Sanjay Gupta, M.D., Reveals His Best Advice for Brain Health

Neurosurgeon offers practical tips for staying at the top of your game

Debbie Williams,

AARP

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Published July 05, 2024

Sanjay Gupta against green ombre background

Courtesy CNN

Renowned neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta, M.D., has just finished a deep dive on Alzheimer’s disease, and he hopes his investigation will provide hope for patients and their families. In The Last Alzheimer’s Patient, airing on CNN July 7 and streaming on Max, Gupta chronicles what he learned while following several Alzheimer’s patients over the course of five years through different treatment regimens, including intensive lifestyle intervention programs. “There were a lot of surprises along the way,” Gupta says. In our interview, he shares some of the promising outcomes he witnessed, and tells AARP how he’s personally been affected by the disease, what he’s doing to keep mentally and physically sharp, and what he wishes he could go back and tell his younger self.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you get involved with this documentary?

As a neurosurgeon, I’ve been really interested in this topic for a long time. I started thinking about the documentary several years ago, when I was reading about clinical trials regarding lifestyle changes and prevention. For more than a decade, there had been hardly any progress in the treatment or prevention of Alzheimer’s, but when attending neuroscience meetings, I could tell things were starting to change. Suddenly the scientists who had made this their life’s work had something important to discuss and provide hope. I thought this would be a topic I could uniquely address as a brain surgeon and investigative journalist.

What surprised you the most while making the film?

These were often people who had been told that not much could be offered to them, and they were instructed to get their affairs in order. Now, having visited some of these families five years later, I witnessed not only how they improved, but also how profound the benefits could be. I spent time with the patients, but also their families, who can often provide very personal insights to fill out the bigger picture. Given everything I was witnessing and my own family history, I also decided to do something I had never done before: rigorous and detailed testing of my own brain. Given the challenges of testing for Alzheimer’s, I was surprised to learn how detailed the cognitive testing can be, and the tremendous gains we have made in terms of understanding the true connective tissue between the body and the brain.

Sanjay Gupta, M.D. interviewing neurologist Richard S. Isaacson; person holding video camera recording them

In "The Last Alzheimer’s Patient," Gupta, seen here interviewing neurologist Richard S. Isaacson, chronicles what he learned following Alzheimer’s patients through their courses of treatment over a five-year span. He also offers lifestyle advice to help people mediate the risk for developing the disease.

Courtesy CNN

Have you been personally affected by a family member with Alzheimer’s?

My grandfather developed Alzheimer’s disease at a relatively young age. He was a gifted storyteller and the life of every party. At first, we thought he was telling jokes we didn’t quite understand, but after a while he would forget the most basic things, including whether or not he had just eaten, bathed or taken his medications. My normally very fun-loving grandfather started to become angry and belligerent, which was the toughest part of the disease for our family. The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease was not easy to make at that time, but when he no longer recognized my mom — his eldest daughter — it was fairly clear. Over the years, we watched my mom very closely to see if she might develop any signs or symptoms, but at 82 years old, she is as sharp as ever. Even as a man in my mid-50s, I have been paying more attention to my own cognitive health, convinced I can prevent signs of early cognitive decline — something we didn’t know much about when my grandfather developed the disease in his late 60s.

Your book, Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age, offers advice for maintaining cognitive health. How are you personally keeping your mind sharp?

My mother and I discuss what happened to my grandfather all the time. And even though we are acutely aware that our genes are not our destiny, there are things we do every single day to keep our minds sharp. We dramatically improved our diets as we reviewed all the literature. We hardly eat sugar anymore, given that Alzheimer’s is sometimes referred to as “type 3 diabetes.” We are both very active, given the compelling evidence of brisk activity on brain health — specifically something known as neurogenesis, the growing of new brain cells. And, in many ways, I constantly train my brain by learning new things, new hobbies such as painting and even new instruments. The data is pretty clear that things like crossword puzzles can be helpful, but to really build cognitive reserve, brand new, slightly uncomfortable motor activities will probably have greater payoff than brain training exercises on paper.

What would you say is the number one thing people should do to stay healthy?

When I put it all together, I encourage everyone I know, including my 80-year-old parents and my teenage daughters, to keep moving. It doesn’t necessarily have to be intense activity. Brisk activity is probably better, so you don’t create as much stress hormones in the body. If you can engage in these activities with a close friend, even better. My distilled-down advice is to take a brisk walk with a close friend and talk about your problems. If you can talk about your problems with somebody, it shows that you are capable of being vulnerable around that person, which is a sign of a close relationship. Cultivating connections like that appear to be incredibly helpful when it comes to brain health.

How has your attitude on health and aging changed over the years?

Like so many others who trained in the neurosciences at the same time I did, brain ailments, such as Alzheimer’s disease, were thought to be preordained. Some people would get them and some people would not, and there wasn’t a lot you could do about it. We also thought humans had a fixed number of brain cells once our adult brains were fully formed. “You got what you got, and you wouldn’t get any more,” we were told. Over your life, those brain cells would slowly drain, and some things, like alcohol, might expedite that. We now know almost none of that is true, based on emerging science. Most inspiring is the realization that we can grow new brain cells at any age. The brain, unlike just about any other organ in the body, can reliably grow stronger and sharper throughout its life.

What life advice would you give to your younger self?

I could write an entire book about the advice I would give my younger self. When it comes to brain health, though, I would greatly limit the amount of time that I sit. Sure, there are many other things that are far more complicated and important, but staying in motion your entire life is like sending a signal that your brain and body are full of vigor and life. If you send those signals, your immune system is likely to be improved, you will have less inflammation and you may grow new brain cells as well.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

The best advice I ever received was to do something that scared me every single day. It didn’t mean that I needed to put my life in danger, it meant that I should do something that got me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to take risks I otherwise wouldn’t. I became convinced I could operate on the human brain, cover conflicts around the world and, most daunting of all, raise three teenage daughters.