Smiling shyly, Bridgit’s mother cautiously waved at me but didn’t speak. She tried to stand and hug me, but her legs no longer cooperated with her desires. Just a few years ago, she was still shopping, brunching, and traveling with friends. The Alzheimer’s diagnosis confirmed what my friend Bridgit had suspected. Her mom’s difficulty in remembering things, general confusion, and subsequent loss of speech prompted her to place her mom in a memory care facility. Her sweet mom was in safe hands there, yes, but life would never be the same. I wondered, what can I do to lessen the chance of this from happening to my loved ones and me? We explore one solution in today’s post. Hello and welcome! If you like tacos, kimchi, seasonal produce, and bright flavors, you’re in the right place. For those who are new, I’m Betty, a food writer, recipe developer, home cook, and Southern California gal. Every Friday in this newsletter, I share California Cuisine recipes to inspire you, no matter where you live in the world. California is the most diverse state in the U.S. and is home to many ethnicities, especially peeps from Asia, South America, and the Mediterranean. The cuisine here reflects that and is a beautiful mash-up! Other places to find me: the food blog, podcast, YouTube, and Instagram. What’s the difference between a Follower and a Subscriber to this newsletter? * Followers, you will occasionally see my posts in Notes on the Substack app. Notes is a social media feed, much like Instagram or Facebook. So, you’ll see me there, depending on what the algorithm gives you. * Subscribers (both paid and free!), you’ll receive this newsletter EVERY Friday, delivered straight to your email inbox. You are automatically a Follower. And, you’ll never miss an issue of the newsletter! Become a Paid Subscriber and receive a brand new menu plan each month, a monthly dinner party playbook, plus have access to all recipes. Paid subscriptions are $5 per month or $50 per year (yes, that’s 2 months free!). Need to close your eyes for a hot minute? I read the post to you in the audio above. Brain Health Today, my special guest is Annie Fenn, MD, a physician, author, culinary instructor, university educator, and mom. After losing her mother to Alzheimer’s, Annie dedicated herself to helping people take better care of their brains. The way she does this? Food. What we eat is critical to keeping our brains in tip-top shape as we age! In her newsletter, Brain Health Kitchen, she shows how we can nourish ourselves and slow cognitive decline while still eating delicious food. Annie shares her brain-healthy recipes, keeps readers up to date on brain health news, and delves into brain health topics, like gut microbiome, supplements, alcohol, and coffee. In fact, it was last year in her coffee mini-series that Annie and I first connected! I totally loved learning coffee best practices in her posts, Is Your Coffee Habit Good for Your Brain, Coffee Brewing Dos and Don’ts, and The Brain-Healthiest, Most Delicious Cup of Coffee (According To Me). I was inspired to break up with my Nespresso coffee maker. And told Annie about it. Now I’m a pour-over girl, thanks to Annie, and happy that I can still enjoy my coffee along with the brain-healthy benefits it provides. All this has even led me to put together several coffeehouse iced drink recipes that can be made at home. Look for that series in this newsletter starting next week! How can we potentially stave off dementia and cognitive decline? I asked Annie to share her knowledge and perspective on a brain health subject: sugar. I think you will enjoy this interview with her! Many of us grew up associating sweet things like candy and ice cream with “rewards.” Is this conditioning part of what happens in our brains to compel us to want sweet treats? Annie: It’s certainly possible. This is out of my area of expertise, but drawing from personal experience growing up in a Sicilian-American family, sugar was baked into the reward system of my childhood. When I took action as an adult to limit my sugar intake, I had to create new patterns of thinking and behavior around sweet treats. Does refined sugar consumption affect cognitive decline? And is there a link to high sugar consumption and the onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s? Annie: Yes, there are strong links here that everyone should be aware of. First, it’s important to know that the brain’s primary source of fuel is a type of sugar—glucose. It absolutely needs a continuous small amount for optimal function. But too much blood glucose in circulation becomes a source of chronic inflammation in the body and the brain. Consuming an excess amount of sugar taxes the pancreas quietly over decades. Eventually, it shows signs that it can’t keep up with the glucose load. Abnormal glucose metabolism progresses from insulin resistance to pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes, which doubles the risk of Alzheimer’s. The brain’s memory center—the hippocampus—is especially vulnerable to the impact of metabolic diseases. Insulin resistance here can be an inciting factor in developing Alzheimer’s. That’s why most sugary foods are on the list of foods to limit or avoid to prevent dementia. These include sugary drinks, candy, pastries, sugary desserts, fruit juices, and many processed foods that include sugar. This doesn’t mean you can’t ever enjoy dessert! Treats made from ingredients that are rich in fiber, protein, and healthy fats will balance the presence of sugar. Plus, most homemade treats will be just as good even if you cut the sugar content in half. Try Annie’s homemade treats: Almond Butter Gelato with 3 Swirl-In Variations, Wild Blueberry and Peanut Butter Turtle Dates, and Matcha Crispy Rice Bars. As a former Diet Coke drinker (I really lived on this in my 20s!), I remember the 1980s marketing that told us artificial sweeteners were here to give us what we wanted without the calories. But it seems these sweeteners made sugar cravings worse. Does the brain differentiate between sugar and artificial sweeteners? Annie: Yes, unfortunately, those promises turned out to be wrong. Now we know that artificial sweeteners (also called non-nutritive sweeteners, or NNSs) have several negative impacts on our health. They don’t help people achieve or maintain long-term weight loss. In fact, now we know that NNSs can lead to an increase in body fat—the dangerous visceral kind—associated with their use. NNSs do not help people living with diabetes control blood glucose. Plus, daily drinking of beverages containing NNSs has been linked to increased dementia and stroke risk. What are your favorite sweeteners to use in baking and cooking? Annie: I favor using whole food forms of naturally sweet foods, like dates, maple syrup, honey, and fruit. All of these provide fiber and other beneficial nutrients. Plus, because they are rich in flavor, you can get by with using a lot less, and your desserts will still taste great. I wrote about strategies for swapping out refined sugar in this post: It seems that if someone wanted to make changes towards better brain health, limiting refined sugar would be on the list. How important is this? Annie: It’s absolutely crucial. Start with what you drink in a typical day. Wean off added sugar in coffee, tea, and other drinks. Coffee and tea are actually great for brain health, but if you load them up with sugar, it will negate their dementia-protective effects. Try Annie’s coffee and tea-based recipes: Blackberry Iced Oat Milk Matcha and Coffee Date Smoothie. A sincere thank you to Annie for sharing her expertise and encouragement with us! If you’d like more brain health info, you can read more about Annie, listen to her informative podcast, join her cooking club, and even learn more in person at her popular brain health retreats (currently a waitlist for Sardinia Oct 2026, but Costa Rica Feb 2027 is still open!). Plus, the podcast interview I did with Annie is linked below! Tell Me Have you thought about how to protect your brain health? I’d love to hear what changes you’ve made toward this goal. Next week: It’s a new month, new series! Coffeehouse Iced Drinks, all month. See you next Friday! This is a public episode. 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