For decades, medicine operated under a reactive paradigm: waiting for a disease to appear to try to fight it with drugs. However, today that approach is changing. In the context of World Brain Day, which is observed every July 22, Dr. Adolfo Cordonnier proposes focusing on prevention and on the enormous impact that daily habits have on physical and mental health.
In Argentina, where the average life expectancy hovers around 78 years, the big challenge is to increase the health span: to reach old age with a good quality of physical and mental life, rather than merely accumulating years marked by deterioration.
Prevention Begins Long Before Old Age
For Cordonnier, healthy longevity does not consist of tending to old age, but of starting to care for the brain and body long before the first signs of deterioration appear.
“The goal is to reach 80 years old behind the wheel, traveling and enjoying life with lucidity, rather than spending the last decades suffering from a poor quality of life.”
The doctor states that our daily choices ultimately define the biological fate of the body and are fundamental to combat “oxi-inflammation,” a silent mechanism that accelerates the aging of neurons and of all cells.
Eating More Plants, Sleeping Well, and Strengthening Relationships
One of the pillars highlighted by the specialist is the impact that diet has on brain health.
“A critical pillar in this prevention is the impact of choosing to eat more plants — boosting plant-based foods — rather than animal-based foods. It’s not about eradicating meat altogether, but reducing its consumption for strict health and sustainability reasons.”
Cordonnier says that scientific evidence shows that reducing animal protein intake by a mere 3% lowers all-cause mortality by 20%, a benefit that, he emphasizes, no drug can match.
In addition, he argues that to protect cognitive health the brain needs “real food rich in polyphenols, restorative sleep, stress management, and social contact”.
In that sense, he also warns about the excess of supplements and protein powders.
“Neurons do not need magical supplements nor protein powders that flood online networks in a misleading way; in fact, excess can damage the kidneys, the liver and increase osteoporosis.”
The Biological Terrain Is Also Shaped by Habits
To explain how lifestyle influences the body’s ability to face diseases, Cordonnier uses a simple analogy.
“Imagine a field going through a drought and full of stubble; if you strike a match, an immediate fire is created. By contrast, if you imagine a plowed field where 60 millimeters of rain have just fallen, you strike the same match and it won’t ignite.”
He explains that the match represents the entry of a virus or bacteria, while the body’s response depends on the “biological terrain,” shaped by daily habits.
The specialist adds that this concept is also reflected in epigenetics.
“You may have genes predisposed to a disease, but whether they manifest depends on your lifestyle.”
Caring for the Brain Also Helps Protect the Planet
Cordonnier argues that medical prevention and environmental preservation share the same path.
He explains that cattle farming consumes a huge amount of natural resources, generates significant methane greenhouse gas emissions, uses 75% of agricultural land, and concentrates 80% of global antibiotic use.
In light of this scenario, he notes that a plant-based diet can reduce the personal carbon footprint by up to 2.1 tons per year.
The Clarity of the Future Is Built Today
For the specialist, preventing diseases, protecting brain health, and contributing to environmental care are goals that can be achieved through everyday decisions.
“The clarity of the future is not in pharmacies nor in the circus of digital fashion trends, but in the honesty of returning to the land, living more calmly, fostering human bonds, and choosing with awareness what we put on our plate each day to shield our mind.”
Thus, Dr. Adolfo Cordonnier’s proposal invites leaving behind the idea that health begins when disease appears and understanding that the real work starts much earlier, in the daily habits that build long-term physical and mental well-being.
Source: Dr. Adolfo Cordonnier. Physician (UBA). Specialist in Internal Medicine and Integrative Functional Medicine (MN 78093 / MP 70854).
