Month: September 2016

20 Ways to Nourish Your Brain

Irina Maryanchik, EHH-MA, EEM-CP, PLT Food and Nutrition
  • Do you forget people’s names and places you visited?
  • Are you unable keep your mind focused on a single task?

Many people experience a decrease in their mental clarity as early as their 30’s and for others this problem becomes obvious during their mid 40’s.

Why is this happening to us and what can we do to be more focused and productive?

Because we live in a toxic world, our body is unable to recover fast enough from the toxicity cased by the chemically treated food and man-made environment. The most effective way to build a foundation for a healthy brain is with a diet and supplementation.

This article talks about powerful herbs and supplements you can incorporate into your diet in order to keep your brain young and healthy. Use them regularly to wipe away annoying and embarrassing moments that your age can put you through.

Did you know that your brain uses 20% of your body’s energy?

Because it constantly needs oxygen to function properly, it’s important to know that main sources of oxygen for your brain are your blood and inhalation.

Neurons are critical cellular components of your brain cells. They have receptors, which receive messages from neurotransmitters – chemicals in the brain that travel between cells. Neurotransmitters bind to neuron receptors in order to create specific brain activities.

Our emotions, diet and the immune system affect cell’s membranes every moment. Even a tiny change in the cell membrane design can have negative consequences on our ability of neurotransmitters to produce the desired effects and can ultimately cause illness.

The most commonly known neurotransmitters are Dopamine, Serotonin, and Norepinephrine. Too much or too little of these neurotransmitters can cause depression, anxiety or hyperactivity and eventually may lead to Alzheimers or Parkinsons disease.

BEST WAYS TO NOURISH YOUR BRAIN

Because your brain is the most vital organ of the body, nourishing it with ‘right food’ can help it serve you in old age as well as prevent Alzheimers and Parkinsons.

In order to absorb nutrients well and deliver them to the brain, your gastrointestinal tract and liver need to function correctly. These organs remove toxins from the body and maintain proper immune system activity. High quality organic food and specific supplements may help neurons to achieve the most desirable chemical balance naturally.

FATS

Because the brain cells are mostly composed of fat, eating the right kinds of fats are one of the most important parts in creating and maintaining brain health.

The List of Top 10 Healthy Fats

  • Coconut oil
  • Organic Butter and Ghee
  • Animal fats (beef, duck, pork)
  • Olive oil
  • Avocados and avocado oil
  • Walnut Oil
  • Macadamia Nut Oil
  • Sesame seed Oil
  • Grape Seed Oil
  • Egg Yolks
  • Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 can help our brains. Primary sources of those Omega-3 fats are fatty cold-water fish such as mackerel, anchovies, salmon, sardines, and herring.

Omega 3 Rich Foods

  • Flaxseed
  • Chia Seeds
  • Walnuts
  • Natto
  • Tuna
  • Grass-fed Dairy
  • Salmon
  • Sardines
  • Mackerel
  • Grass-fed beef

Omega-3 fats come in three main forms: DHA, EPA, and ALA. ALA is found in nuts, seeds, and animal foods like grass-fed beef and dairy. EPA and DHA are found in fatty fish like mackerel and salmon. Most omega 3 benefits have been found in the amino acids EPA and DHA.

DHA

DHA is the primary structural fatty acid of the brain, which “promotes communication between brain cells and allows synapses to remain soft and functional.” DHA makes it possible for the chemical messages to be transmitted throughout the entire body. It helps the brain to maintain positive mood and memory.

In addition, “DHA helps to lower risk of heart disease when combined with a healthy lifestyle. DHA also helps to lower triglyceride levels, supports memory and eye health and helps reduce the risk for age-related vision problems.”

EPA

EPA is a long-chain omega-3 fatty acid important for overall health. Unlike DHA, the body does not store EPA in significant quantities in the brain or retina. While DHA is found in every cell throughout the body, EPA is not.

ALA

ALA, an essential fatty acid (EFA), is a shorter-chain omega-3 that serves as a source of energy and as a building block for long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA).

VITAMIN B COMPLEX

Your body requires B vitamins to produce many neurotransmitters. It protects nerve tissue against oxidation, enhancing memory and insulating nerve cells. B vitamins include thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate (also called folic acid or folacin), vitamin B6, vitamin B12, biotin and pantothenic acid. The B vitamins work collectively and individually in every cell to perform many important functions, including helping the body release the energy it gets from carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Thiamin

Thiamin helps to support your metabolism and regulate your appetite. Some of the best sources of thiamin are pork, ham, dark green leafy vegetables, whole-grains, wheat germ, green pea, lentils and nuts such as almonds and pecans. People need 1.1 – 1.2 milligrams of Thiamin daily.

Riboflavin

Riboflavin helps to keep your skin healthy. Milk and milk products such as yogurt and cheese are rich in riboflavin. Asparagus, spinach and other dark green leafy vegetables, chicken, fish, eggs also supply significant amounts of riboflavin. Try to consume 1.1 -1.3 milligrams of Riboflavin per day.

Niacin

Niacin promotes healthy nerve function, benefits your cardiovascular system and aids in energy production. Chicken, turkey, salmon and other fish including canned tuna packed in water are all excellent natural sources of niacin. Legumes and nuts also supply good amounts. People need 14-16 milligrams of niacin daily.

Folate

Leafy greens such as spinach and turnip greens and other fresh fruits and vegetables are all excellent sources of folate. Take 400 micrograms of folate daily. It promotes red blood cell health and nervous system function.

Vitamin B6

Some of the best sources of vitamin B6 are poultry, seafood, bananas, leafy green vegetables such as spinach, and potatoes. Your diet should include 1.3 milligrams of B-6 daily to support new red blood cell growth. Of course, organic sources are best.

Vitamin B12

B-12 will boost red blood cell production and support your nervous system. Animal foods are the only natural source of vitamin B12, but many products, including soy products, are fortified with B12. Other good natural sources include shellfish, such as clams, mussels and crab, fin fish and beef. You need only a small amount of B-12 – 2.4 micrograms daily.

Biotin and Pantothenic Acid

Biotin is a nutrient needed for a healthy metabolism. Liver, Salmon, pork, avocado and egg yolks are the richest dietary sources of biotin. Most fruits and vegetables contain a little biotin, as do cheeses and grains.

Yogurt and avocado are both excellent sources of pantothenic acid, a vitamin needed for enzyme function. It is also available in legumes including lentils and split peas, sweet potatoes, mushrooms and broccoli.

TOP TEN BRAIN SUPPORTING SUBSTANCES

Phosphatidylserine

Phosphatidylserine is a major building block for brain membranes. It is proven to boost energetic and electrical activity across the entire brain. The body can make phosphatidylserine, but we get most of what we need from foods. Phosphatidylserine supplements are commonly manufactured from cabbage or soy.

Phosphatidylserine is used to improve age-related decline in mental function, treat Alzheimer’s disease, improve thinking skills in young people, depression, ADHD, prevent exercise-induced stress, and improve athletic performance.

L-Tyrosine

If you want to improve your brain function, include the amino acid L-Tyrosine into your diet. This amino acid is found in protein-rich foods. In addition, add L-Tryptophan, an amino acid whose relaxing effects are strengthened by carbohydrates.

L-Glutamine

Researchers are finding that L-Glutamine plays a critical role in brain function and healthy digestion. It is used as an energy source by the brain and is converted into glutamic acid, essential for cerebral function.

It has been shown in studies to “protect against mucosal breakdown in the gut.” “Glutamine can fight against bad gut flora, keep the epithelial cells from dying, and support the immune system’s ability to fight viruses and bacteria.”

Based on research and real-world application and to improve the leaky-gut condition, “the dosage you can take to build up to is 10g to 40g a day.”

Acetyl L-Carnitine

Acetyl-L-carnitine is an amino acid that is “naturally produced in the body.” It is used for a variety of mental disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, age-related memory loss, late-life depression, thinking problems related to alcoholism and Lyme disease. This amino acid helps the body produce energy.

It is also used for Down’s syndrome, poor circulation in the brain, cataracts, nerve pain due to diabetes, nerve pain due to drugs used in the treatment of AIDS, and facial paralysis. It is also important for heart and brain function, muscle movement, and many other body processes.

Huperzine A

Huperzine A is a substance extracted from a plant called Chinese club moss. It is used for Alzheimer’s disease, memory and learning enhancement, and age-related memory impairment. It is also used for treating a muscle disease called myasthenia gravis, for increasing alertness and energy, and for protecting against agents that damage the nerves such as nerve gases.

“This a highly purified substance… has been used for centuries to restore memory, treat muscular disorders and protect against the damages associated with chemical poisoning.“

Huperzine A is thought to be beneficial for problems with memory, loss of mental abilities (dementia) because it causes an increase in the levels of acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is one of the chemicals that our nerves use to communicate in the brain, muscles, and other areas.

Vinpocetine  (Periwinkle)

Periwinkle is an herb used for “brain health”. It increases blood circulation in the brain, supports brain metabolism, increases mental productivity, preventing memory and concentration problems and feebleness, improves memory and thinking ability, and preventing early aging of brain cells.

Periwinkle is also used for treating diarrhea, vaginal discharge, throat ailments, tonsillitis, chest pain, high blood pressure, sore throat, intestinal pain and swelling, toothache, and water retention. It is also used for promoting wound healing, improving the way the immune system defends the body, and for blood-purification.

A chemical in periwinkle called vincamine can be converted in the laboratory to the compound vinpocetine, which can be taken as a dietary supplement.

D- and L-Phenylalanine

LPA is an essential amino acid used by the body to create a number of vital chemicals, including adrenalin, I dopamine, norepinephrine, and thyroid hormone. DPA has twice the endorphinase inhibitory effect of DLPA, while DLPA is more energizing.

For anxious or agitated people, DLPA can sometimes be overly stimulating, while more mood-stable people find it to be both pain-relieving and energy-enhancing. The recommended DLPA dose is 1000-2000mg three times a day.  As per Julia Ross, Author of The Mood Cure, people with extremely high blood pressure, malignant melanoma, Grave’s disease, constant migraine, or phenylketonuria should avoid DLPA.

Co Q10

Coenzyme Q10 plays a critical role in the production of energy in every cell of the body. It increases oxygenation of tissue in the brain. Several diseases are associated with low COQ10 levels, including fibromyalgia and the aftermath of a heart attack, known as post-myocardial infarction. Depression, Prader-Willi syndrome, male infertility, Peyronie’s disease, migraines, and Parkinson’s also caused by COQ10 deficiency. Supplementation of COQ10 is recommended to anyone with the listed diseases, but particularly for heart attack victims and people suffering from fibromyalgia.

COQ10 can also enhance blood flow and protect the blood vessels. This mechanism is related to nitric oxide preservation, as seen with Grape Seed Extract, Pycnogenol, and Resveratrol. COQ10 can reduce the damage oxidized Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL) can do to blood vessels, as well as reduce plaque buildup in the arteries.

Ginko Biloba

Ginko Biloba is an herb which increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain. This herb is known for its ability to increase vascular dilation and improve health of blood vessels. This means it supports brain activity, development, detoxifying mechanisms and immune function. Many of ginkgo’s benefits are related to brain function like focus, memory and mental performance.

Gotu Kola

Gotu Kola is an herb which energizes the brain and increases alertness. It’s a great replacement for coffee drinkers. Gotu kola has been traditionally used as an aphrodisiac. It may be useful in treating wounds, varicose veins, skin disorders, blood flow problems, and to enhance memory, although there is little clinical information to support these claims. In Europe, an infusion of the aerial parts of the plant was used to purify the blood and treat wounds, ulcers, skin inflammation, and hypertension. You should avoid use this herb if you are hypersensitive to any of the ingredients of gotu kola.

WHAT ABOUT ALCOHOL AND CAFFEINE?

Caffeine can improve mental alertness, but it can create addiction, negatively impact sleep, and disturb adrenal function. It can leave you with unpleasant withdrawal symptoms such as stress, anxiety and irritability, and can be detrimental to overall health.

Alcohol slows brain function and should be avoided if high mental performance or concentration is your goal.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Start out the day with a meal that is high in fat and protein and low in carbs and sugar. This will help you achieve peak mental performance during the day. Eat protein and healthy fats in the morning such as eggs, avocado and coconut oil.

Practice relaxation, meditation, yoga and breathing exercises to help your brain regenerate and invigorate your mental state. Remember, oxygen is food for your brain.

The way you eat can help you be more intelligent, alert and successful in mental activities, and can also help you be more balanced and relaxed.

References:

Harmful Substances That Affect Your Hormones and Lead to Cancer

Irina Maryanchik, EHH-MA, EEM-CP, PLT Detoxification, Food and Nutrition ,

Screen Shot 2016-09-01 at 6.26.24 AM

Dangerous Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that increase production of certain hormones and decrease production of others. They imitate your body’s natural hormones, turn one hormone into another and interfere with hormone communication throughout the entire body, telling cells to die prematurely. They can compete with essential nutrients, bind to other hormones, and accumulate in organs that produce your hormones.

Here is the list of the worst hormone disruptors and some tips on how to avoid them.

  • BPA
  • DIOXIN
  • ATRAZINE
  • PHTHALATES
  • PERCHLORATE
  • FIRERETARDANTS
  • LEAD
  • ARSENIC
  • MERCURY
  • PERFLUORINATED
  • ORGANOPHOSPHATE
  • GLYCOLETHERS

BPA

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is an industrial chemical used to make common synthetics. It is a synthetic estrogen that can disrupt the endocrine system, even in small amounts. It has been linked to a wide variety of ills, including infertility, breast and reproductive system cancer, obesity, diabetes, early puberty, behavioral changes in children and resistance to chemotherapy treatments.

Completely eliminating contact with BPA is virtually impossible, but you can reduce your family’s exposure to this chemical.

How to avoid BPA?

  • Buy baby formula in plastic, glass or other non-metal containers. When possible, choose powdered formula because the packaging contains less BPA and because the powder is diluted with fresh water. If your baby needs liquid formula, look for brands sold in plastic or glass containers.
  • Limit your consumption of canned food, particularly if you are pregnant.
  • Look for canned food labeled as BPA-free or buy food packed in glass jars or waxed cardboard cartons.
  • Buy fresh instead of canned food. Research which companies don’t use BPA or similar chemicals in their products.
  • Say no to receipts, since thermal paper is often coated with BPA.
  • Avoid plastics marked with a “PC,” for polycarbonate, or recycling label #7. Not all of these plastics contain BPA, but many do – and it’s better safe than sorry when it comes to keeping synthetic hormones out of your body. For more tips, check out

Dioxin

Dioxins can disrupt the delicate ways that both male and female sex hormone signaling occurs in the body. Recent research has shown that exposure to low levels of dioxin in the womb and early in life can both permanently affect sperm quality and lower the sperm count in men during their prime reproductive years. But that’s not all! Dioxins are very long-lived, build up both in the body and in the food chain, are powerful carcinogens and can also affect the immune and reproductive systems.

Nine animal studies conducted between 1973 and 2008 show that dioxin is harmful at levels even lower than in the human studies on which EPA based its proposal. Those human studies, conducted in 2008, explored the toxic legacy of a 1976 chemical plant explosion in Seveso, Italy, which exposed thousands of people to dioxin in unprecedented intensity and left large quantities of the chemical in the soil.

Ways to avoid Dioxin

  • Since the ongoing industrial release of dioxin has meant that the American food supply is widely contaminated, It’s difficult to avoid Dioxin.
  • Products including meat, fish, milk, eggs and butter are most likely to be contaminated, but you can cut down on your exposure by eating fewer animal products.

Atrazine

Atrazine is widely used on the majority of corn crops in the United States, and consequently it’s a pervasive drinking water contaminant. Atrazine has been linked to breast tumors, delayed puberty and prostate inflammation in animals, and some research has linked it to prostate cancer in people. Researchers have found that exposure to even low levels of the herbicide atrazine can turn male frogs into females that produce completely viable eggs.

Ways to avoid atrazine

  • Buy organic produce and get a drinking water filter certified to remove atrazine.

Phthalates

Studies have shown that chemicals called phthalates can trigger what’s known as “death-inducing signaling” in testicular cells, making them die earlier than they should. Studies have linked phthalates to hormone changes, lower sperm count, less mobile sperm, birth defects in the male reproductive system, obesity, diabetes and thyroid irregularities.

Ways to avoid phthalates

  • Avoid plastic food containers, children’s toys (some phthalates are already banned in kid’s products), and plastic wrap made from PVC, which has the recycling label #3.
  • Some personal care products also contain phthalates, so read the labels and avoid products that simply list added “fragrance,” since this catch-all term sometimes means hidden phthalates.

Perchlorate

Perchlorate is a component in rocket fuel, contaminates much of our produce and milk, according to EWG and government test data. When perchlorate gets into your body it competes with the nutrient iodine, which the thyroid gland needs to make thyroid hormones. Basically, this means that if you ingest too much of it you can end up altering your thyroid hormone balance. This is important because it’s these hormones that regulate metabolism in adults and are critical for proper brain and organ development in infants and young children.

Ways to avoid Perchlorate

  • Reduce perchlorate in your drinking water by installing a reverse osmosis filter.
  • Make sure you are getting enough iodine in your diet. Eating iodized salt is one good way.

Fire Retardants

In 1999, Swedish scientists studying women’s breast milk discovered that it contained an endocrine-disrupting chemical found in fire retardants, and the levels had been doubling every five years since 1972. These incredibly persistent chemicals, known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs, have since been found to contaminate the bodies of people and wildlife around the globe – even polar bears.

These chemicals can imitate thyroid hormones in our bodies and disrupt their activity. That can lead to lower IQ, among other significant health effects. While several kinds of PBDEs have now been phased out, this doesn’t mean that toxic fire retardants have gone away. PBDEs are incredibly persistent, so they’re going to be contaminating people and wildlife for decades to come.

Ways to avoid retardants

  • Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter, which can cut down on toxic-laden house dust
  • Avoid reupholstering foam furniture
  • Be aware when replacing old carpet (the padding underneath may contain PBDEs).

Lead

Lead harms almost every organ system in the body and has been linked to a staggering array of health effects, including permanent brain damage, lowered IQ, hearing loss, miscarriage, premature birth, increased blood pressure, kidney damage and nervous system problems.

But few people realize that one other way that lead may affect your body is by disrupting your hormones. In animals, lead has been found to lower sex hormone levels. Research has shown that lead can disrupt the hormone signaling that regulates the body’s major stress system (called the HPA axis). You probably have more stress in your life than you want, so the last thing you need is something making it harder for your body to deal with it – especially when this stress system is implicated in high blood pressure, diabetes, anxiety and depression.

Ways to avoid lead

  • Keep your home clean and well maintained.
  • Crumbling old paint is a major source of lead exposure, so get rid of it carefully.
  • A good water filter can also reduce your exposure to lead in drinking water.
  • Studies have shown that children with healthy diets absorb less lead.

Arsenic

Arsenic is a toxin is lurking in your food and drinking water. If you eat enough of it, arsenic will kill you outright. In smaller amounts, arsenic can cause skin, bladder and lung cancer. Arsenic messes with your hormones, it interferes with normal hormone functioning in the glucocorticoid system that regulates how our bodies process sugars and carbohydrates. Disrupting the glucocorticoid system has been linked to weight gain/loss, protein wasting, immunosuppression, insulin resistance (which can lead to diabetes), osteoporosis, growth retardation and high blood pressure.

Ways to avoid Arsenic

  • Use a water filter that lowers arsenic levels.

Mercury

Mercury is a naturally occurring but toxic metal, gets into the air and the oceans primarily though burning coal. Eventually, it can end up on your plate in the form of mercury-contaminated seafood. Pregnant women are the most at risk from the toxic effects of mercury, since the metal is known to concentrate in the fetal brain and can interfere with brain development.

Mercury is also known to bind directly to one particular hormone that regulates women’s menstrual cycle and ovulation, interfering with normal signaling pathways. Hormones don’t work so well when they’ve got mercury stuck to them. The metal may also play a role in diabetes, since mercury has been shown to damage cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, which is critical for the body’s ability to metabolize sugar.

Ways to avoid Mercury

  • Avoid eating fish. If you still want to eat sustainable seafood with lots of healthy fats but without a side of toxic mercury, wild salmon and farmed trout are good choices.

Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs)

The perfluorinated chemicals used to make non-stick cookware can stick to you. Perfluorochemicals are so widespread and extraordinarily persistent that 99 percent of Americans have these chemicals in their bodies. One particularly notorious compound called PFOA has been shown to be completely resistant to biodegradation. PFOA doesn’t break down in the environment – ever.

Even though the chemical was banned after decades of use, it will be showing up in people’s bodies for countless generations to come. Since PFOA exposure has been linked to decreased sperm quality, low birth weight, kidney disease, thyroid disease and high cholesterol, among other health issues. Scientists are still figuring out how PFOA affects the human body, but animal studies have found that it can affect thyroid and sex hormone levels.

Ways to avoid PFCs

  • Skip non-stick pans as well as stain and water-resistant coatings on clothing, furniture and carpets.

Organophosphate pesticides

Neurotoxic organophosphate compounds that the Nazis produced in huge quantities for chemical warfare during World War II were luckily never used. After the war ended, American scientists used the same chemistry to develop a long line of pesticides that target the nervous systems of insects.

Despite many studies linking organophosphate exposure to effects on brain development, behavior and fertility, they are still among the more common pesticides in use today. A few of the many ways that organophosphates can affect the human body include interfering with the way testosterone communicates with cells, lowering testosterone and altering thyroid hormone levels.

Ways to avoid pesticides

  • Buy organic produce to avoid Pesticides in Produce
  • Buy only fruits and vegetables that have the fewest pesticide residues.

Glycol Ethers

Studies of painters have linked exposure to glycol ethers to blood abnormalities and lower sperm counts. And children who were exposed to glycol ethers from paint in their bedrooms had substantially more asthma and allergies. The European Union says that some of these chemicals “may damage fertility or the unborn child.”

Ways to avoid glycol ethers

  • Avoid cleaning products with ingredients such as 2-butoxyethanol (EGBE) and methoxydiglycol (DEGME).