What if protecting your brain health didn’t require a complete life overhaul—but just a few intentional shifts?
Grounded in the groundbreaking FINGER® study, The Five Finger Plan to a Healthy Brain: Prevent and Reduce the Risk of Alzheimer’s and Memory Loss introduces a refreshingly simple, research-backed approach to reducing the risk of cognitive decline. Instead of overwhelming you with complex protocols, it focuses on five key areas—nutrition, physical activity, mental stimulation, social connection, and cardiovascular health—showing how small, consistent changes can add up to meaningful, long-term impact.
In a world where brain health often feels uncertain or out of reach, this approach is both practical and empowering. Whether you’re looking to stay sharp, support a loved one, or simply build healthier habits, the science is clear: it’s never too early—or too late—to start.
Here, we’re sharing an excerpt from the book’s introduction, written by co-authors Dr. Miia Kivipelto and Dr. Mai-Lis Hellénius, who highlight where their research meets real life—and where your journey toward better brain health begins.
In this book, we want to share with you the knowledge we’ve gained from our many years of research, in addition to our latest findings — especially those from the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability, or the FINGER study, as we’ll call it from here on. Based on the scientific evidence we’ve gathered, we want to show you how you can look after your brain health — now and throughout your life. In addition to the facts and knowledge, we want to provide clear advice, tips, and inspiration.
Brain health is at the heart of an active and independent life. Interest in brain health is huge right now. We’re living longer and longer, and, as we age, it’s the brain that often turns out to be the weakest link. Yet, there’s still a lack of effective treatments for dementia, and we’ve learned that it’s easier to try to prevent these conditions than to repair the damage. And the positive thing is that there is always something you can do to improve your brain health, even by making just a few simple changes to your lifestyle. It’s never too late!
Knowledge within the area of brain health and lifestyle is developing rapidly. Over the past 20 years, a huge number of scientific studies have been published around the world in this field. There’s a range of factors that can affect your brain health. Certain measures and lifestyle factors have stronger evidence in favor of them, while others we will need to do more research on. It has not yet been scientifically possible to establish any positive health benefits of some factors and measures at all, specifically those that have frequently received attention in the media. In fact, in some cases, these may even have a negative impact. In our digitalized world, we are inundated with so many different messages about our health and various health trends, meaning that it’s not always easy to interpret which of them are actually based on science. Most of us simply want clear advice and tips based on scientific results.
We’ve had the pleasure of working as physicians and researchers for many years. We conduct our own research, and lead and participate in several international initiatives, all of which provide us with excellent opportunities to call on a knowledge base from around the world. We’ve each worked with slightly different perspectives on prevention and lifestyle too, from healthy young people to older people, from people with an increased risk of dementia to those who have cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s.
Cognitive impairment involves memory problems and/or other challenges that affect thinking ability, attention, recognition, decision-making, and speaking or understanding. This is a key concept in current research. We often use the term “brain health” to make it all easier for our readers to understand. But through our work, we have seen in practice how a healthy lifestyle can help people function better and improve their quality of life. New research also shows that we’ve underestimated the importance of lifestyle. There’s a lot we can gain when it comes to our health.
We hope this book brings you joy, inspiration, and new knowledge, and that it can help you to identify your five “fingers” to unlock good brain health. Read the book in peace and quiet on your own, or share it with loved ones, then discuss and reflect on it over a long walk, try out your favorite recipes, and find your own way to unwind. By doing so, you’ll have already come a long way on your journey towards improving your brain health.
— Dr. Miia Kivipelto and Dr. Mai-Lis Hellénius, co-authors of The Five Finger Plan to a Healthy Brain
Cover and text design copyright © 2021 Holm & Holm Books
