Your Brain On... Vascular Dementia
Your Brain On
Most people think dementia starts with memory loss. But for millions, it actually begins decades earlier: in the blood vessels. Long before someone forgets a name or misses an appointment, the brain is being quietly damaged by high blood pressure, cholesterol imbalance, poor sleep, inflammation, and chronic stress, day after day, year after year. This kind of damage doesn't look dramatic. There's no big stroke, no clear warning sign. It happens slowly and silently, which is why it's so often missed until it's too late. But here’s the good news: vascular dementia is one of the most...
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Your Brain On... Cold Plunges
Your Brain On
Cold plunges are everywhere, and the way people talk about them, you’d think they’re a miracle cure for your brain, body, and soul. But in an age of algorithm-fueled evangelism, when a ritual becomes this ubiquitous and loud, we have to ask: how much of the buzz is backed by science… and how much is just marketing? In this episode, we explore the neuroscience of cold exposure: what’s real, what’s overstated, and why this “discomfort” has become a billion-dollar industry. We discuss: Why cold plunges went viral, and how wellness movements often devolve into identity-driven...
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Your Brain On... Cheese
Your Brain On
Around the start of 2026, a study sparked viral headlines claiming that cheese could reduce dementia risk. But... nutrition science almost never works like this. One study can’t “prove” a food is protective or harmful, and viral health claims often miss the most important details of research: how the data was gathered, what was actually measured, what variables were controlled for, and what it means in real life. In this episode, we unpack what the ‘viral cheese study’ (PMID: 41406402) actually found, what it DOESN’T mean, and why critical thinking around nutrition headlines...
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Your Brain On... Chemotherapy
Your Brain On
Chemotherapy saves lives. But for millions, it also comes with side effects of cognitive fog, memory lapses, slowed thinking, and emotional flattening. In the past, ‘chemo brain’ has sometimes been dismissed as anecdotal. But, as science has evolved, we’ve come to understand the very real shifts in attention, memory, processing speed, and emotional regulation underpinning the impairment. In this episode, we break down what’s happening in the brain during treatment, why these changes arise, and how healthier lifestyle choices can support our recovery. In this episode, we explore: •...
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Your Brain On... Parkinson’s (2025)
Your Brain On
From 18th century London to the promise of a global cure: the 200-year history of Parkinson’s disease. To mark the release of our ‘Ask the MD’ conversation with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, and to welcome a new influx of listeners, we’re sharing one of our very first episodes, first aired in August 2024. Watch our full ‘Ask the MD’ interview, focused on lifestyle strategies for boosting brain health, on the foundation’s website: Parkinson’s, a neurodegenerative disorder most commonly characterized by tremors and other motor symptoms, is so...
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Your Brain On... Eating Meat
Your Brain On
Carnivorous diets have been woven into our history for millennia, but, with nutrition science advancing at an unprecedented pace over the past century... do we really still need to be eating meat? We live in a time of rising chronic disease, new longevity research, and a growing awareness of how our food choices shape our brain and our planet. We’re also constantly exposed to ‘nutrition tribalism’: social media communicators and influencers building identities (and livelihoods) around polarizing dietary debates. It’s a lot to navigate. So, we’re cutting straight to the data in this...
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Your Brain On... Nutrition (with Dr. Walter Willett)
Your Brain On
Everyone eats. It’s the one thing we all have in common. And yet, nutrition has become one of the most confusing, divisive, and misunderstood sciences in modern life. Low-fat. High-fat. Keto. Vegan. Paleo. Superfoods. For every study, there’s a headline that seems to say the opposite. In this episode, we turn to one of the most trusted voices in nutrition research to cut through the noise: Dr. Walter Willett, MD, DrPH. Dr. Willett, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has spent more than four decades studying how what we eat affects our...
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Your Brain On... Autism
Your Brain On
Autism isn’t new, but our understanding of it has changed dramatically. It’s now recognized as a broad neurodevelopmental spectrum that shapes how millions of people perceive, process, and interact with the world. In this episode, we explore what autism is AND isn’t, from its earliest signs in infancy to its deep genetic roots, and why misinformation about it continues to spread. We speak with three remarkable experts leading the field in early detection, genetics, and public education: DR. AMI KLIN, PhD, Director of the Marcus Autism Center at Emory University and a pioneer in early...
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Your Brain On... Diabetes
Your Brain On
Behind the staggering statistics on global diabetes prevalence are millions of individuals with different stories, struggles, and solutions. In this episode, we explore how diabetes affects your brain, body, and cognition, and how it can be prevented, managed, and (in many cases) reversed. We share some powerful personal stories from the clinic, bust some persistent food myths, and learn why diabetes is as much a neurological emergency as a metabolic one. Plus, we speak to three leading experts who are changing the way we treat diabetes: BRENDA DAVIS, RD: renowned dietitian and global...
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Your Brain On... Alzheimer’s (Mythbusting Special)
Your Brain On
Alzheimer’s disease is constantly surrounded by myths and misinformation. Let’s set the record straight. In this episode, we bust through the most persistent Alzheimer’s myths, with facts based on decades of clinical experience and cutting-edge research. Myths include: • “Alzheimer’s is inevitable in old age” • “It’s all genetic, and there’s nothing you can do” • “There’s no cure, so diagnosis is useless” • “Supplements and vitamins can prevent or cure Alzheimer’s” • “Statins and vaccines cause Alzheimer’s” Plus many others. We also share our...
info_outlineHigh in fats and low in carbs, ketogenic diets were originally developed in the 1920s to treat children with epilepsy. Now, they’ve gained popularity for weight loss, and even improved cognitive function.
But how much truth is there in the purported brain health benefits we see on social media? In this episode of ‘Your Brain On...’, we separate the facts from the fads, and discuss:
• What one might eat on a typical ketogenic diet
• How ketogenic diets affect brain metabolism
• The different ways your brain uses sources of energy — glucose vs. ketones
• The latest data on ketogenic diet in Alzheimer’s disease patients
• What we know about how ketogenic diets and treatment of Alzheimer’s
• The outcome differences between ketogenic diets and ketone supplements in Alzheimer’s
• Other evidence-based nutritional approaches for brain health
For this episode, we welcome two world-renowned professionals in the field of nutrition and neuroscience:
DR. MATTHEW TAYLOR, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor, Dietetics and Nutrition, Kansas University Medical Center
DR. RUSSELL SWERDLOW, MD, Gene and Marge Sweeney Professor of Neurology; Director, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Kansas University Medical Center
This is... Your Brain On Ketogenic Diets.
‘Your Brain On’ is hosted by neurologists, scientists and public health advocates Ayesha and Dean Sherzai.
‘Your Brain On... Ketogenic Diets’ • SEASON 4 • EPISODE 4
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Instagram: @thebraindocs
Website: TheBrainDocs.com
More info and episodes: TheBrainDocs.com/Podcast
REFERENCES
1. Wheless, James W. "History of the ketogenic diet." Epilepsia 49 (2008): 3-5.
2. Krolak-Salmon, Pierre, Russell H. Swerdlow, Thibault Mastain, Catherine Dive-Pouletty, Nick Pooley, and Masoumeh Kisomi. "Efficacy and Safety of Exogenous Ketones in People with Mild Neurocognitive Disorder and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Literature Review." Nutrition Reviews (2024): nuae098.
3. Taylor, Matthew K., Debra K. Sullivan, Jonathan D. Mahnken, Jeffrey M. Burns, and Russell H. Swerdlow. "Feasibility and efficacy data from a ketogenic diet intervention in Alzheimer's disease." Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions 4 (2018): 28-36.
4. Taylor, Matthew K., Russell H. Swerdlow, and Debra K. Sullivan. "Dietary neuroketotherapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease: an evidence update and the potential role for diet quality." Nutrients 11, no. 8 (2019): 1910.
5. Koppel, Scott J., and Russell H. Swerdlow. "Neuroketotherapeutics: a modern review of a century-old therapy." Neurochemistry international 117 (2018): 114-125.
6. O'Neill, Blair, and Paolo Raggi. "The ketogenic diet: Pros and cons." Atherosclerosis 292 (2020): 119-126.
7. Crosby, Lee, Brenda Davis, Shivam Joshi, Meghan Jardine, Jennifer Paul, Maggie Neola, and Neal D. Barnard. "Ketogenic diets and chronic disease: weighing the benefits against the risks." Frontiers in nutrition 8 (2021): 702802.