What a Blue Zone heart doctor eats every week for brain health — including 1 supplement

• Plant-based diets are popular for longevity, and there's good science backing the strategy.
• But a new study suggests being 100% vegetarian may not be best for aging brains.
• A doctor suggests consuming some fatty fish like salmon or sardines roughly twice a week.

In Loma Linda, California, there's a group of Seventh-Day Adventists who tend to live and thrive for up to 10 extra years beyond their fellow Americans. Not all of them make it to 100, but they do tend to enjoy relatively good health for longer than most people in the US. That's why it's known as a "Blue Zone."

A big part of the winning Adventist strategy seems to be the food. Adventists prioritize plants in their diet like beans, vegetables, and whole grains, and generally don't eat a ton of meat or junk food.

But a new study of more than 88,000 of Adventists across North America adds a caveat. The new research suggests that while vegetarian diets are generally good for a person's overall health, they may not be the best deal for an aging brain.

"Even though the vegetarian diet is doing a lot of good things, once it delivers people up into their 80s, it looks like some improvement is possible," Gary Fraser, an Adventist cardiologist and public health researcher who lives in Loma Linda, told Business Insider. "It may not be the meat of course, but it just could be."

Fraser's new study showed that vegetarian Adventists living into their 80s and beyond suffered slightly higher rates of strokes, dementia, and Parkinson's disease than other Adventists who ate some meat.

He has developed a two-part weekly plan for his own brain health based on his own research. It includes one daily supplement and one repeat menu item.

Being vegetarian is good for you in your early years

Vegetarian and vegan diets — especially bean- and whole grain-forward ones — are great at lowering the risks of life-threatening illnesses.

"We are kind of used to the vegetarians doing well at everything," Fraser said. "We have very good evidence that, generally speaking, vegetarian diets are very good at preventing a substantial number of what we might call 'premature deaths' in the 50s, 60s, maybe early 70s."

Even in old age, a good anti-inflammatory vegetarian diet can lower the odds of renal failure, infectious disease, type 2 diabetes, or heart disease, Fraser's latest study found.

So eating ultra-processed red meat or poultry every single day isn't a longevity solution. Research suggests that for most of us, the reverse is true: swapping a few portions of bacon here and there or regular hot dogs for some beans and whole grains would boost our cognitive health.

Fraser suspects that what's going on with the aging brain and meat consumption data may come down, at least in part, to an absorption issue. As we age, our body becomes less efficient at turning essential nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids from nuts or oil that we consume into the brain food we need to thrive.

"The lack of the long chain omega-3s in the very elderly may be part of the problem," he hypothesized.

This doesn't mean that the average meat-eater's diet is a boon for brain health. Fraser's team only studied Adventists, people who (generally speaking) have a healthier, more nutrient-dense diet than most people.

Overall, it's still hard to argue with the existing body of evidence suggesting that leaning into more vegetarian items including leafy greens, lots of colorful vegetables, and a generous dollop of olive oil, is all great for brain health, and certainly better than what researchers refer to as the SAD "standard American diet," which is high in ultra-processed cakes, snacks, and sugary beverages, but low in nutrition.

This doctor's winning weekly routine includes fish and one supplement — the same pill longevity fiends love

At home in California, Fraser, a practicing Adventist in his late 70s, follows a fairly straightforward weekly routine. It doesn't tend to include much of any red meat or milk, but there are two core components he points to that are aimed at preserving brain health.

First, there is the fish. Fraser recommends aiming for around two meals a week that include some kind of fatty fish, with plenty of omega-3s in it. His personal favorite?

"Salmon is the one I like the best," he said. But sardines, herring, anchovies, and trout are also nice choices.

Salmon is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for keeping our brains healthy. Previous research has already suggested there are strong connections between omega-3 consumption and better cognition. One 2022 study found that middle-aged adults who consume omega-3s regularly tend to have better abstract reasoning and that the areas of their brain responsible for learning and memory are physically bigger.

Fatty fish, meat, and eggs are also rich in the nutrient choline. Choline keeps our cells healthy, and helps with memory, mood, and overall brain function. While there is a good dose of it in soybeans and potatoes, it tends to be most abundant in meatier items like chicken, beef, eggs, and fish.

"Choline is another very important chemical in brain tissues," he said. "And again, vegetarians don't get much of that."

In addition to the regular fish portions, Fraser also takes a whopping 4000-5000 IUs of vitamin D per day — more than five times the daily recommended dose for his age group (800 IU). Many other longevity physicians and public health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, also say they pop big doses of vitamin D. Fraser says he feels comfortable with such a colossal dose because he knows that our ability to absorb vitamin D from the sun wanes with age. Plus, in addition to being good for bone health, there is some evidence that vitamin D is good for preserving brain function.

But Fraser says generally speaking, people under 70 don't need to worry so much about all this. As we age, the way the body works and absorbs nutrients changes.

It's still not totally clear why, but Fraser says: "by the time you reach the age of let's say 75 or so, you'd be wise to add some fish until we know better."