How Nutrition Affects Dementia

Transcript:

Kara: Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition. Our company Nutritional Weight & Wellness, provides life-changing nutrition education, and individual nutrition counseling. And every week we release a new podcast with a fresh topic. Today we're diving into a powerful and very important topic, and that is how the foods we eat can help protect our brain and reduce our risk of developing dementia.

I am Kara Carper, a Licensed Nutritionist and Board-Certified Nutrition Specialist. I'm pleased to be here today with Melanie Beasley, my co-host Mel, is a Licensed and Registered Dietitian. Hello, Mel. Hi.

Melanie: Good to see you.

Kara: You too.

Melanie: Well, we often, you know, we think about the brain health as something we don't need to really worry about until later in life. But what we are eating now has significant impact on our brain function down the road. And memory issues don't just happen overnight. So I'm really excited about this topic, and I love what you said about how the foods we eat can protect our brain and reduce our risk of dementia. I think it's the number one thing we can control, but it's also the number one thing that can have major impact, adversely or positively.

Kara: Right. Like everything we're putting in our mouth is either helping or hurting our brain. That's kind of the way I think about it.

Melanie: Yeah, exactly.

Nutrition & blood sugar control affects inflammation & brain health

Kara: And we're going to talk about how everyday food choices can support our memory, our concentration, and overall cognitive function. More and more research points to connections between nutrition, blood sugar control or our glucose control, inflammation and brain health.

So if we want to reduce the risk of memory loss from dementia or Alzheimer's disease, we really have to start talking more about how can we nourish our brains.

Melanie: Yeah. I love that: how we can nourish our brains. I also think that blood sugar balance is probably the biggest key in protecting our brains from dementia. So, and many people are concerned about memory issues or dementia, especially if they've watched a grandparent, a loved one, or even their parents struggle with it. They think that could possibly be their destiny. It is not. I'm here to say.

The great news is we're not powerless and what we eat every day can really support the brain. I always tell my clients every bite you take is harming or healing, whether it be your body, whether it be your brain. You have to be mindful in this day and age of what we're putting in our mouth.

Kara: And just like you said, Melanie, many of our listeners, I also am someone who had a close relative who was…

Melanie: Oh, that's right.

Kara: Yeah. So I'd like to just spend a moment talking about that. It was my grandfather, my grandpa, Bob, and I just remember that we were celebrating Grandpa Bob and Grandma Jean's 50th wedding anniversary. And so we're recording here from Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota area. We were up in Madeline Island. Which is right off, you know, Bayfield not too far from here. And we had rented a big house on the island to celebrate this exciting event. So we had extended family, cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, grandkids.

It was super fun. But I just remember those were the first signs grandpa Bob started kind of wandering off and he would get lost on the property. It wasn't even that big of a property. And we, we were kind of out looking for him. And so in hindsight, that was really the beginning of the journey with dementia and then ultimately Alzheimer's, which he passed from years later.

Melanie: So did, were you all at the time just aware that this could be an Alzheimer's situation?

Kara: I don't think we were until we all got back home and then the signs just continued to progress.

Melanie: So he began to diminish in mental capacity?

Kara: Yes. Yeah, exactly.

Melanie: Well, you had mentioned to me before the start of the show that Grandpa Bob seemed in good health.

Kara: Mm-hmm.

Balanced blood sugar is crucial for brain health

Melanie: And he was fit and he was active. So that's not always the indication of quality health. So many people are surprised when a loved one is diagnosed with dementia and they don't have other health diagnoses. You know, but something we really need to take a closer look at when it comes to brain health is, like I mentioned, that blood sugar balance.

And this goes beyond type two diabetes. They call it type three diabetes. And many people have blood sugar that fluctuates too high or too low. And we're talking about that roller coaster spiking and then plummeting. And this directly affects memory, mood and inflammation in the brain that can create damage.

Kara: When we eat carbohydrates and specifically the high carbohydrate foods, processed carbohydrates or sugar, straight up sugar, our pancreas produces insulin with really any kind of carbohydrates. But the more that we are consuming, the more insulin is needed from the pancreas in order to kind of shuffle and carry that glucose out of the bloodstream and into our cells where it is used as an energy source. But you know, if someone's constantly eating high carbohydrate foods, pasta, bread, chips, crackers, things like that…

Melanie: Was your grandpa Bob, did he have sort of a carb, concentrated carb, sugary tooth that you know of?

Kara: Yes, he did. And I, I was, I'm glad that you mentioned that because I was speaking with my dad about it and I kind of said, why do you think your father had Alzheimer's? He was, he was fit, he was kind of the epitome outwardly of health.

But he did have a sweet tooth and my grandma baked quite a bit. And there was never, never a gathering where there weren't, you know, fudge and brownies and cakes and cookies. And I think that they regularly were consuming a lot of the sugary treats.

Melanie: And that was tradition, right?

Kara: Yeah. On top of home cooked meals. But that can really add up.

Melanie: So the big celebration, I think when people gather together is have a big treat. That's a celebratory, you know, I just had a birthday and you know, it was like, well, what do you want for dessert? You know, when we were at dinner. I was like, I'm good. I know too much information and it was just like, oh, what's my 10? It's really not sugar. It's, you know, other things, but yeah, you have that once we know what we know, you have that noise in your head.

Kara: Yes.

Melanie: And I had a grandmother with dementia. You had a grandfather with dementia, so we don't want that portion.

Kara: Right. There is somewhat of a genetic component that we can certainly alter that destiny, like you had said, with the choices that we're making every day. To summarize this, when folks are constantly eating the processed carbohydrates and sugary foods, kind of like Grandpa Bob was, over time our body has to pump out more and more insulin just to keep up, and that can lead to something called insulin resistance.

Melanie: Yeah. I like to think of insulin resistance as your cells are constantly bathed in insulin, so they become resistant to it, and that means your cells stop responding properly to insulin. It's like the key no longer fits the lock, so sugar stays in our bloodstream instead of going into our cells where it's needed for energy.

And that buildup of sugar is what we measure as high blood sugar or when they check your A1C, that's sort of a screenshot of three months of blood sugar and what it's been doing, and chronically high blood sugar is damaging everywhere in the body, including your precious brain.

Kara: And that's how insulin resistance can eventually lead to prediabetes and often type two diabetes. And just for reference, a normal fasting blood sugar is considered under 99 milligrams per deciliter. Prediabetes is typically 100 to 125, and then that type two diabetes is 126 or higher. And so getting that fasting glucose reading at your doctor's appointment, it's important, but it doesn't give the whole picture because you can have a fasting blood sugar in the normal range. And behind the scenes still be developing that insulin resistance that we talked about.

Melanie: You know, Kara, it is funny when you, when you say these parameters, I can remember teaching, this is going to date myself, teaching classes for diabetics, and we always said normal blood sugar was between 90 and 120.

Kara: Really?

Melanie: That was considered normal.

Kara: I didn't even know that there were, there was a timeframe where that was considered normal.

Melanie: Acceptable. We said, well, if you're within, you know, 80 to 120, you're fine. You start creeping towards 130, then we get concerned.

Kara: That's interesting, Melanie.

Melanie: So I, I love that they've changed that. Well, that's why we recommend also asking for a hemoglobin A1C test, which shows your average blood sugar is over the last three months. It's a screenshot for us to say, you know, maybe a blood sugar was great when they took a fasting blood sugar, but over a period of time it's showing spikes. And that's when your A1C creeps up. And this is more useful if you're trying to catch insulin resistance early.

Kara: Yeah definitely. And we really encourage all of you, especially if you have a history of dementia, Alzheimer's, or you're just concerned about blood sugar, which I think everybody should be, take it a step further. Ask your provider for a fasting insulin test. Because insulin can be elevated before fasting glucose or before your fasting blood sugar is showing as elevated. So you're really catching it earlier, kind of getting ahead of the game with that test.

Melanie: And I really like that test too if someone is really struggling to lose weight. Because insulin is our fat story and hormone.

Kara: Yeah. So great point.

Melanie: So you might be wondering what's the harm in having a high blood sugar. Well, high blood sugar creates a lot of inflammation. And one of our favorite doctors out there is Dr. David Perlmutter, a board-certified neurologist, and the author of Brain Maker. And he says that, and I quote, “Sugar is like an assault weapon and inflicts a lot of damage.”

Kara: And he also said that “Diabetes is the leading cause of early death, stroke, blindness, and neurological disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease. High blood sugar and insulin resistance, you know, they create so much inflammation in the brain, which can lead to cognitive decline. And Melanie had referred to this earlier as type three diabetes, and that's really what researchers are now calling Alzheimer's Disease: type three diabetes.

Melanie: So it says a lot about the relationship with sugar and the brain, and why we used to think having a dessert all the time was such a benign thing to do, but it's an expensive practice. For your health and your brain and Dr. Perlmutter also explains that surges in blood sugar cause inflammation, and that inflammation can shrink brain tissue, damage neurons, increase the risk of dementia, a whole host of other things throughout the whole body. But you really don't feel inflammation in your brain.

It's not the same as having inflammation in your knee where you physically feel the pain when you're trying to squat down. But unfortunately, inflammation in your brain is silent and that is a big reason. It's usually not detected until it's been progressing for a long time. Like your grandfather.

Kara: And you know, if you're serious about protecting your brain from cognitive decline, you also have to get serious about saying no. You have to say no to the regular desserts and the sugary treats.

Melanie: You know, and I might, I might pop in here and say, the more you are not having sugar, the less you will crave it. The more you have it, the more you will crave. So those first few days of saying no, kind of a booger. But then all of a sudden you're like, oh, I'm not craving this much.

Kara: Kind of, yeah, that's good advice. Get through that, the hump. You know, maybe three to five days, it might be a week, you might feel kind of crummy. But you come out on the other end with fewer cravings, more energy, more focus.

Melanie: And you don't have that feeling of crummy anymore.

Common foods/beverages sugar can lurk

Kara: Yeah, exactly. And you feel more clearheaded for sure. So if you're meeting up with friends, family, coworkers, you know, it's very common. We had talked about this at the beginning of the show. It's common to have coffee drink, the sugary coffee drink, the cocktail at happy hour or dessert. It's really become a common social norm and a reason to gather or something that we do at gatherings.

Melanie: Yep. And I love that you said the cocktail because your body perceives alcohol pretty much as sugar. It's extremely inflammatory to the brain. So you really need to pick and choose those events.

Kara: Yeah. Yep. And the amount of sugar in beverages, like the cocktail or the mocha, the Frappuccino, it's alarming. And it's not just the beverages. Here's an example. Maybe you stopped by a friend's house and she had just taken a pie out of the oven, warm slice of apple pie, and she offers you some with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And it may seem harmless, but that little treat contains 73 grams of carbohydrates.

So if we do our Nutritional Weight & Wellness calculation. Right, Melanie? We divide the carbohydrate grams by four, that's 18 teaspoons of sugar flooding the bloodstream. That's going to create a big spike in blood sugar and it's going to create inflammation throughout the body, but in the brain for sure.

Melanie: So, you know, I think our listeners sometimes think, you know, we never want these things. Well, of course we want these things. So one of the things that I will do when I want to treat one, I'm allergic to dairy, so I will get, there's certain treats out there that are very ice creamy, one of them is like, there's a coconut ice cream that I get that is sweetened with I think it's monk fruit and maybe some stevia.

And I will get that. And then when I make a crisp, I use mostly a nut topping. I don't use oats. And then we have one in our cookbook. But even instead of maple syrup or honey, I'll sweeten with stevia or monk fruit. And I feel like I'm getting that apple pie crisp ice cream experience. But I have worn a continuous glucose monitor and it does not spike my blood sugar.

Kara: Oh, I love that. So you're able to partake in a treat, but it's a low sugar, maybe even a no sugar healthy treat.

Melanie: Yeah. And so with my clients, I say, let's swap this for that instead of just white knuckle it and never have.

Kara: Yeah.

Melanie: You've got to come up with alternatives. Otherwise you're in deprivation brain and nobody can sustain that.

Kara: Mm-hmm. Because, and that, that results in binging often.

Melanie: Yeah. Or I'm in it to win it. Before I get back on the train, I better eat half the pie.

Kara: Yeah.

Melanie: And I say that from experience. But it is time for us to go to our first break, and when we get back we're going to talk about more effects that sugar and diet have on the brain and your memory.

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Neurotransmitters that sugar can deplete

Kara: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. Our topic today is nutrition for dementia prevention. I'm Kara Carper, Licensed Nutritionist, and I'm here with Melanie Beasley. Melanie's a Licensed and Registered Dietitian. So we're going to continue our important conversation about what foods we can eat to protect and nourish our brain to avoid cognitive damage. And you know, we were talking before break about the negative effects of sugar and here are some examples of neurotransmitters that sugar can deplete

Melanie: And neurotransmitters being are brain chemicals.

Kara: Yeah. And people have probably heard of some of these terms, like serotonin and dopamine. There's also norepinephrine and GABA. These are all brain chemicals that help you to feel happy, calm and focused. Sugar unfortunately depletes all of those. Sugar depletes B vitamins as well, and the very important mineral called magnesium, and it depletes vitamin B12, which is essential for memory.

Melanie: Yep. I also want to piggyback on that and say, so does alcohol. Alcohol depletes those. In fact, when my girls were younger and my daughters who are now adults, they coined the phrase PPD, post party depression. So if they had cocktails one or two or three days on the weekend, they would wake up with the Monday "scaries". Because they were not making the neurotransmitters.

So it's more than sugar. Alcohol also depletes, converts to sugar. So it's a double whammy. And I'm not anti-alcohol, but I definitely want our clients and our listeners to be aware of the possibility of damage so that they have control.

Homocysteine’s connection to increased risk of Alzheimer’s & heart disease (& the importance of B vitamins for memory)

So this is where we should talk about homocysteine. Homocysteine is a marker that can be tested in blood work, and high levels of homocysteine are associated with the increased risk of Alzheimer's and heart disease. So what many people don't know is that homocysteine levels are controlled by those B vitamins that can be depleted by sugar and alcohol that you were just talking about.

Kara: Right, and it's specifically, it's vitamins B6, B12, and folate. And when you're deficient in those, especially the active forms, your homocysteine levels can go up and become elevated. And that's another thing that creates inflammation in the blood vessels, including those tiny little blood vessels in the brain. And over time, that can lead to cognitive decline.

Melanie: Yeah. And being low in the B, especially B12 is very common, especially as we get older. And some people may not be able to absorb B12 well, due to digestive issues or certain medications, or even a methylation snip like M-T-H-F-R and testing homocysteine is a good way to see how your B vitamin status is impacting your health.

And if it's high, there's a simple way to correct it and bring those levels up with a high quality methylated B vitamin like methylfolate, methylcobalamin. So if, if you were to look at the supplements on our Nutrikey website, we don't have B vitamins that don't have methylated forms.

Kara: Yeah. We're very cautious about the quality of course. And the forms of all of our, all the nutrients on our shelves.

Melanie: So I've heard physicians say, well, if you take a supplement, it's just expensive urine. And I would disagree. So, it depends on the form that you're taking. And we've had clients say, oh, well my urine is really yellow. Well, that is actually showing that your body has used the B vitamins and that's the metabolite that you're seeing in the urine. So that's a good sign.

Kara: Right. And what I think another thing that you're trying to say, Melanie, is that there's a big difference in quality.

Melanie: A hundred percent.

Kara: You know, and so instead of going to a big box store and just grabbing something off the shelf where you don't know, like, first of all, what's the quality? Is there mercury? Is there lead? What form is it?

Melanie: Yes.

Kara: It may not be absorbable.

Melanie: And there's also, there's all kinds of contaminants in there that are doing your body and your brain harm while you're trying to take something to help with the quality of your brain and your health. Mm-hmm. So you don't want to be throwing insulting ingredients into your body while you're trying to protect your brain.

Kara: Yeah. And so just make sure you're getting it from a licensed practitioner.

Melanie: Yeah. Like it should be third party tested. It should be something that's not coming from a drugstore or a big box store. I mean, that's just dangerous. You're playing Russian roulette. And being low in a B especially B12, is pretty common, especially as we get older.

So listeners, if you go out to get tested, make sure you're not taking anything with B vitamins three days prior, because the test may pick up on what's floating around from your supplement in your bloodstream. You can get a false high. Or a false normal. So it's good to remove that for at least three days prior to getting tested, especially B vitamins.

Kara: Good advice for sure. And you might be wondering, well, how, how do I go about getting tested? You just need to ask your provider. It's a simple blood test. Ask for a homocysteine blood tests. It's not always included in routine panels. It should be because it gives insight into both cardiovascular and brain health.

Melanie: Yeah, that’s good advice.

Kara: And we have a powerful testimonial. I got this from one of our Dishing Up Nutrition podcast listeners, and here's what she said: “After hearing about homocysteine on your show, I asked my doctor to test mine and it came back high, which was over 14. So I started taking a high quality absorbable methylated B complex; it contained folate and vitamin B12, just like you recommended at Nutritional Weight & Wellness. Three months later, when I got tested again, my homocysteine had gone back down to eight in that normal healthy range.”

Melanie: That's a fabulous story. Years ago when I was having some health crisis, I went to a functional doctor and she looked at my labs and she said, and my B12 was normal. And she said, were you on B vitamins when you got tested? And I was like, well, yeah, I took my, they said it was okay.

So she sent me back to get tested again after I stayed off B vitamins for three to four days and I was bottomed out.

Kara: Wow.

Melanie: So it really shows you have to have quality labs. You have to have people know what they're doing.

Kara: Those B vitamins are water soluble. I mean, they are flushed out of your body and utilized on a 24 hour clock. However, you know, you can have traces of them in your, in your bloodstream. And so I think, I'm so glad that you brought that up just to kind of, you know, put those on the back burner for a few days before getting tested.

Melanie: Yeah, a hundred percent. You know, I also had a client I met with who was struggling with brain fog and memory lapses. She ended up getting some blood work done after our initial one-on-one nutrition appointment, and it turned out her homocysteine level was elevated. She started taking methyl B vitamins in higher doses. And within a few weeks her focus, her memory had significantly improved, which really is your quality of life. It's not always that simple, but it's worth noting that vitamin B deficiencies can create symptoms that look like dementia.

Kara: Yep.

Melanie: Think of your elderly parents.

Kara: Yeah. We got to get, we got to get this population going in regularly getting the blood work. Just really having the knowledge, you know?

Melanie: Being in tune with, with our bodies and how they respond because we, we can be at the helm and we can be controlling some of these things.

Kara: Yep. So, Dr. Mark Hyman, he's a functional medicine physician and a bestselling author. He's been very vocal about how modern diets contribute to growing rates of dementia and Alzheimer's. He says that optimal levels of homocysteine should be between six and eight micromoles per liter, anything higher, and you might be putting your brain at risk.

Melanie: You know, he's got a great program where you can get a whole host of labs done. I think it's five, I think it's around $500, and I think you get it done twice. And it just is a fabulous deal. I haven't done it, but I know one of our practitioners here did it.

Kara: She was very pleased with that, with the test.

Omega-3 fatty acids: another powerful piece of the puzzle

Melanie: So another powerful piece of the puzzle is omega-3 fatty acids, and these are essential fatty acids, which means we need them, which means your body cannot make them. So you have to get them from food or supplements. And the standard American diet, the SAD diet, is extremely low in omega-threes, extremely high in the inflammatory omega-sixes, which if it's inflammatory, it's going to affect that brain.

Kara: A 2016 study published in the journal, JAMA Neurology, found that people with higher blood levels of omega-threes had larger brain volumes and better memory function compared to those with lower levels. Isn't that something?

Melanie: Yeah. I love that. We always want a big fat brain. It's just important. So if someone calls you a fathead, you're winning. So over 90% of Americans are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids. And these healthy fats like DHA and EPA are critical for brain health. And DHA makes up a large part of the brain's gray matter and the retina and the eyes. So you really need a supplement. And I want you to talk about that because most of us are not eating sardines and fatty fish four times a week.

Kara: DHA is the omega-3 fat that's most directly associated with brain function. The DHA makes up 90% of the total omega-threes in your brain. And and so low DHA has been linked to increased risk for dementia and Alzheimer's. And you know, we've been talking a lot about inflammation on the show and things that can lead to inflammation of the brain.

Well, omega-threes reduce inflammation, they improve blood flow to the brain and they support that neurotransmitter function. Just to help our serotonin and our dopamine and all those other lovely chemicals, you know, be more communicative and we feel better.

Melanie: Omega-threes are like a shotgun. It's going to do that spray and cover a multitude of functions in our body, inflammation throughout our body, our brain health, our eye health, omega-threes we just need for every cell in the body. It's really when you take an omega-3 supplement, it's that shotgun effect of covering you.

Kara: And like you had said, there are not a lot of food sources rich in omega-3. That is why folks become deficient so easily. Fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, herring, or mackerel, if you like to eat those several times a week, you know that's a great source. Most are not eating that. You could still even eat fatty fish three times a week and also benefit from taking a high quality supplement.

Melanie: Yes, I take both a high quality supplement. And I do eat fatty fish three to four times a week. And that's the way I finally got my levels up, 'cause that can be tested as well; your omega-3 status. So it's hard to get therapeutic amounts just from food alone, and that's why that supplement can be really helpful.

I know Nutrikey has a great one. They have an Extra Strength Omega-3. Sometimes it's harder for clients to take multiple if they're pill fatigued and that kind helps you get away from that. It is a larger pill. For the best cognitive support, I recommend like three extra strength softgels or two to four, you know, the regular ones, if they're deficient, then of course it's going to be a therapeutic dose for a time, which is a higher amount. Oh, and I just want to say, a lot of people say they burp the fish. They'll ask me, am I going to burp this?

Kara: Oh, that we hear that question all the time.  

Melanie: So some people, most people no, but when you have that real sensitive tummy, I tell them, and I know you do too, put it in the freezer. And then take it out of the freezer and take it straight from there. And people are less likely to get the fish burp. I never get that. So I don't…

Kara: I've only had it once or twice and it's, it's not appealing and I can see where people would be like, okay, I'm done. I'm not taking anymore. It could also be a digestive issue

Melanie: and you could also take a liquid. You know, we have liquid available for people that really don't like to swallow pills. So, yeah.

Kara: Dr. Dale Bredesen is a neurologist and author of The End of Alzheimer's. His work focuses on not only preventing but actually reversing cognitive decline in certain cases, and he developed the recode protocol for reversing cognitive decline. It actually stands for reversal of cognitive decline. It's kind of an acronym.

He talks about omega-threes as a cornerstone of his approach, and he's found that people with Alzheimer's often have significantly lower omega-3 levels. And that increasing those levels can improve memory and brain function. So we, that he's just an expert that we often refer to along with Dr. Perlmutter. And some of the other names we've been dropping today.

Melanie: Dr. Amen. That's another really good listen.

Kara: Fabulous medical doctor who does brain scans and he's authored many books as well.

Eat real, nutrient dense food & eliminate sugar/processed carbs/bad fats; also being mindful of beverages-drink plenty of water

Melanie: Yeah. And Dr. Bredesen’s, you know, main focus is preventing cognitive decline with nutrition. So I love his information and a real food eating plan that eliminates sugar, processed carbohydrates, bad fats, hashtag seed oils, and you focus on nutrient dense food. It goes back to every bite matters, because whole foods heal the brain. So when I have someone who's noticing memory issues, cognitive decline, brain fog, I tell them every nibble and bit that you take should be nutrient dense, real food.

And when people really commit, let me be the boss of them when it comes to their food they see such an improvement. I mean, what else have we got if we don't have our brain?

Kara: We have to take it seriously. It's a very, very serious issue and I don't know the exact statistic, but it's something like 50% of adults over the age of 75 will have dementia or Alzheimer's. It's very close to that number.

Melanie: Well, that's alarming.

Kara: It’s very alarming. Yeah. So we have to take this seriously.

Melanie: There really is no pharmaceutical medical approach that reverses that. So prevention is key.

Kara: So you had said a whole foods nutrient-dense plan to heal the brain. Here's what that looks like in a day. It's just an example. We're going to have real protein at every meal, grass fed beef, wild caught fish, maybe some pasture raised eggs.

Melanie: Yeah. I love the eggs for the choline for the brain.

Kara: Yes, yes. And the lecithin and the leucine and the DHA.

Melanie: Perfect food.

Kara: Right?

Melanie: It's perfect little food in a shell.

Kara: It's liquid gold; is the egg yolk. We have to be eating the yolk,

Melanie: Especially pasture raised.

Kara: Mm-hmm. And then don't forget about a generous serving of colorful vegetables at every meal. And the healthy fats: olive oil, butter, coconut oil, maybe some avocado oil. And we want plenty of water as well. Avoid the soda, avoid the pastries and the processed snacks. And you've heard Melanie and I during, throughout the hour saying things like, eliminate sugar or stop drinking soda. There are some health conditions where you may hear us recommend on our podcast, reduce sugar, reduce those processed carbohydrates. Our brains are so complex and vulnerable. And, you know, if you're concerned about cognitive decline…

Melanie: Yeah.

Kara: You can't play around with those nibbles and bits, a little sugar, a little soda every day. Those things need to be eliminated because they're creating inflammation in the brain.

Alternative options to regular soda

Melanie: You know, and when you walk through a grocery store, there are some great alternatives out there: Zevia soda. So it's, again, it's rather than just white knuckling it and, and eliminating it, there are some, there are some drinks that like Poppi or, Zevia soda, Olipop, these have great alternatives for you to wean off of soda. And then eventually off of those to just mostly water.

Kara: Zevia is a great one: sweetened with stevia.

Melanie: Doesn't raise your blood sugar. It's, it's a mind bender when you pour like an orange soda out of the can and it's clear because there are no artificial dyes.

Kara: But it tastes similar.

Melanie: Yeah, that's great. I love the grape, so I love the grape soda from Zevia. So if it's a Friday night and I want to have something that makes me feel like woo-hoo, I will have a grape Zevia.

Kara: I love it. They even have a cola flavor as well, for those that are kind of feeling stuck on the Diet Coke or the Pepsi products.

Melanie: They have a Dr. Pepper version. I haven't had that 'cause I don't have caffeine, but yeah. So there are options out there. If you go into it thinking, is this going to taste exactly like my Coke? The answer's no, you're going to be disappointed. But if you go in there saying, is this something that's sort of sweet and delicious? It gives me the bubbles.

Yes. So you have to go in with an open mind that it's not going to taste exactly like what you're used to. But it will be something delicious to put in your glass over ice.

Kara: And it's got that carbonation, which a lot of people are craving.

Melanie: Yeah. And it does not have the bone robber of the phosphoric acid.

Kara: Oh right. That's another great point about those Zevia and the Olipop.

Eat vegetables to support the brain

Melanie: So we really encourage water, water, water. But if you're transitioning, these are a nice segue. I do want to talk more about what our listeners can eat. And one of the most powerful things that you can do for your brain is to eat more vegetables. And I hear all the time clients go, hmm, really don't love them. So all day long, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks, we want to feed those antioxidants that we get from vegetables.

We want to be bathing our brain with antioxidants, which help fight off damaging free radicals. They help bring inflammation down, which it circles back to that homocysteine. So when you, listeners, I challenge you to go to your refrigerator, open the doors, do you see an array of colorful vegetables of all different colors, deep purples, reds, greens, because that is your brain fighting food.

Kara: And 50% of the population, Melanie, is dealing with high blood sugar or insulin resistance. So we know this is something really everyone can benefit from because vegetables, you can eat three cups, four cups of vegetables, and your blood sugar's not going to go up.

Melanie: Yes. Especially if it's not the concentrated carbs like potatoes.

Kara: Right, right. We have to clarify, there's, you know, we're talking about the non-starchy vegetables. Think about, which is really like leafy greens and tomatoes and cucumbers.

Melanie: Really, the vegetables that grow above the earth except for corn and beans.

Kara: Right? Yep. Good differentiation there.

Melanie: Squash. You know, when you're talking about blood sugar and vegetables, I love vegetables because when you start a meal, and we have a podcast on this, where you start a meal with vegetables, then you follow it with your protein and fat, and then you have maybe some bright colored berries, which is a source of sugar, your blood sugar does not fluctuate. So we recently started carrying glucose monitors, continuous glucose monitors, that you can get through Nutritional Weight & Wellness. We all trialed them.

Try Out a Continuous Glucose Monitor!

Kara: I have not trialed mine yet. I can't wait.

Melanie: Oh, I double dog dare you. It's the best.

Kara: It's sitting on my kitchen table at home.

Melanie: Yes. And I really learned that ordered eating, starting with fiber, and then your protein and then your berries, you really don't have the blood sugar spike. But if you start like a client today, she was saying, oh, it's cherry season. So she's just grabbing a handful of cherries on an empty stomach. I want her to wear a continuous glucose monitor because every time you have that big spike and it will tell you you're going out of range, you're spiking that's damage to your brain.

Kara: Yeah.

Melanie: And she's 78, so we would have to really protect that brain.

Kara: Yeah. That's a great show, by the way. Kind of what order to eat your food in to best support glucose levels.

Melanie: It was really fun being able to do all the things I tell my clients. And see, oh, this, this actually works.

Kara: There's the data.

Melanie: I mean, I know the data, but to see it with your own body's response. You're going to love it.

Kara: I can't wait.

Melanie: So, cruciferous vegetables are especially important and that's like your, your ones that stink when you cook: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, asparagus. Because they're so nutrient dense and full of fiber, they're naturally low in carbs, so you could eat quantities. Like Kara was saying, there's really no reason to go hungry.

Kara: One of my go-tos lately is sauteing cabbage and olive oil with some onions and garlic.

Melanie: Yummy.

Kara: Simple. Maybe throw in some bacon for flavor.

Melanie: A little drizzle of apple cider vinegar.

Kara: Ooh.

Melanie: When you get that whole pan. Oh my gosh.

Kara: That's a great idea. I have some of that in my fridge. You know, in general, food prices seem like they've gotten pretty high, but that is a vegetable that's affordable; continues to be affordable is just buy yourself a cabbage.

Melanie: And it lasts forever in your fridge.

Kara: Yes, it does.

Melanie: They last forever. And I really encourage clients to get purple cabbage because again, bright, dark color, higher in antioxidants.

Kara: Different plant nutrients. You know, we need a real variety. All of those different colors provide a different variety of antioxidants and plant nutrients.

The more diverse the microbiome, the better the brain health

Melanie: You know, and that brings up another point, which is the more diverse your microbiome, the better your brain health. So you wouldn't think that your gut health was directly related to your brain, but it really is.

Kara: It’s that is that gut/brain connection.  

Melanie: Yes. So when you get that variety of plants, you get a diverse garden in your microbiome, which in turn helps with your overall health.

Kara: Yeah. One more reason that vegetables are going to improve our health of the body and the brain.

Melanie: And I mentioned about sneaking it in. Well, one of the things I really like to do is if you make a smoothie; I'm a lazy cook; so if I make a smoothie, many times I use for my ice, either broccoli or cauliflower frozen. But also by the end of the day, if I'm sort of doing the math about how many vegetables I've had, and if I feel a little deficient, I make a green smoothie and put a big fat glass straw in it.

And my green smoothie is typically frozen broccoli, cauliflower, maybe some frozen kale in there. You can use spinach. I can't eat spinach personally, but you can do some spinach and then you can brighten it with some good organic lemon juice and sweeten it with stevia or the Key Greens. You don't realize you're drinking your whole salad. And sometimes it's just easier than chewing and plowing through a salad. You have to add enough water so it doesn't taste like, you know you're drinking sludge.

Kara: Yeah. What a great and portable and efficient way to get several servings.

Melanie: Yes. And you feel a little righteous when you're done.

Healthy fats keep our brain working well

Kara: You absolutely should. So our listeners may know this, but our brains are made of 60 to 70% fat, hence the term fat head being a positive connotation. We need those healthy fats and oils to keep our brains working well. We talked about some examples with the coconut products, butter, olive oil, avocado oil. Those are natural unprocessed fats.

On the flip side, you know, when we're looking at the more highly processed, damaged fats in oils, those are creating more inflammation and negatively impacting our brains.

Melanie: Yeah, and, and seed oils are really important, so, you know, when we talk about avocado oil, that's from the flesh of the avocado. When we talk about sunflower oil, that's a highly processed oil, so it sounds so benign. But you want to avoid sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, vegetable oils, cottonseed oil, and these actually coat the synapse in the brain. So they prevent neurotransmitters from being able to communicate back and forth in that synapse.

So we know they affect brain; they can affect mood. So overall health, you just want to avoid those seed oils and feed your brain the healthy, like you said, the natural fats.

Kara: And I can't remember if it was 20 years ago or like there was an article decades ago, and I think Darlene, our owner wrote it. It was something about an oil change for the brain.

Melanie: Oh, I love that.

Kara: Right. Like replacing all those processed, refined, highly heated, highly oxidized seed oils that Melanie just mentioned, replacing them with our pure unprocessed butter, coconut, avocado oils and fats.

Melanie: So basically if they take something and they use the term cold pressed, that means they pressed the oil out. That was the only step. The other oils that are highly refined, they go through like 20 steps, which include degumming and deodorizing.

Kara: Yes. And they use a gasoline type solvent such as like a methane or a hexane. Because it's not easy to extract oil from corn.

Melanie: Or cottonseed for the love of Pete. Who's eating cottonseeds?

Kara: No.

Melanie: So you want to avoid that.

Kara: So the bottom line is that your brain is made of what you eat. Your memory, your mood, and your focus, they're not just a result of age or genetics. They're also highly influenced by your food choices, your nutrient status, and your blood sugar.

Melanie: Yeah. And you don't have to wait for a diagnosis to start protecting your brain. Think about it this way. Everything you put in your mouth is either harming or healing your cognitive function. So let's make those choices that help us to stay sharp, clear minded, engaged in our aging years. I mean, we never stop learning.

And here's a quote from Dr. Mark Hyman: “Dementia is a condition that is largely preventable with the right diet and lifestyle. It doesn't just start when you forget where you put your keys. It starts decades earlier in your body with inflammation, insulin resistance, and nutritional deficiencies.”

Kara: We hope today's show gave you some new tools to protect your memory and nourish your brain. Our goal at Nutritional Weight & Wellness is to help each and every person experience better health through eating real food, and it's a simple, yet powerful message. Eating real food is life changing. Thanks for joining us today.