Nutrition Unlocked · Nestlé Health Science

9. Nutrition and the Brain

·24 min·4 clips

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Anna Moll opens with the question of how nutrition affects brain health. Stephen Cunane joins from the Universite de Sherbrooke in Canada, where he holds the Clinical Research Chair in Keto Therapeutics. The conversation begins with a simple premise. The brain needs fuel. Cunane says glucose is the brain's main fuel. He explains that as people get older, many experience some decline in the brain's ability to get that fuel. The episode uses that point to connect aging and metabolism without making it sound more mysterious than it is. Cunane traces his interest back nearly 30 years. He first became curious about ketones in early brain development. That curiosity led him to the ketogenic diet. He also learned about its use for intractable childhood epilepsy. At first he thought the diet sounded extreme. Then he saw that it was a serious treatment. He worked with epileptic children to understand it better. In that process, he learned that ketones are important in early brain development. Later, after moving to Sherbrooke, he saw an opportunity to use PET imaging in the brain. That shift helped him connect development and aging. He says the nutritional and metabolic challenges of the developing infant may resemble those of the aging brain. The episode also returns to work from 2020 on a ketonic drink. Cunane discusses how that research pointed toward possible cognitive benefits in people with mild cognitive impairment. The closing section brings the discussion back to the broader research question. If the brain struggles to access glucose, could alternative fuel sources matter more than people assumed? The episode ends by thanking Cunane and pointing listeners toward more insights from his research in the future.

As heard by us

A measured look at brain fuel, ketones, and aging cognition.

Nutrition Unlocked frames this episode around brain health and the role nutrition plays in cognition, with Anna Moll guiding Stephen Cunane through the connection between nutrition and aging.

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Why you'd press play

For a clear look at how the aging brain uses fuel.

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