Brain Health & Gut Health
Brain health is an interesting topic; not a lot of people suddenly decide that their ‘brain hurts’. Rather, cognitive decline is an insidious and devastating manifestation of suboptimal health. This is why prevention of cognitive decline is vitally important, and there are plenty of diet and lifestyle modifications you can make to protect your brain, thereby systemic health, from cognitive impairment and decline.
The particular areas of brain health I specialise in are Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. There are multiple possible root causes, triggers and mediators which can influence the development of cognitive decline. A lot of discussion revolves around genes, in particular the ApoE ɛ4 gene which is reputed to increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease. However, there is an important mantra in Nutritional Therapy that says “genes set the scene, the environment pulls the trigger” so being a carrier of the ApoE ɛ4 gene certainly does not condemn you to the development of Alzheimer’s Disease … if you take steps throughout your life to appropriately nurture, nourish and protect your brain health.
Over the coming months blog posts I will delve into some surface-level about the main nutrition influences on brain health, but I wanted to start by highlighting the relationship between the gut and the brain. I have discussed the gut-skin axis in previous blog posts, but it is important to recognise that there is also a gut-brain axis.
It boils down to this; there are millions of biochemical connections between the gut and the brain influencing everything from mood, memory and brain fog to clarity of thought. If you are feeding your gut the wrong things i.e. highly processed foods rich in artificial chemicals and emulsifiers but poor in nutrients, your brain is more likely to react accordingly-sluggishly. However, for Dementia and declining brain function it is the potential toxicity of the bilateral gut-brain barriers which is an interesting emerging area of research and discovery.
Surrounding the brain is a semi-permeable barrier ‘membrane’ which selectively keeps brain-harming substances out of the brain whilst permitting beneficial nutrients to enter the brain. However, if there is dysbiosis (imbalanced over-colonisation of the less beneficial species of gut bacteria) in the gut microbiome, and if there are gaps in the small intestine’s cellular barrier (‘leaky gut’), this not only creates excessive inflammation and immune activation, but also exacerbates an opportunity for bacteria and undigested food particles to be transported into the brain via the bloodstream. These bacteria and undigested food particles may then permeate the blood brain barrier; the result being an increased risk of undesirable bacteria and other toxins from the gut entering the brain. If this happens too frequently and over too long a period, this may trigger cognitive decline. It’s like having a constantly bleeding wound; if it is not healed, the risk of more extensive damage to the wounded area and its surroundings increases. This is the same for not healing a leaky gut; the risk for further damage to the brain, the gut and often other parts of the body exorbitantly increases over time.
So, how can we nourish and heal our gut barrier as one of the dietary strategies to guard against cognitive decline? The suggestions below are decent places to start, but as with everything nutrition is highly personalised so please seek professional advice from a Registered Nutritional Therapist to ensure you can pursue a dietary programme which is appropriate for you.
Bone Broth
Antioxidant (vitamin A, C, E) foods; colourful fruit and vegetables, especially the dark green leafy vegetables; bok choi, chard, colourful berries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, pomegranate, spinach.
Pre- and Probiotic foods; almonds, artichokes, asparagus, bananas (greener), kefir, mushrooms, sauerkraut, sourdough bread (avoid white breads), yoghurt (no sugar and full fat).
Remove refined carbohydrates / simple sugars from your diet – this includes all processed foods and sweet treats, (including alcohol but excluding a daily square-or-two of 80%+ cacao dark chocolate).
As I hope this post has highlighted, don’t forget Eat, Drink, Think Nutrition and spare a thought (no pun intended) for your brain health. Losing your brain power can be even more devastating to you, and those around you, than losing an aspect of your physical health, so why wouldn’t you start to look after your brain right away since diet and lifestyle modifications actioned NOW could save a lot of distress and heartbreak later in life.
REMEMBER: if you are taking any medications always consult a Registered Nutritional Therapist as well as your Doctor before making significant dietary or lifestyle changes. This blog post is written for educational purposes only and in reference to ‘food’. It is NOT advocating taking dietary supplements. It is very important to please always consult a Registered Nutritional Therapist or your Doctor before introducing any dietary supplements into your health regime as these qualified professionals will be able to offer personalised recommendations.
If you are struggling with skin and/or nutrient (im)balance issues and you want to discover the inspiring & sustainable diet & lifestyle programmes offered by Nutritional Therapy, get in touch via the Contact Me page on this website, or directly on info@eatdrinkthinknutrition.co.uk for more information about 1:2:1 Consultations with Eat Drink Think Nutrition®.
