inkinen, founder of Trulia, discovered he was pre-diabetic despite being an endurance athlete who once rowed from California to Hawaii. Now he runs Virta Health, helping others reverse diabetes through nutritional ketosis. At venture capital firm Maverick Ventures, partner Ambar Bhattacharyya reports that at one point, a third of his office was following ketogenic diets.
“Almost every investor I know in Silicon Valley is on some form of low-carb diet,” says one venture capitalist.
The tech elite’s embrace goes beyond casual adoption. Geoff Woo, CEO of HVMN, leads a WeFast group of over 7,000 members while producing ketone supplements.
Behind the trend lies compelling science. Brain imaging reveals that in Alzheimer’s, glucose metabolism can fall by 40%, leaving regions effectively “power-starved”. Yet ketone uptake remains strong. Dr Stephen Cunnane of the University of Sherbrooke likens the brain to a hybrid car: when the petrol system (glucose) fails, it can still run on electric power (ketones).
What the Studies Reveal
In the lab, ketones make the brain’s mitochondria work more efficiently, reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. They stabilise synapses, clear amyloid plaques, and boost BDNF — the molecule that helps neurons grow and repair.
Human research, while still emerging, is quietly encouraging. A 2012 study of older adults with mild cognitive impairment found those on a ketogenic diet for six weeks improved on memory tests – the higher their ketone levels, the better their scores. When participants stopped the diet, improvements faded within weeks.
In study after study, the pattern holds: mild cognitive impairment improves when ketones rise – and declines when they fall.
Your Brain-Protective Plate: What to Eat
Transitioning to a brain-protective diet doesn’t mean deprivation – it means abundance of the right foods.
Healthy Fats (70-80% of calories): Start with extra virgin olive oil, drizzled liberally. Add daily avocado for monounsaturated fats and vitamin E. Include fatty fish such as wild salmon and sardines three times weekly for DHA omega-3s. Walnuts provide ALA omega-3s; macadamias make perfect ketogenic snacks. Don’t fear grass-fed butter and ghee – they provide butyrate, which strengthens the blood-brain barrier. Coconut oil offers MCTs that convert quickly to ketones.
Low-Carb Vegetables: Fill half your plate with leafy greens for folate and antioxidants. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli offer sulforaphane, which activates the brain’s antioxidant systems. Mushrooms provide ergothioneine, protecting brain cells from oxidative stress.
Quality Proteins (15-20% of calories): Choose pastured eggs – the choline in yolks is essential for the memory neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Grass-fed beef provides creatine for brain energy. Wild-caught fish and free-range poultry offer complete proteins without inflammatory effects.
Strategic Carbohydrates (5-10% of calories): Small portions of berries provide anthocyanins that cross the blood–brain barrier. Dark chocolate (85% cacao) in moderation provides memory-enhancing flavonoids.
What to Eliminate: Beyond obvious sugars, remove bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes. Eliminate processed foods with hidden sugars. Even “healthy” sweeteners such as honey spike blood glucose. Replace industrial seed oils with olive oil and coconut oil.
Think of each meal as either feeding or fighting dementia. Every bite is a choice.
Two Experiments: Home and Science
Personally, I’ve succumbed after seeing my husband try it. My husband, in his eighties, began following a ketogenic diet after reading about its benefits online. A jazz lover, he was worried that his memory was beginning to swerve. Barring the occasional croissant, he’s found himself lighter, calmer, and “more on the ball.”
Canadian journalist Anne Mullens ran a more formal experiment when both her 92-year-old parents appeared to be struggling. After four weeks of strict ketogenic eating, her father’s cognitive score rose from 26 to 29 – a great score for anyone over 65. Her mother’s jumped from the high teens to 22. When they stopped, benefits faded, but Mullens calls it worthwhile: it gave her family agency against a disease that robs control.
The MCT Shortcut
For those finding full ketogenic eating too restrictive, MCT oil offers a simpler path. These medium-chain fats convert rapidly into ketones, providing temporary brain fuel. Dr Mary Newport documented her husband’s improvement with MCT oil, launching new research. The effects last only hours, but MCTs offer an accessible entry point.
Where This Leaves Us
The high-end dining world is quietly adapting. In Chicago, Michelin-starred El Ideas accommodates keto preferences. Upscale steakhouses naturally suit the diet – after all, foie gras, oysters, and ribeye are perfectly keto-compliant. The challenge isn’t finding luxury foods that fit; it’s explaining to the sommelier why you’re passing on dessert wine.
If you’re in your fifties or sixties, watching blood sugar creep up, the case for cutting carbs goes beyond weight. For those with early cognitive changes, a supervised ketogenic approach may be worth exploring. For carers of those with advanced Alzheimer’s, MCT oil may be the most practical option.
Remember: even the strongest advocates stress the basics – sleep, exercise, social connection, learning, and joy. Brain health isn’t one thing; it’s everything.
In a world still waiting for the magic pill, feeding our brains smarter fuel may be the most practical act of hope we have.
The Bottom Line
The ketogenic approach is no miracle. But it may be the first truly metabolic strategy for protecting the brain – a way to bridge the energy gap before memory slips.
For now, the science is promising, the risks are low, and the food is delicious. If Alzheimer’s begins with an energy crisis, perhaps the most powerful act of prevention is as simple – and as radical – as changing the fuel.
Sidebar: Further Reading
Books for a deeper dive:
The End of Memory by Jay Ingram – a science journalist explores Alzheimer’s and the brain.
Still Alice by Lisa Genova – a moving novel rooted in neuroscience.
The Memory Illusion by Julia Shaw – how memory works, misfires, and can be stimulated.
For General Readers & Carers
Amy Berger – The Alzheimer’s Antidote
A clear, compassionate guide to understanding Alzheimer’s as a metabolic disorder – practical and empowering.
Dr Mary Newport – Alzheimer’s Disease: What If There Was a Cure?
A moving personal story about using coconut and MCT oils to help her husband’s early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Dr David Perlmutter – Grain Brain
A neurologist’s bestselling argument for cutting carbohydrates to preserve brain health and mood.
Dr Dale Bredesen – The End of Alzheimer’s
The most comprehensive lifestyle-based approach, combining ketogenic eating, sleep, stress management, and brain engagement.
Anne Mullens – Articles for Diet Doctor
A journalist’s hands-on exploration of ketogenic diets in older adults, including her family experiment with cognitive testing.
