EP 34 – Eat This: Brain health, brain fog and memory

Being the most complicated organism in the universe, it holds all the power of our body and allows us to speak, imagine and problem solve, it controls our body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing. It accepts floods of information about the world around us through hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting and touch. It lets you think, dream, reason and experience emotions. Every physical movement from rubbing your eye, to blinking, waking, and talking is run through this incredible organ that weighs a mere 3 lbs, contains 100 billion neurons, each neuron connected to 10 thousand other neurons, has enough of an electrical charge going through it to power a lightbulb. 

All this in the small but mighty size that’s comparable to a small cauliflower. It’s the fattiest organ that’s about 60% fat  and Of the total blood and oxygen that is produced in our body, the brain gets 20% of it. What am I going on about? Our brain. 

 Brain information travels up to an impressive 268 miles per hour! That’s also 4.5 miles a minute, or 393 feet a second. Side Bar: that’s 430km per hour for us Canadians by the way. This information highway goes at the same speed as the world’s fastest car, the Bulgati Veyron. So with all this said, why, why, oh why, when you walk from the counter all the way over to the fridge, you know, those 5 paces, open the door and look inside, you can’t recall or remember why on earth you are there? The thought, the memory if that’s what it is, vanishes within those steps and poof it’s gone, leaving you standing there perplexed and wondering if you’re losing your mind. Oh and what on earth did you come to the fridge for in the first place? 

When the brain working at it’s best has a clarity to it, we can remember short term and long term, right? There sure are times when I know, I experience a fogginess, a cloudy, murkiness to my thoughts, feelings and even actions. Then remembering all that needs to happen in a day, what’s on the grocery list, when to pick the kids up, and of course where you put your keys, phone and wallet can be a moment to moment challenge. 

Today on EAT THIS with Lianne, my guest is an expert in the area of brain health. Her name is Dr Paula Rochelle, and she’s a Naturopathic Doctor and as long as I can remember to ask all the important questions, she’s going to help me, you, and the rest of the human race to have clear thoughts, improve our memory and know what to do for brain health.

I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells, said Dr. Seuss. 

Well my guest this week is the furthest from nonesene that you can get. She’s one smart lady who has been working in the field of health as long as I have, however her accomplishments have helped to shape what she does now and the patients who she helps heal from concussion, trauma and just about anything else to do with the brain. I can certainly attest to her brilliance, from hearing stories about her patients from conferences that we’ve attended together, and she’s in the pool of brilliance along with Dr B (Dr Davis Brockenshire from Episode X and X) who you’ve heard from in the past. Dr Paula Rochelle is someone who you want in your corner with anything brain health related. 

I’m going to let her share with you more about herself but to say that she is a board certified naturopathic doctor by the American Naturopathic Association, and that she’s one of ten that currently holds that board certification in Naturopathic Endocrinology only scratches the surface of her brilliance. So hang on tight, this is going to be a ride of the brain! 

She did an excellent job of touring us around the brain, all the areas that impact our memory, the brain fog that so many of us suffer with and also overall brain health. She shared a lot about dopamine, serotonin, tyrosine, phosphatidylserine, turmeric or curcumin and really supporting your brain with supplements. She said how it’s what she learned first, before food.

To bring it back to your diet, and what to eat, Dr. Paula talked about blood sugar balance, keeping fruit consumption low, and I’m going to hazard a guess that while she only mentioned fruit, I would say to do what you can to decrease and ditch the sugar. I know you’re going to groan at that because it’s what’s keeping you going, helping you every day and man those cravings are hard not to listen to. I get it. It’s hard not to have that glass of wine or whatever your drink of choice and while Dr Paula didn’t speak to that either, I know that it’s not going to help. How much you follow what she recommends or not, will depend on how motivated you are to deal with your memory issues, how much you want to protect your brain and ditch that fog. Really, it is a choice. I do say that you won’t know until you try it. 

To recap on her suggestions specifically to do with food, know What you eat matters, especially for your brain matter. I know that following a Mediterranean diet is one that shows in studies and brain scans to have a good looking brain. 

Foods that may not help that are gluten, and dairy. They are two foods to eliminate for a time. To replace those you can find a million substitutes these days. 

Eating protein and fish to get all those essential fats, that can look like 3 oz of fish, handful of almonds, use olive oil at will and flax seeds for a plant based source of omegas, but know that you need at least three times the amount because they arent’ as potent as seafood. The best food for your brain is caviar, dahling. It has it all going on. Antioxidants, protein and nutrients that the brain loves. Speaking of antioxidants, they offer protection to brain cells so my KID or SKIN BOOST is going to be your best friend there, along with my Omega Boost.  Eat those nuts and seeds as snacks, load up on vegetables and limit fruit intake to 2 pieces a day. 

If you want to start right now to help your reaction time, think quicker, go drink a glass of warm water! Not cold. The brain is 80% water and even a 2% loss of hydration can produce neurological symptoms and that can look like fatigue, confusion, memory lapse, difficulty concentrating and smaller attention span or a lack of focus. 

Warm water is the best for hydrating – it’s vasodilating and makes your brain pop. Cold water is a constrictor and has he opposite affect. 

So there you have it. Is your brain in overload with all the good things that you can do for it and all that goes on in those 100 billion neurons while you’ve been listening to this. Mine too. I’m going to have to go back and listen and put the pieces together. So if you need more on this, more of a straight line in steps, reach out on social media through @liannephillipson or @SproutRight channels. Send an email to info@sproutright.com or PM me and we can chat. 

Thanks for tuning in, subscribe, share and rate please, and of course, remember to EAT THIS one mouthful at a time.