The Better Brain Protocol

For people with brain fog, memory problems and fatigue - and those who want to stay sharp!

UPDATE: I am building a program for you, but in the mean time, I want to give you a sense of the issues at play - and help you identify when 1-on-1 care may be helpful.

Click on the headings below to learn more!

The Building Blocks for a Healthy Brain:

Blood sugar balance

Learn about the interaction between glucose and insulin in your body and what healthy management of blood sugar feels like and looks like in your diet and lifestyle. Poor glucose control can affect other metabolic function and inflammation - including in the brain. Alzheimer's Disease is now known to be a condition that is perhaps triggered and definitely accelerated by poor glucose control.

Optimal digestion (Gut-Brain)

Part 1 of the gut-brain connection is how your digestive function is impacting your brain. The vagus nerve connects the two organs for bidirectional communication (see also Part 2). What you eat and drink will affect your gut microbiome. An unhealthy gut microbiome can cause significant inflammation which leads to symptoms of brain fog and fatigue - sometimes infections in the gut can have these same symptoms. Do you tend to feel bloated, overly full or belly pain after eating? And do you have 1-3 bowel movements daily? Not enough or too many bowel movements can be a sign of poor bowel function and dysbiosis. Both bowel irregularity and digestive discomfort can indicated a food sensitivity too. Before considering healthy foods that may be a trigger, we start with. a review of the foods to make sure you avoid and the ones to include to keep your body healthy and happy. You'll also learn how to do food sensitivity testing in your own home - and about the biggest drivers behind food triggers: inflammation and nerve hypersensitivity.

Stress reduction (Gut-Brain)

Part 2 of the gut-brain connection is about how to manage stress. Your stress impacts your gut microbiome including visceral hypersensitivity (ie. nausea, urgent bowels). In turn, this stress in the gut can lead to changes that reduce the protective lining and permit inflammation or infections that cause some of the brain symptoms noted above such as brain fog and fatigue. Assessing stress includes understanding the role of hormones like cortisol and neurotransmitters like norepinephrine and epinephrine (adrenaline), dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine is a feel good neurotransmitter. Without enough, brains can feel scattered and fatigued - in brain conditions like ADHD and Parkinson's Disease, insufficient dopamine is at issue. Serotonin is produced primarily in the gut, so poor digestive health can also impact mood (see Part 1). Mental health support is not directly provided in this program, although anxiety and depression can be symptoms of various conditions that are addressed.

Sleep and inflammation

Sleep deficits can mimic symptoms of dementia, ADHD and other cognitive dysfunction. While inflammation is relevant to the above categories as well, poor sleep quality affects brain function because it doesn't allow the body time to repair the injuries it incurs throughout the day. This can increase overall inflammation in the body and brain. We'll review how to support sleep quality and some ways you can track this. If you are struggling with insomnia, waking in the night, or non-restorative sleep, we'll review how to support this - including lifestyle, herbs, supplements and acupuncture.

Liver, bile and thyroid

Other organs are very important to brain function as well. Poor thyroid function can slow bile. Bile is required to digest fats and bile is made by the liver. The gallbladder is responsible for storing and excreting bile as needed. If your liver is overburdened by toxins (environmental, dietary, or hormonal), it will not be able to perform its essential function well - and the toxic burden in your body will rise. Sometimes partially processing toxins in the liver can increase their toxicity in the body. We'll review how you can avoid foods that burden your liver and increase ones that support your liver. We'll also talk about key herbs and lifestyle tips that can help with this. Supporting liver detoxification should only be done after regular bowel function is established, otherwise toxins are not being excreted.

Mitochondria & energy

The energy producers of each cell are the mitochondria. They are also responsible for making cortisol and support the production of sex hormones. If you are feeling stressed, burnt out or are noticing brain fog arising in perimenopause, poor mitochondrial function may be the issue. We'll discuss lifestyle, foods and supplements to support your mitochondria.

Nootropics

Throughout these categories we'll discuss various herbs and foods that offer some of the best support for brain health. At the end, we'll summarize these along with the conditions and symptoms for which they are most helpful. The goal of this program is to teach you how to eat, sleep and live for a healthy brain - with as few long term supplements as possible!

If you have a concern now with any of the areas above, I recommend you book a free discovery call to learn more about how 1 on 1 care can give you the support you need. This may include lab testing, diet/lifestyle tips and acupuncture, herbs or supplements.

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What is your biggest brain health concern that you'd like support with?

• Preventing disease (like Alzheimer's/dementia, Parkinson's)
• Focus/poor concentration
• Learning about the gut-brain connection
• Poor memory

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