Supporting Brain HealthIf you've ever had a loved one experience dementia or Alzheimer's you deeply understand the complexity, heartbreak, impact and sometimes humour of cognitive decline. Oftentimes I will hear from family members who would like to be proactive, to help support their own brain health as much as possible.
Today, I'm not going to discuss what happens when someone has dementia, or how often these changes are genetically linked. The field of epigenetics has taught us that genes are not just a blueprint, they can be turned on and off by various triggers and influences. In addition, a few years ago some research came out that showed how our early understanding of Alzheimer's may have been inaccurate. Again, I'm not going to touch on this today but the information is easily searchable.
What I'd like to share with you is that there are many ways we can work preventatively to support our brain health and cognitive function.
You can read about optimizing brain health at any age here, where I discuss some important mechanisms behind cognitive decline and strategies for support.
Additionally, I have found that working on reducing sugar, including grains in the diet, as well as addressing Candida and other forms of dysbiosis in the body have been hugely effective in improving clarity of thoughts and memory, even in younger people who experience brain fog. One of the more well known researchers in this area is Dr Dale Bredesen, and his findings have been remarkable.
Furthermore, stress is another variable that can impact cognitive capacity. It's kind of like having too many tabs open on your laptop and the processing speed slows down, or when someone tells you something while you're scrolling and you don't remember at all the next day. Also, some medications (antihistamines, antidepressants, proton pump inhibitors/antacids) increase the risk of dementia too. Working on the deeper layers of your health and establishing the root causes, rather than masking symptoms, is helpful to avoid these types of downstream effects.
Two newly studied supplements also enhance brain health, especially in perimenopausal women who often report struggling to find words or recall why they went into the kitchen (iykyk). This is a sensitive time in a woman's life, when the brain is rewiring as estrogen declines during a period of high responsibility and workload (luckily these symptoms are often temporary).
Dr Christa
Today, I'm not going to discuss what happens when someone has dementia, or how often these changes are genetically linked. The field of epigenetics has taught us that genes are not just a blueprint, they can be turned on and off by various triggers and influences. In addition, a few years ago some research came out that showed how our early understanding of Alzheimer's may have been inaccurate. Again, I'm not going to touch on this today but the information is easily searchable.
What I'd like to share with you is that there are many ways we can work preventatively to support our brain health and cognitive function.
You can read about optimizing brain health at any age here, where I discuss some important mechanisms behind cognitive decline and strategies for support.
Additionally, I have found that working on reducing sugar, including grains in the diet, as well as addressing Candida and other forms of dysbiosis in the body have been hugely effective in improving clarity of thoughts and memory, even in younger people who experience brain fog. One of the more well known researchers in this area is Dr Dale Bredesen, and his findings have been remarkable.
Furthermore, stress is another variable that can impact cognitive capacity. It's kind of like having too many tabs open on your laptop and the processing speed slows down, or when someone tells you something while you're scrolling and you don't remember at all the next day. Also, some medications (antihistamines, antidepressants, proton pump inhibitors/antacids) increase the risk of dementia too. Working on the deeper layers of your health and establishing the root causes, rather than masking symptoms, is helpful to avoid these types of downstream effects.
Two newly studied supplements also enhance brain health, especially in perimenopausal women who often report struggling to find words or recall why they went into the kitchen (iykyk). This is a sensitive time in a woman's life, when the brain is rewiring as estrogen declines during a period of high responsibility and workload (luckily these symptoms are often temporary).
- Magnesium - 600mg per day
Food sources: pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, spinach, swiss chard, almonds, cashews, black beans, quinoa, avocado - Creatine - 5g per day
Food sources: red meat, fish, other proteins
Dr Christa
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