Full Transcript Brain Degeneration and Early Warning Signs 0:07 Today, I'm talking about the 0:08 most powerful daily strategy to heal your brain. 0:12 See, brain degeneration is on the rise. 0:15 We have conditions like dementia, Alzheimer's, 0:17 and these are growing every single day. 0:19 And then people that are younger are dealing with some of the early warning 0:23 signs, like poor memory, mood issues, depression, anxiety, trouble sleeping. 0:29 And so there are so many people out there that are dealing with different states 0:32 and stages of brain degeneration. 0:36 You don't just wake up one day with dementia. 0:38 That's literally a 30 to 40 year disease process that's taking place in your brain. 0:43 And for many people, it starts in childhood, right? 0:45 And in their teens, where people are starting to have 0:48 these types of effects, where they have poor short term memory, 0:52 they are having anxiety, they have depression, 0:55 they have fatigue, they feel lethargic, they're not sleeping at night. 0:59 And over time we get more and more oxidative 1:02 stress and inflammation impacting the brain. 1:05 So we really need to live a lifestyle that brings great brain 1:10 health, that allows our brain to function and thrive at its highest level. 1:14 And I found that the best, simplest strategy to apply
Why Intermittent Fasting Helps the Brain 1:18 when it comes to improving your brain function is having an intermittent 1:22 fasting lifestyle where you're practicing some level of intermittent fasting. 1:27 And I can talk about movement. 1:28 Walking is so critical. 1:30 To helping drive more blood flow into the brain. 1:32 And there's great research now on walking, just even walking 1:37 and how that impacts the brain. 1:39 Blood sugar stabilizing diet is really, really critical. 1:41 Reducing toxin exposure is super critical. 1:44 But one of the simplest, easiest things you can do 1:46 is eat your meals in an eight hour eating window, right? 1:51 Or perhaps even less. 1:53 And that means eating your meals, let's say starting at 10 a.m. 1:56 and finishing at 6 p.m. 1:57 and there was a 2024 review article, and its title 2:01 is Neuroprotective Effects of Intermittent Fasting in the Aging Brain. 2:08 And this study actually went through all the effects of what happens 2:12 when we start doing 2:13 intermittent fasting on a regular basis, and how that impacts the brain. 2:16 And so one of the big things is when we do intermittent fasting, 2:20 it brings down insulin levels and it stabilizes your blood sugar. 2:24 And that's so critical 2:26 because we know that brandy generation, much of it is metabolic, 2:29 meaning that when we have high insulin levels and we have poor blood 2:33 sugar regulation that ends up causing damage to the mitochondria, 2:37 and our brain is incredibly dense in mitochondria. 2:40 And so as those mitochondria 2:41 become damaged, we start getting more inflammation in the brain. 2:45 And that starts driving up, oxidative 2:49 stress, inflammation, this whole cascade, when one neuron dies, 2:53 it actually spills out its contents and it damages all the cells around it. 2:58 We call this neuro cytotoxicity. 3:00 It's kind of like a domino effect when one neuron dies, 3:04 it actually poisons the neurons next to it, which ends up 3:08 causing all of them to go down and die like a domino effect. 3:12 And so this is really, really a big thing that's taking place 3:15 in many people's brains and bodies. 3:17 And what happens is we end up with this beta amyloid plaque that forms.
Ketones, BDNF, and Reduced Inflammation 3:22 It's almost like scar tissue in the brain. 3:24 But when we never turn off the metabolic damage, 3:27 we just get more and more of this scar tissue, more and more of this parking. 3:30 What intermittent fasting does it brings down insulin stabilizes blood sugar. 3:34 And when sugar goes down and insulin goes down, our body starts 3:39 to increase the amount of ketones beta hydroxybutyrate in the bloodstream. 3:44 This is an alternative fuel source. 3:46 You see we can't get fatty acids across the blood brain barrier 3:49 to be used for energy. 3:51 So the liver takes fatty 3:52 acids, converts them into a smaller, water soluble molecule. 3:56 We call that a ketone, in particular, the one that we measure in the blood 4:00 is called beta hydroxy beta eight. 4:02 That beta hydroxy beta eight gets up into the brain, 4:06 where it acts as what we call a epigenetic modulator. 4:09 So it actually modifies genetic pathways in the brain, 4:14 and it increases something called Bdnf brain derived neurotrophic factor. 4:18 Bdnf is like miracle gro to the brain. 4:21 It helps strengthen the different neuronal pathways and the synapses, right. 4:26 So it helps to create new proteins in the neurons. 4:28 On top of that, it shuts down the inflammatory pathways. 4:33 Right. 4:33 And so we end up 4:34 when our brain is inflamed, 4:36 there's an activation of something called the neuro inflammasome. 4:39 So it's almost like a, you know, large alarm system where all the different cells 4:44 are being activated, all the different glial cells and micro 4:48 glial cells and inflammatory compounds are being activated. 4:52 When we shut that down, it quiets down inflammation throughout the whole brain. 4:56 Think about it like a you know, if you're trying to get your radio station on 5:00 and all you're getting is the feedback, okay, it's not actually working. 5:06 And then all of a sudden you turn it, just you turn that knob 5:09 just a slight bit and you get perfect, perfect sound coming in. 5:13 That's what happens when you turn off the neuro inflammasome. 5:18 Now that inflammation shuts down. 5:20 Now we're able to rebuild the proteins inside of those neurons. 5:24 The Bdnf will help stimulate that. 5:27 The, beta hydroxybutyrate helps activate something called a Ampk pathway, 5:32 which Tert, which basically increases the amount of my autophagy. 5:36 So we break down old damaged mitochondria, 5:40 and we form a new healthy mitochondria within the brain cells within the neurons. 5:44 And now those new healthy mitochondria, they're very stress resilient.
Glutamate-GABA Balance and Mental Clarity 5:48 So they're able to function at a high level. 5:50 They're able to produce cellular energy at a high level. 5:52 And that gives us better overall brain function on top of that, 5:56 when we have elevated beta hydroxybutyrate because we're 5:59 now fat burning and our insulin levels are down, 6:02 we end up balancing the glutamate to Gaba pathway in the brain. 6:06 You see, when the brain is inflamed, it over activates 6:10 the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. 6:13 It's like the gas pedal of the brain. 6:15 And so when we're stepping on the gas too much, we end up just like driving a car. 6:20 We end up getting in car accidents. 6:21 We need a good balance between glutamate and Gaba. 6:24 Glutamate helps us think sharply and quickly, 6:26 but when it's out of control, we end up with more oxidative stress 6:29 and inflammation, more anxiety, more irritability, hypervigilance, 6:34 less able to to focus and have control when we have the right glutamate to Gabba. 6:39 Gabba is like the brakes on the brain. 6:41 The right ratio allows us to think sharply and quickly, 6:44 but also be calm and under control, not have anxiety, not be easily triggered. 6:50 And that's the one of the great effects of having the right amount of insulin. 6:55 And also getting elevations in beta hydroxy beta eight balance. 6:59 Is that glutamate to Gaba pathway or ratio, I should say. 7:03 And when we get that proper ratio, the proper balance 7:06 of glutamate to Gaba, we're going to think sharply, quickly, 7:09 but also be nice and calm and relaxed, not have the anxiety. 7:13 And that's super critical. 7:15 So we get less inflammation better glutamate to Gaba pathway. 7:19 This is why people notice that they perform better when they're 7:23 in a fasted state. 7:24 In fact, people that are doing extended fasts,
Preparing for Fasting with Diet and Movement 7:27 and you may have heard this in religious circles 7:30 where people will do extended fasts and they'll notice that they have better 7:33 creativity, better or better, innovation, that they come up, 7:37 you know, they just have better intuition and better. 7:39 And they come up with a lot of different creative ideas because they have less 7:44 of this kind of static feedback in their brain. 7:47 So they're able to have better overall complex thoughts, you know, better, 7:52 better, better connections between different parts of the brain. 7:56 It's really, really powerful. What actually happens. 7:59 And doing this sort of intermittent fasting is a really great anecdote 8:02 to the metabolic damage that so many of us have had, 8:06 from blood sugar imbalances and from high insulin levels. 8:09 And so what do we want to do before we start fasting? 8:12 I always recommend to prepare your body properly for fasting. 8:15 Make sure you're doing a high protein, blood sugar stabilizing diet. 8:19 What is the blood sugar stabilizing diet look like? 8:21 Well, it's going to be high in protein, 8:24 eating 30 or more grams of protein in each meal. 8:27 Why is that so important? 8:28 Because the protein will create satiety 8:31 and it will lower the insulin release for the meal. 8:34 So you'll be more satiated and it will turn up fat burning. 8:38 So get the protein right. 8:39 Focus on making sure getting at least 30g of protein in a meal. 8:43 Add in healthy fats. 8:44 Now, a lot of times your fats are going to come in your protein foods, right? 8:48 So if you're eating grass fed beef, if you're eating, 8:51 pasture raised eggs, wild caught seafood, you've got fats in there. 8:54 But in some cases, you might need to add in some high polyphenol extra virgin 8:58 olive oil, which is incredibly powerful for the brain. 9:01 It has also cantors and hydroxyl cells, these powerful polyphenols that help clean 9:06 up, damaged 9:07 brain tissue and help reduce inflammation, oxidative stress in the brain. 9:11 So we can add that in there. 9:13 But make sure you got your, your protein, your healthy fats, 9:15 and then lots of colorful fruits and vegetables. 9:17 So it's colorful fruits and vegetables have unique phytonutrients that support 9:21 and reduce oxidative stress and support, overall healthy brain tissue. 9:25 So make sure you're doing that.
Sleep, Melatonin, and Brain Repair 9:27 Make sure you're getting good movement and exercise on a regular basis, 9:30 and make sure you're really prioritizing good sleep, right? 9:34 Sleep is when your brain detoxifies right. 9:37 That's when you drain the brain. 9:39 And so you got to make sure you're prioritizing really good sleep. 9:42 I recommend trying to be in bed by 10 p.m., if at all possible, making 9:46 sure you're getting out of, you know, any sort of bright lights after dark. 9:51 You can wear blue light blocking glasses. 9:52 You can dim all the lights in your house that will help prepare your body. 9:56 It will produce more melatonin. 9:57 Melatonin is this amazing sleep hormone, 10:01 but also an antioxidant that protects your mitochondria. 10:04 And so you need optimal melatonin release in order to have really good growth 10:09 hormone release. 10:10 And when you get the combination of melatonin and growth hormone, 10:13 that's going to really help clean, heal and repair your brain tissue 10:18 and your whole body, 10:19 all the different tissues in your body, it's going to help 10:21 clean, heal and repair them all the different mitochondria. 10:24 So you can really function at your best. 10:27 So intermittent fasting, incredible research behind it 10:30 for supporting overall brain function and brain healing. 10:33 I think it's the easiest strategy to apply. 10:36 But also make sure that you're on that blood sugar stabilizing diet, 10:40 getting really good movement and making sure you're prioritizing sleep 10:44 so you can have really good brain health and prevent brain degenerative conditions.
Comments