Best Strategies To Maintain A Healthy Brain

Over the past 30 years in private practice, I have treated patients for decades that are now in their 90s .Most of the practice members that have followed my brain health advice as to the ways to keep the brain healthy are still very active seniors. My main objective with care is to educate others about the ways to keep the brain and nervous system healthy without drugs.The patients that follow these action steps are still very vital mentally, physically active and living joyfully.

 When it comes to keeping the brain healthy and protecting or preventing disease, memory loss or dementia, your posture, daily movement, diet, and lifestyle activities are your most important allies.

The Better Brain Academy is a specific plan that can set you on the right path to better brain health. In the academy, I address a very holistic approach to creating Vitality using the acronym T.E.A.M. This stands for the 4 pillars of brain health (Thinking, Eating, Acting, Moving)

Current research is showing that Alzheimer's is a disease predicated primarily on lifestyle choices; the three main culprits being reduced mental stimulation ,lack of consistent activity, excessive sugar or daily consumption of inflammatory foods. In terms of your diet and other lifestyle factors, the following suggestions may be among the most important for preserving your brain function as you age.

Daily Dozen list to Follow

1.     Make daily movement a priority. Walking 30 minutes a day has tremendous health benefits for the brain and heart .Keeping your posture upright and the spine flexible is critical for brain health. See prior blog titled  "energy exercise" for my five minute brain health exercise routine

2.     Avoid sugar, high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners. Ideally, you'll want to keep your sugar levels to a minimum and your total fructose below 25 grams per day, or as low as 15 grams per day if you have insulin  resistance or any related disorders

3.     Avoid Gluten: Research shows that your blood-brain barrier is negatively affected by gluten. Gluten also makes your gut more permeable, which allows proteins to get into your bloodstream, where they don't belong. That then sensitizes your immune system and promotes inflammation and autoimmunity, both of which play a role in the development of Alzheimer's

4.     Optimize your gut flora by regularly eating fermented foods. This can also be helped by taking a high-potency and high-quality probiotic supplement

5.     Increase consumption of all healthy fats, including animal-based Omega-3. Healthy fats that your brain needs for optimal function include organically-raised grass-fed meats, non farmed cold water fish, coconut oil, olives and olive oil, avocado, nuts, organic egg yolks, and butter made from raw grass-fed milk. High intake of the omega-3 fats are also helpful for preventing cell damage caused by Alzheimer's disease, thereby slowing down its progression, and lowering your risk of developing the disorder.

6.     Reduce your overall calorie consumption until insulin resistance resolves. Ketones are mobilized when you replace carbs with coconut oil and other sources of healthy fats. Intermittent fasting is a powerful tool to jumpstart your body into remembering how to burn fat and repair the insulin resistance that is also a primary contributing factor for Alzheimer's.

7.     Eat a nutritious diet, rich in folate. Vegetables (foliage) are your best form of folate, and we should all eat plenty of fresh raw veggies every day. Avoid supplements like folic acid, which is the inferior synthetic version of folate. For best strategy "Eat the colors of the rainbow"

8.     Optimize your vitamin D levels with safe sun exposure. Sufficient vitamin D is critical for proper functioning of your immune system to combat inflammation that is also associated with Alzheimer's.

9.     Avoid and eliminate mercury from your body. If you have dental amalgam fillings they are 50% mercury by weight, are one of the major sources of heavy metal toxicity .I believe it is important to find a biological dentist to have your amalgams evaluated and possibly removed.

10.  Avoid and eliminate aluminum from your body: Sources of aluminum include antiperspirants, non-stick cookware and the flu vaccine.

11.  Take time to silence the mind. Quieting the mind through, meditation, breath work  or being in nature put the nervous system into a brainwave pattern that is calming. This has been shown to dramatically reduce stress and increase longevity.

12.  Eliminate hydrogenated or trans fats from diet. Take proactive measures to control cholesterol levels without medication. Cholesterol lowering medications or " Statin drugs "are particularly problematic because they suppress the synthesis of cholesterol and  deplete your brain of coenzyme Q10 and neurotransmitter precursors .This prevents adequate delivery of essential fatty acids and fat-soluble antioxidants to your brain.

It is my opinion that we should set up our daily lifestyle to be conscious of incorporating movement and healthy foods for our brain and body to function at optimum. The addition of drugs, environmental toxins and chemically altered foods has be proven to be detrimental to our brain and longevity. Make action steps each day to add more vitalized foods and activity and avoid toxic foods, thoughts and inactivity.

What Is Neuroplasticity?

When I first started my career in health care I worked in physical therapy with head trauma and spinal cord trauma patients. Back then in the late 1970s, science and medicine held that our brain was unalterable, operating much like a computer with a fixed memory and processing power. The mode of treatment was more palliative and symptom related as opposed to proactive ways to help the nervous system rewire itself after a injury.

But now, science has reversed those previously widely held beliefs. Our brain continues to grow, change and repair itself after injury and throughout our lifetime, forming new complex connections. We now know that we have a considerable amount of control over our own brain function and it is dependent on how we use our brain and activate our motor and sensory systems.

Brain neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to be changed, modified, rewired and be repaired. The changes may be in building new brain cells, forming new connections or strengthening old ones. Our brain changes moment to moment in response to each new experience or new learning or even by ramping up areas of expertise.

Our brain makes us who we are: what we think, feel, desire and imagine. With ongoing new discoveries, we are beginning to appreciate the complexities of the brain. If we realize that our brain is a memory organ and that it can relearn or access old memories, the objective then becomes to stimulate the nervous system to promote healing and repair.

Here are 6 important discoveries about the brain that are making us more aware of the importance of keeping our brain in good operating function.

1. Our brain continues to make new cells every moment of every day that we live.

2. The brain can form complex synapses or connections throughout our entire life.

3. The connections between neurons can be strengthened against weakness with continuous stimulation.

4. There is no limit to brain repair. Previously, it was believed that the window for brain recovery was at most one year after injury. The Center for Brain Health research has shown that the brain can be repaired years after injury if the right intervention is applied.

5. Active cognitive and muscular stimulation can help build new connections after traumatic brain injury, stroke, in normal aging and even in progressive brain disease such as Alzheimer's.

6. Advances in sophisticated brain imaging technology allow us to view changes in the activation of brain regions that occur at the very moment we acquire new knowledge. The changes in brain regions suggest that there is more activation during learning as new connections are developing and less activation after a skill has been acquired.

I believe that it's most important to know that our brain is one of the most modifiable parts of our entire body. It is critical to realize that the brain is the most important aspect of our health, and should be delegated a prominent position of up-front and center focus to keep it healthy.

Replacement Parts: What You Need to Know

Many times people ignore proper preventive action steps until the need for hip, knee, and shoulder replacement surgery arises because the joint in question cannot be used without causing substantial pain. It is always optimum to keep the body in its best alignment to reduce premature wear and tear.

For most of us, lifestyle choices could be implemented long before such a critical stage is reached. Certain courses of action can help us improve joint mobility and overall musculoskeletal function. Regular vigorous exercise, for example, consistently challenges joints and muscles, helping improve range of motion and tolerance for daily mechanical stress.

Regular chiropractic care is an important part of such lifestyle choices. By helping reduce nerve interference, regular chiropractic care enables your body's master system to function at peak efficiency. The result is enhanced musculoskeletal performance and increased levels of overall health and well-being.

If you've ever been involved in a motor vehicle collision, you're probably familiar with the term "replacement parts" or "crash parts". Your auto insurance company will usually offer to repair your car using after-market bumpers, door panels, wheel assemblies, and other parts. Or, you may prefer to have the repair done with parts from the original manufacturer. Regardless of the source of the parts, your car will not be the same as it was in its original condition. It's important to bear the auto analogy in mind if a surgeon has recommended a hip, knee, or shoulder replacement as a solution to a problem of chronic pain.

The frequency of joint replacement procedures of all types is dramatically on the rise within the last 20 years.For example, in the United States there has been a 58% increase in total knee replacements from 2000 to 2006. There has been a 50% increase in total hip replacements from 1990 to 2002. Unfortunately, the revision rate (repeat procedures) for total knee replacement more than doubled and revision total hip replacements increased by 60% within the respective, above-noted intervals.

The simple fact is that although your body may appear to be a machine, it is rather an exceedingly complex entity whose whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. Thinking of your body as a machine may be a useful metaphor, one that may aid considerably in medical practice. But the metaphor is not the reality, and forgetting this crucial distinction may lead to substantial and possibly irremediable problems for a patient. Manufactured joints are never as good as your actual physiological structures, no matter the quality of the replacement components.

Of course, there are many circumstances in which joint replacement is indicated and provides great benefit for a patient. However, such procedures should probably be a last resort and never considered standard of care. A best practice would be to reserve joint replacement for situations in which pain is unrelenting and the person has failed several forms of conservative care.

Optimally, in most cases measures are available to avoid such radical outcomes. The best steps for each of us to take is to have regular spinal alignment checkups and begin a ongoing program of regular vigorous exercise

Maintaining a healthy nervous system, regular exercise, a healthy diet, and sufficient rest will assist all our physiologic systems to achieve peak levels of performance. By making such beneficial wellness lifestyle choices, we help diminish the likelihood of chronic, debilitating pain and loss of function. As a result, we help ourselves avoid the need for replacement parts.

References:

1.       Singh, JA: Epidemiology of Knee and Hip Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review. The Open Orthopaedics Journal 5:80-85, 2011

2.       Marley J, et al: A systematic review of interventions aimed at increasing physical activity in adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain--protocol. Syst Rev 2014 Sep 19;3(1):106. [Epub ahead of print]

3.       Tanaka R, et al: Effect of the Frequency and Duration of Land-based Therapeutic Exercise on Pain Relief for People with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. J Phys Ther Sci 2014 Jul;26(7):969-75. doi: 10.1589/jpts.26.969. Epub 2014 Jul 30

Can Your Exercise Strategy Be Causing Insomnia ?

The New Year’s resolutions that you set to exercise more after the holiday season may be affecting your sleep and ultimately your brain health. If you are doing a exercise routine and the evening is the most convenient time of day you may need to implement a few strategies if it's affecting your sleep.

Studies show that people that exercise regularly typically can fall asleep quicker and get a more restful nights rest. But if you are one of those who that has a hard time nodding off after an evening workout, then you might want to change up your routine.

Sometimes selecting a less strenuous workout at night may be helpful, while saving the heavy hitting high intensity intervals for morning or afternoon. Consider reserving your evening exercise sessions for less strenuous exercises like stretching, Yoga, Pilates, or even an evening walk. If the evening is the only time to exercise try lowering the intensity of what you’re already doing.Here are some strategies to help you slip into slumberland easier after your workouts.

Better Brain Tips

1)     If possible, seek to get your workout done at least three hours prior to bedtime.

2) Coffee before a workout can enhance your fitness gains, but if you exercise in the late afternoon or evening, the caffeine may keep you awake. Reduce caffeine at least 4 hours before bedtime.

3) Our mind is paced by light and sound so limit high intensity music, movies, computer games and computer time for a least one hour before retiring.

4) Listen to relaxing music just before you go to sleep, It will get your brain waves paced for rest.

5) Stay well hydrated during your workout with room temperature water .This can help reduce the cortisol response of the body and regulate metabolism.

6) Try taking a hot bath, shower, or sauna just before bed. The sudden temperature drop from getting out of the bath helps your body shut itself down, facilitating a better night’s sleep.

Better Brain Strategies to Lose Weight

If you want to consciously lose weight it is critical to understand that our brains have been wired to seek out high-calorie, fatty foods for thousands of years. It is up to us to use our higher brain and to learn how to control those primitive parts of our lower brain to resist overeating. Over the past 30 years in private practice I have seen dramatic results in releasing weight if you just know the "how" and attach a bigger "why" to changing habits.

In this blog , I will to teach you the three steps you can do to pre-program your meals and resist using the primitive part of your brain that keeps you seeking out high sugar ,high calorie, empty nutrient foods. It is important to remember that our brain’s biological software was developed as a protective response in the first place.

Calories Meant Survival

Our brain’s desire to over eat rich ,high caloric food is a genetic factor still present from the days of our early ancestors. Imagine if you could only eat what you caught or picked that day. The variety of foods hunter gatherers had available was extremely different in comparison to the 30,000 food choices we can buy in the average grocery store today.

We also have easy access to food 24 hours a day with fast food drive thru meals and grocery stores. Our ancestors also expended a lot more calories acquiring their food so they needed to eat higher calorie foods for energy.

Our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate up to 60 percent of their calories in the form of animal muscle meat, fat and organ meat, and the other 40 percent from fruits ,seeds and vegetables. That balance between protein and carbohydrates in the diet was different than our present diet.

Carbohydrates have received a bad rap but they are the single most important nutrient for long-term health and weight loss. Now, I’m not talking about donuts and pasta I'm talking about plant foods that more closely resemble what our ancestors ate. These whole foods are full of vitamins, minerals, fiber and weight-busting nutrients. Whole foods have all the right energy and information to turn on all the right genes.

Over the past 10,000 years with the advent of both agriculture and industrialization the human diet has been turned upside down. Today, 60 percent of our calories come from things that our ancestors wouldn’t’t even recognize as food.

The bulk of those items are processed cereal grains, sugary soft drinks and high concentrated juice, refined oils and dressings filled with simple carbohydrates. The primitive brain sees this as an endless supply of food for easy energy. The result is an epidemic of obesity and diabetes in our country that leads to many health and brain disorders.

The Blood Sugar Overload

When you eat simple sugars they pass almost instantaneously through the gut into the bloodstream. Within seconds blood sugar levels start to rise and the body releases insulin that unlocks the cells to allow sugar inside. As sugar enters the cells the blood sugar lowers and the body restores to homeostasis.

The abundance of simple sugars will eventually wear down the cell receptors from overuse. Like a key that’s lost its teeth, insulin loses its ability to easily open the cell membranes door. The cells then become numb to the effects of insulin. The body then pumps out more and more of the hormone to keep its blood sugar levels in check. Eventually this cycle will lead to a dangerous condition called insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance has been shown to cause you to gain belly fat ,raise your cholesterol, lead to high blood pressure, make you depressed, tired, and demented, and can even lead to forms of cancer.

Three Ways to Reprogram your Brains Hunger Centers

These are the three ways to get started today

1) Balance your blood sugar. Blood sugar highs and lows drive primitive food cravings. If you get famished between meals, that’s a sign that your blood sugar is dropping. One of the best ways  to regulate blood sugar is to eat a small meal or snack that includes healthy protein, like seeds or nuts every 3 to 4 hours .Planning a higher protein snack at 10 am and 3 pm is a great first step in your conscious plan of eating.

2) Eliminate liquid calories and artificial sweeteners. Early humans did not reach for soda or fruit juices when they got thirsty. Sodas are full of chemicals and high fructose corn syrup. Processed fruit juices are a vey dense form of sugar. Try sticking with water or green tea. Green tea contains plant chemicals that are good for your health. A bad decision is to succumb to the diet food or diet drink trap. The artificial sweeteners in diet drinks and foods fool the body into thinking it is ingesting sugar, which creates the same insulin spike as regular sugar.

3) Eat protein at breakfast. Studies show that starting the day eating a healthy protein, such as eggs, seeds, nuts or a protein shake helps to lose weight, reduce cravings, and burn calories.

Ideally you may not be able to control your genes but you do have control over what and how you eat. When you follow this plan consciously the brain lowers its cravings and urge for sugary food and suppress the lower reptilian brain cravings.

One of the most powerful ways to reduce stress is to use your higher conscious mind and to plan ahead. If you want to transform your health make a conscious decision to pre-plan what you eat !

Better Brain Strategy of the Week

Ø  Plan your higher protein snacks for 10am and 3pm for the next 7 days

How is Brain Health Affected by Dehydration?

What is one of the most important things to do daily to keep the brain healthy?

The answer: Re-hydrate

The brain is about 85% water, and can be seriously affected by as little as a 10% loss. Every day of life your body loses water through your breath, urine and sweat glands even when you’re not trying to work up a sweat. This is why it is critical to constantly re-hydrate your body and sodas, coffee and tea don't count toward this requirement.

These drinks are typically high in caffeine, which acts as a diuretic that can dehydrate rather than rehydrate . Worse yet sodas and fruit juices along with other sweetened beverages are primary sources of high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners which will only deteriorate your health.

So the answer is to drink pure water daily .The question is how much water do you need to drink each day? For decades the guideline has been you should drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day. For some people this may be too much and not enough for others.

Your water requirement can also vary wildly from day to day depending on a number of life factors, such as your activity level and weather conditions.

Fortunately, your body is equipped with a built in mechanism that tells you when you need to replenish your water supply. It’s called thirst. There’s also a simple way to gauge whether or not you need to drink more water even though you may not be feeling thirsty.

Watch for the Signs that Your Body Needs Water

When your body loses between one to two percent of its total water content, it signals the brain and you feel thirsty. Using thirst as a guide to how much water you need to drink is a good way to ensure your individual needs are met everyday. The problem is if you quench your thirst with soda you will actually dehydrate the body.

Most studies show that about 70% of the population are dehydrated and need to drink more water. This is particularly true for the elderly and children. It is also wise to listen to the more subtle signals your body sends telling you that you need to drink more water. These signals can be:

·         Fatigue

·         Mood swings

·         Hunger even after eating

·         Lack of concentration

·         Back pain

·         Painful  joints

·         Dry skin and deeper pronounced wrinkles

·         Infrequent urination

·         Constipation

According to recent research the senior population with dementia, are six times more likely to be dehydrated. Dehydration also tends to be more common among people taking more medication.

According to BBC News

’The reasons older people do not drink enough water is because as we age we lose our sense of taste so they may not be as thirsty to re-hydrate daily. They may also decide not to drink because of continence issues or because they don't have as much social contact or forgetfulness.’"

There are better ways to re-hydrate

While drinking water can help flush out toxins if it is unfiltered water there may be more pollutants than you realize. Most tap water contains an array of harmful contaminants, including chlorine, fluoride, pesticides, heavy metals, and pharmaceutical drugs.

Most of us feel we are doing something healthy by drinking bottled water but there are many reasons to reevaluate this option. Drinking from plastic water bottles can pose serious health risks from industrial chemicals like bisphenol A(BPA/BPS)which leach from the plastic itself into the contents of the bottle. BPA and BPS are chemicals linked to learning and behavioral problems.

Bottled water also costs about 1,900 times the price of regular tap water, and may or may not have received any additional treatment. Studies have shown that 40 percent of bottled water was regular tap water with possibly no additional filtering treatment. I recommend using glass jugs to store filtered water instead of plastic for all the reasons discussed earlier.

For occasions when you want some flavor simply add some fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice to your water. As noted in a previous blog lemon water has over a dozen health benefits.

Sliced cucumbers can also add a refreshing twist. If you want a touch of sweetness, add some natural Stevia which is among the safest sugar substitutes. Another option is to simply add a drop or two of natural peppermint extract or a few crushed mint leaves. If you want an electrolyte type “sports drink,” try coconut water, which is a rich natural source of potassium and electrolytes. Look for one that has no additives.

There’s no doubt that you need pure water for optimal health. Simply swapping out all the bottled beverages you indulge in for pure water can go a long way toward improving your brain health and concentration.  The amount, however, is something you need to fine tune based on your individual diet and activities.

Reduce Holiday STRESS!

The holidays can be one of the most stressful times of the year or the most joyous. We have the choice as to what the season has in store for each of us!

Stress is more than just a state of mind. We as humans tend to create more unnecessary stressors on ourselves than any other species. Stress has real physical components, including brain overwhelm, tight muscles, headaches, difficulty falling asleep and restless sleep, abdominal pain, allergies and asthma, inflammation, and high blood pressure.

Some results of stress may have long-term consequences. Prolonged high blood pressure, for example, may lead to heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Long-term inflammation may lead to weight gain, diabetes, and even kidney disease.

Of course, we could have stress because we create our own stress. We're stressed about all of the extra holiday activities, finances, time constraints, traffic etc. Now we begin worrying about all the things that could go wrong because we are under stress. Not a good plan.

A better brain plan would involve being proactive and beginning to take action steps that support our health and well-being. The action steps include the usual suspects that go by the wayside this time of year - exercise and good nutrition. Everyone knows they "should" be doing regular exercise and "should" be eating good food every day instead of all the holiday goodies. The difficulty is we rationalize that it's the holidays and we will get back on track after the New Year.

The way to reducing one's stress levels is in choosing to take proactive action ahead of time. We choose healthy behaviors because we want to, not because we think we "should". The concept of personal choice is powerful and may lead to shifts toward behaviors that are healthy.

Choosing good health habits year round improves our lives in countless ways. By choosing, we take back the power of good health. Everyone in our lives benefits by our renewed energy, creativity, productivity, and love for life.

As your health and wellness expert your well-being is most important to maintain.

As the New Year approaches and you find yourself off track, we would be glad to help.

Make sure to take advantage of our Better Brain Academy free video series in January 2015. I will be sharing cutting edge mind body strategies in a simple language to guide you through a stress less way to recreate everyday living.

References:

Appel LJ, et al: Effects of comprehensive lifestyle modification on blood pressure control: main results of the PREMIER clinical trial. JAMA 289(16):2083-2093, 2003

Elmer PJ, et al: Effects of comprehensive lifestyle modification on diet, weight, physical fitness, and blood pressure control: 18-month results of a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med 144(7):485-495, 2006

Viera AJ, et al: Lifestyle modifications to lower or control high blood pressure: is advice associated with action? The behavioral risk factor surveillance survey. J Clin Hypertens 10(2):105-111, 2008