What and How To Eat To Keep Your Brain the Healthiest It Can Be
You know that old adage – you are what you eat? This is true! In fact I would also add, your brain is what you eat! Yes, genetics is a vitally important factor in how healthy and fit we are, and how long we will live. However, our food choices and lifestyle habits are vital too! How we age, how well we remember things, whether we can continue to live independent, vigorous lives even during the twilight years— we can control much of this, says functional medicine psychiatrist Dr. Kat Toups. She is someone who managed to reverse her own dementia and she had some very significant information to share with me.
Why we are what we eat.
We have the power to actually prevent the degeneration of the body and brain that we were told is inevitable. In other words, there is much that we have within our control, and this is great news at a time when human beings are living longer lives than ever before. How long we live isn’t as important as how well we live.
One of the things that we need to change is the sort of fats we consume. Firstly, we need to junk the myth of fats being bad for us. They are necessary for proper functioning of the brain. Dr. Toups shared a lot of well researched information with me about healthy and unhealthy oils— which oils are healthy and in what form. Coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil are good for us, and they are better if they are cold pressed, without additives.
Another important aspect of a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet is the need to consume fiber. Research around an indigenous African community, the Hadza tribe, revealed how eating large amounts of fiber offers great gut diversity and prevents chronic disease. At this point, Dr. Toups recommended a tasteless and highly effective fiber supplement called TruFiber, which helps probiotics proliferate and improves digestive regularity.
The importance of detoxing
I asked Dr. Toups about Intermittent Fasting, which is all the rage these days, and she explained how it works and why. We spoke about the ketogenic state, what helps the body reach that stage and how that helps to burn fat, enhance energy and also helps control seizures in some cases. We also spoke about the mechanics of autophagy, which is the process by which the body’s cells get rid of waste and how ketosis helps in that process.
We discussed practical ways to induce sweating to detox the body. For instance, installing a home sauna can be very beneficial, says Dr. Toups. She does recommend some of the home sauna products that can be bought while keeping in mind aspects such as infrared, EMF and so on.
According to Dr. Toups, the best way to change your brain is through exercise and meditation. According to her, those two things will increase the brain derived neurotrophic factor, which makes new neurons in your brain. She recommends aerobics and strength training both, and also tells me that sleep is a form of detoxing.
Check out this episode of The Adiel Gorel Show to get the information that’ll make your old age vibrant and healthy.
