by Patrick Holford
Down here at Fforest Barn Mountain Retreat we are awaiting the arrival of Buddy, our new alpaca, joining Tommy Gun, Food for the Brain’s lucky mascot, along with Vincent, Oran and Winston “the Wolf” Moondance, born on a full moon. This year we are expanding and consolidating our beyond organic food growing, applying all the principles I have learned about health to plants. If you would like to understand these principles, watch the lecture I gave for the BioNutrient Food Association, entitled “As Below So Above”, which explains the five fundamental principles of health of and the basis of my new book The Five Health Essentials.
It was great having the whole Food for the Brain team here on the farm to brainstorm how to make the world a better place. Check out this film for a glimpse.
The apocalypse allusion is deliberate. The cost of dementia, most of which is Alzheimer’s, is untenable. China expects soon to face a trillion dollar annual bill if nothing radical changes to prevent this cerebral tsunami. Brain disorders already cost more than cancer and heart disease combined. Brain health and nutrition must be top of the healthcare agenda if we are to avoid costs that will destabilise economies and families worldwide.
As I see it, two fundamental problems need solving: corruption and design.
By design I mean having a workable model for healthcare, economics and ecology that functions effectively at scale. In other words, a way of living that supports human health, not undermines it.
I am excited about what we are doing at Food for the Brain because it provides a realistic model for prevention at scale. It is a new paradigm based on systems-based science, not reductionism, and it goes straight to people, to Citizen Scientists, without relying on the corrupted middle layer of healthcare bureaucracy. Watch my six-minute systems-based film for a deeper explanation.
What we are doing for Alzheimer’s prevention can be applied to all major 21st-century disease epidemics, from cancer to diabetes. This spring I will be in Algeria, where the Health Minister is considering integrating this approach into national healthcare. I then head to China to present at a major Alzheimer’s prevention conference. Next week I am speaking to influential CEOs in the US who have the power to scale this globally.
Knowing what works is one thing. Doing it is another. Corruption for profit, in other words greed, is the major drag factor blocking this inevitable paradigm shift. It sickens me that prevention of such a devastating condition, one that robs people of their memories until they die not knowing their own children, is actively blocked to preserve profit from hypothetical, clinically ineffective medication.
The layers of corruption within medical science, academic journals, PR systems and the networks that keep authority figures aligned run deep. The only solution is to keep telling the truth and exposing the lies. Shortly before Linus Pauling died, I filmed him discussing his brilliant lipoprotein(a) hypothesis in heart disease. He advised me to “follow the logic” to find the truth and not to worry about randomised controlled trials; they come later.
The selective use of meta-analyses, which combine chosen RCTs, has become a mechanism to generate pharma gold, not clearer science. A classic example is The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention report in 2023, which purposely ignored homocysteine-lowering B vitamins and omega-3 (Read more about that here). In combination, these are the single most evidenced, substantial and easily implemented means to cut Alzheimer’s risk by at least a third. That omission is corruption: following the money, not the logic.
This is why supporting Food for the Brain matters. Becoming a Friend and encouraging those you know to take the Cognitive Function Test strengthens the COGNITION Biobank, which enables true prevention research at scale. I predict that by the end of 2026, this will be the largest dementia prevention research database in the world. My colleagues in China want to test 18 million people over the age of 60.
If you are looking for a New Year’s resolution, I suggest becoming a Citizen Scientist in heart, mind and action. How?
(For those with children, see foodforthebrain.org/smartkids)
Despite everything mentioned, there is so much possibility and hope. And it doesn’t need to be overwhelming, avoid sugar as much as possible. Invest in high-quality food, because it becomes you. Take your supplements every day. Walk at least 5,000 steps a day, ideally 7,000. The most important aspect is to take regular positive actions in your own health journey.
2026 offers a turning point. Prevention is entirely achievable if people are given truthful education, accessible tools, and a model of change rooted in systems thinking rather than narrow, profit-driven science.
You can make powerful choices that protect your future and the generations to come.
Wishing you a Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year.
Founder of the Food for the Brain Foundation and the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board
Food for the Brain is a not for profit educational and research charity that offers a free Cognitive Function Test and assesses your Dementia Risk Index. This allows them to advise you on how to dementia proof your diet and lifestyle.
By completing the Cognitive Function Test you are joining our grassroots research initiative to find out what really works for preventing cognitive decline. We share our ongoing research results with you to help you make brain-friendly choices.
Please support our research by becoming a Friend of Food for the Brain.
