3 Things That Happen To Your Brain With Leaky Gut

Gut health is essential for overall health. That connection is fairly easy to make. But what about your brain? Can the health of your gut really affect your brain? The answer is a resounding yes! Here are three things that happen to your brain when you have a leaky gut.

1. Depression – the bacteria that naturally exist in our GI tract are mostly beneficial. However, if metabolic byproducts and cell constituents are able to escape the gut they cause a potent inflammatory response. This happens through a “leaky gut.” The resulting response alters levels of inflammatory hormones called cytokines. These cytokines have the ability to communicate with the brain and eventually change neurotransmitter levels. This change in neurotransmission actually begins to rewire the brain leading the changes in how we think and feel. Most often, people begin to feel depressed. 
2. An Inflamed Brain – through the mechanisms just mentioned, not only do your neurotransmitters and thoughts/feelings change, your brain becomes inflamed. This signals the immune cells within the brain, called glial cells, to become very active. This may sound like a good thing, but it’s not. As a result of being activated glial cellsgenerate more inflammation and create oxidative stress. This means the glial cells begin breaking down the brain. This may increase your risk of brain fog, fatigue, depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, and possibly even neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
3. Blood Brain Barrier Breakdown – there is a barrier than exists that separates what is circulating in our blood from our brain. Only things that are beneficial for the brain are supposed to have access to it. The blood brain barrier is an exceptionally important structure. With increased inflammation from a leaky gut and glial activation, the blood brain barrier breaks down. Now toxic byproducts, inflammatory hormones, and other noxious chemicals have free access to the brain. This is a disastrous consequence that interferes with brain function leading to a multitude of symptoms which include depression, brain fog, anxiety, and more. Leaky gut leads to a leaky blood brain barrier!

Gastrointestinal health is essential for brain health. Knowing how to fix the gut can lead to dramatic improvements in how you feel cognitively and emotionally.

For much more information and strategies to improve your gut and brain health join me for a FREE webinar on Tuesday, November 10th at 7:30PM called “The Gut-Brain Connection – Mood, Food, and More!” We’ll explore the amazing connection between gut health and brain health and give you tips and tricks to make both healthy.

Dr. Vreeland is a nationally recognized expert and author in functional medicine and will present information that will be life changing! You don’t want to miss this event!

Click here to register: http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=EC51D98085463A

Eight nutrients to protect the brain

Brain health is the second most important component in maintaining a healthy lifestyle according to a 2014 AARP study. As people age they can experience a range of cognitive issues from decreased critical thinking to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. In the March issue of Food Technology published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), contributing editor Linda Milo Ohr writes about eight nutrients that may help keep your brain in good shape.

1. Cocoa Flavanols: Cocoa flavanols have been linked to improved circulation and heart health, and preliminary research shows a possible connection to memory improvement as well. A study showed cocoa flavanols may improve the function of a specific part of the brain called the dentate gyrus, which is associated with age-related memory (Brickman, 2014).

2. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Omega-3 fatty acids have long been shown to contribute to good heart health are now playing a role in cognitive health as well. A study on mice found that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation appeared to result in better object recognition memory, spatial and localizatory memory (memories that can be consciously recalled such as facts and knowledge), and adverse response retention (Cutuli, 2014). Foods rich in omega-3s include salmon, flaxseed oil, and chia seeds.

3. Phosphatidylserine and Phosphatidic Acid: Two pilot studies showed that a combination of phosphatidylserine and phosphatidic acid can help benefit memory, mood, and cognitive function in the elderly (Lonza, 2014).

4. Walnuts: A diet supplemented with walnuts may have a beneficial effect in reducing the risk, delaying the onset, or slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in mice (Muthaiyah, 2014).

5. Citicoline: Citicoline is a natural substance found in the body’s cells and helps in the development of brain tissue, which helps regulate memory and cognitive function, enhances communication between neurons, and protects neural structures from free radical damage. Clinical trials have shown citicoline supplements may help maintain normal cognitive function with aging and protect the brain from free radical damage. (Kyowa Hakko USA).

6. Choline: Choline, which is associated with liver health and women’s health, also helps with the communication systems for cells within the brain and the rest of the body. Choline may also support the brain during aging and help prevent changes in brain chemistry that result in cognitive decline and failure. A major source of choline in the diet are eggs.

7. Magnesium: Magnesium supplements are often recommended for those who experienced serious concussions. Magnesium-rich foods include avocado, soy beans, bananas and dark chocolate.

8. Blueberries: Blueberries are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity because they boast a high concentration of anthocyanins, a flavonoid that enhances the health-promoting quality of foods. Moderate blueberry consumption could offer neurocognitive benefits such as increased neural signaling in the brain centers.

via Eight nutrients to protect the aging brain — ScienceDaily.

Reference: Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). “Eight nutrients to protect the aging brain.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 April 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150415203340.htm>.

Dr. Court’s Comments:

This is a great list. I’d encourage people to consider adding some, if not all, of these to their diet. However, these alone will not be 100% protective. To get much closer to that elusive 100% mark, exercise must be included. The benefits of exercise on the brain are numerous. Exercise is inherently anti-inflammatory. It improves fuel delivery as well as waste removal in the brain. It increases neural feedback which preserves synaptic connections. Remember this fact; 90% of the information coming into the brain on a daily basis is from proprioception. That is, 90% of the information is from our muscles and our joints. A sedentary lifestyle reduces this flow of information, reducing the survivability of neurons in the central nervous system. Exercise also keeps the heart healthy, and a healthy heart means a healthy brain.

Recommendation for vitamin D intake was miscalculated, is far too low, experts say

Researchers at UC San Diego and Creighton University have challenged the intake of vitamin D recommended by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Institute of Medicine (IOM), stating that their Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin D underestimates the need by a factor of ten.

In a letter published last week in the journal Nutrients the scientists confirmed a calculation error noted by other investigators, by using a data set from a different population. Dr. Cedric F. Garland, Dr.P.H., adjunct professor at UC San Diego’s Department of Family Medicine and Public Health said his group was able to confirm findings published by Dr. Paul Veugelers from the University of Alberta School of Public Health that were reported last October in the same journal.

“Both these studies suggest that the IOM underestimated the requirement substantially,” said Garland. “The error has broad implications for public health regarding disease prevention and achieving the stated goal of ensuring that the whole population has enough vitamin D to maintain bone health.”

The recommended intake of vitamin D specified by the IOM is 600 IU/day through age 70 years, and 800 IU/day for older ages. “Calculations by us and other researchers have shown that these doses are only about one-tenth those needed to cut incidence of diseases related to vitamin D deficiency,” Garland explained.

Robert Heaney, M.D., of Creighton University wrote: “We call for the NAS-IOM and all public health authorities concerned with transmitting accurate nutritional information to the public to designate, as the RDA, a value of approximately 7,000 IU/day from all sources.”

“This intake is well below the upper level intake specified by IOM as safe for teens and adults, 10,000 IU/day,” Garland said. Other authors were C. Baggerly and C. French, of GrassrootsHealth, a voluntary organization in San Diego CA, and E.D. Gorham, Ph.D., of UC San Diego.

via Recommendation for vitamin D intake was miscalculated, is far too low, experts say — ScienceDaily.

Dr. Court’s Commentary – 

I’ve been recommending anywhere from 4,000-6,000IU/day of vitamin D (supplementally) to my patients for many years. This is consistent with the above recommendations that people get about 7,000IU/day from all sources. Vitamin D deficiency is a culprit in many diseases of aging, and the IOM’s recommendations were far too low. It’s good to see this becoming more well recognized.

Only one study has been done (that I can find) that actually measured how much vitamin D human beings use on a daily basis. The conclusion of that study was that humans use about 4,000-6,000IU per day (hence my recommendation). In that context, the IOM’s recommendation of 600-800IU/day becomes even more startling.

The Gut-Brain Connection

A large body of evidence is accumulating to support a role between healthy gut function, brain development and function of the central nervous system. The organisms contained in the gut should be considered an inner organ with functions similar in importance to any other organ present in the body. Disruptions in this “organ” may alter many things including brain function and cause symptoms like depression, anxiety, ‘brain fog’ and more.

At birth the human gastrointestinal tract is sterile, however, it is quickly colonized and by the age of one year, the bacterial profile looks similar to that of an adult.¹ The connection between the gut and the brain is known to be bidirectional. This means messages from the gut affect brain function just as much as messages from the brain affect gut function.²

 The mechanism by which alterations in bacterial profiles of the gut affect how we feel, think and move is fascinating. It all begins with lipopolysaccharides (LPS). LPS are structures located on the surfaces of bacteria present in our gut. These LPS may actually get out of the gut and into the blood stream producing a very strong immune response. Normally, the gut does a very good job keeping these LPS from getting into the blood stream.³ However, when the barrier in the gut weakens (‘leaky gut’) LPS is more easily absorbed and enters circulation.  When this occurs, inflammation ensues. If the process continues, high levels of inflammation are generated and this begins to alter neurotransmitter levels in the brain. With enough change in neurotransmitter levels, mood, behavior and cognitive function suffer.

What causes leaky gut? There are a lot of factors, however, evidence points to a high fructose diet (sugary beverages), the Western diet (high in processed foods) and nutrient deficiencies like vitamin D, A, zinc and magnesium.These factors are also known to increase the ability of LPS to get into the blood stream.⁴

 Symptoms of depression, anxiety, ‘brain fog,’ or poor memory may not always be coming from your brain. The genesis of the problem might actually be in your gut! By maintaining a healthy diet and addressing potential nutrient deficiencies you may see many of your symptoms disappear without the need for expensive, mind-altering medications!

¹Palmer C, Bik EM, DiGiulio DB, Relman DA, Brown PO. Development of the human infant intestinal microbiota. PLoS Biol. 2007 Jul;5(7):e177.

²O’Mahony SM, Hyland NP, Dinan TG, Cryan JF. Maternal separation as a model of brain-gut axis dysfunction. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2011 Mar;214(1):71-88.

³Bested AC, Logan AC, Selhub EM. Intestinal microbiota, probiotics and mental health: from Metchnikoff to modern advances: Part II – contemporary contextual research. Gut Pathog. 2013 Mar 14;5(1):3.

⁴Teixeira TF, Collado MC, Ferreira CL, Bressan J, Peluzio Mdo C. Potential mechanisms for the emerging link between obesity and increased intestinal permeability. Nutr Res. 2012 Sep;32(9):637-47.

7 Simple Steps to a Sound Mind, Body, and Soul

These days it seems everyone is looking for the quick fix, the pill, the next fad diet that will change their lives. They are looking to increase energy, feel younger, be stronger or live to 100. I’m here to tell you there’s no quick fix. Surprised? I didn’t think so.

Most people are aware there is no such thing as a quick fix, however, there are things you can do for yourself that will help you live a long, happy life. And they’re simple!

Step 1 – Eat a healthy diet

This seems like a no brainer, but often people neglect this one. We take better care of our cars than we do our bodies yet it is known that most chronic diseases are diet related.

Step 2 – Exercise

Another no brainer, yet the average American spends 35 hours a week watching TV and just two hours a week exercising. Low physical activity is linked to many chronic diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and diabetes.

Step 3 – Balance brain function

A phenomenon called hemisphericity can change the way the hemispheres of your brain communicate with each other. This can lead to foggy thinking, processing problems, attention issues, headaches and much more. A functional neurologist can find out if this is affecting you.

Step 4 – Balance brain chemistry

This goes along with the above phenomenon. Neurotransmitters are necessary for proper brain function. We must have the correct balance of these neurotransmitters because too little of one or too much of another can cause symptoms like depression, anxiety, migraines, attention issues, or even brain degeneration. Everything from genetics to diet can influence the balance of neurotransmitters in your brain.

Step 5 – Reduce inflammation

Chronic inflammation is silent and often symptom free. It destroys tissues, causes atherosclerosis, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. It also accelerates aging. Chronic inflammation is often diet related and is increasingly being seen as the cause of most diseases that affect humans.

Step 6 – Manage your stress

Research is very clear that stress increases levels of inflammation in the body through a process called glucocorticoid receptor resistance. Essentially, with high levels of stress the body over produces cortisol. With this huge supply of cortisol, tissues begin to ignore it and compensate by producing high levels of inflammatory molecules. Managing stress can involve many things including exercise, meditation, and cognitive behavioral therapy to name a few.

Step 7 – Stay positive

Interesting research has concluded that pessimism is associated with poorer health outcomes in the general population. Negative mood states are associated with increased activation of the fight or flight system (sympathetic nervous system) and decreased activation of the rest and digest system (parasympathetic nervous system). Again, this leads to an increase in systemic inflammation!

Want more information? Join Dr. Vreeland for a FREE webinar next week on June 5th from 7-8pm. We’ll discuss all of the above in detail and tell you how you can live happy and healthy! We look forward to seeing you there!

Click this link to register for FREE!

http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=E955DC84894A39

Please join us for FREE!

 

Brain Health 101

Keeping your brain healthy is critical to our overall health. Check out the infographic on 7 ways to keep your brain happy and healthy!!!

A healthy brain is a happy brain!

Gait Related to Cognitive Decline

A new study furthers the evidence that our motor system (the system that controls our movements) is related to higher centers of brain function that control how we think, remember and interact with the world.  This study examines the link between how we walk and the risk for developing dementia. Check it out below!

Alzheimer’s Disease video blog

Below is another video blog.  This time we’re talking about Alzheimer’s disease and what you can do to reduce your risk of developing this devastating condition.  Enjoy!

Your 4 year old needs Ritalin Part II

Yesterday I wrote about how the American Academy of Pediatrics has changed the guidelines about how young (and old) a child could be diagnosed with ADHD. The new guidelines say that a child as young as 4 and as old as 18 may now be diagnosed with ADHD.

They went on to say that Ritalin and other drugs are good choices for treatment even for the youngest patients. To me this sounds like a terrible idea.

So what are some effective alternatives?

First and foremost, we must look at a child’s diet.  A healthy diet is a big key to helping a child regulate his brain function.  The problem in ADHD is that circuits in the brain that are responsible for attention, focus and other executive functions are under active.  That is precisely why most of the medications that exist are stimulants.  These stimulants speed up the processing in these brain regions and allow the child to function more normally.  The problem is that they carry serious side effect profiles, some of them very dangerous.

So where, exactly, does diet fit into this? Good question. First, each and every child must begin the day with breakfast. Food provides the fuel that the brain uses to do its job!  If there isn’t enough of the right kind of fuel, the child’s brain cannot function as well as it should.

And what is the right kind of food? Each child should begin the day with a source of protein and a little healthy sugar in the form of fruit.  This will provide ample amounts of fuel so your child can make it until his next meal at lunch.  Do not allow a child to eat sugary cereals or pop tarts or to skip breakfast.  Those types of fuel (or lack thereof) only set the child up for a crash in blood sugar which deprives the brain of the vital energy it needs.

The rest of the day should be roughly the same.  Be sure that your child eats protein and a fruit or vegetable every time he eats. Steer them away from sugary snacks and drinks.  They have a negative impact on brain function.

Balancing Neurotransmitters

A natural program to balance neurotransmitters in the brain is important. Neurotransmitters are specialized proteins that each nerve in the brain uses to communicate with its neighbors. The balance of them is important.  In ADHD the focus has been on the neurotransmitters called dopamine and norepineprhine.  Others, however, may play a role and include GABA, glutamate, PEA and serotonin to name a few.

The levels of these neurotransmitters in the brain is important.  Levels that are too high or too low can cause the brain to function less than optimally.  In my office we measure these neurotransmitters in a urine test and have found them very helpful clinically.  If we find levels that are low, we can supplement to raise them.  For example, dopamine is raised by increasing dietary levels of tyrosine (or its derivatives) and serotonin is raised by increasing dietary levels of tryptophan (or its derivatives).  The process is relatively simple, but it is very effective. Through this process we are able to rebalance the neurotransmitter system and see improvements in behavior and attention.

Reprogram the brain

This sounds very much like something out of a science fiction movie, but it is all based in neurology.  In ADHD the brain is wired incorrectly.  The circuits that we want to work are not efficient enough to produce balanced brain function.  To change this we must provide a program of neurologic rehabilitation.  It can be done many ways, but in our office we use a combination of home exercises that include eye exercises, balance exercises, light and sound therapy and proprioceptive feedback with an in-offfice therapy called interactive metronome or IM.

IM was developed in the early 1990s and is used to help children with learning and developmental disorders as well as adult neuro rehabilitation patients. IM is a neuro-motor assessment & treatment tool used in therapy to improve the neurological processes of motor planning and sequencing.

The IM program provides a structured, goal-oriented process that challenges the patient to synchronize a range of hand and foot exercises to a precise computer-generated reference tone heard through headphones. The patient attempts to match the rhythmic beat with repetitive motor actions. A patented auditory-visual guidance system provides immediate feedback measured in milliseconds, and a score is provided.

Over the course of the treatment, patients learn to:

• Focus and attend for longer periods of time
• Increase physical endurance and stamina
• Filter out internal and external distractions
• Improve ability to monitor mental and physical actions as they are occurring
• Progressively improve coordinated performance.

I’ve used this program with many children and adults in my office and it works exceptionally well.  It is a great option for patients who have been diagnosed with ADHD and other learning disorders.

There are many options for parents with children with ADHD.  Medications are of course one of them, but there is no permanent benefit to taking them.  As a matter of fact, 50% of children who take medications will still need them as adults.  Rewiring the brain, dietary changes and rebalancing neurotransmitters has lasting and permanent effects.  In my opinion, it’s the best way to go.

What’s that sound?

Image via Wikipedia

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is an exceptionally common problem.  As many as 2 million Americans experience this on a daily basis.  It can range from very minor to annoying to debilitating.

Tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss.  Prolonged exposure to loud noises is the most common cause of hearing loss.  It is this loss of hearing that is actually causing the tinnitus.  Say what? Hearing loss actually causes people to hear sounds that don’t really exist? Yes!

People often describe tinnitus as ringing in the ears.  However, the list of sounds that are considered tinnitus is very long.  Other sounds that people might perceive include ticking, clicking, whooshing and buzzing to name a few.

Recent research, published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest several new approaches to treatment, including retraining the brain, and new avenues for developing drugs to suppress the ringing.

As a chiropractic neurologist the above statement about retraining the brain got my attention.  This is something that is near and dear to the heart of all chiropractic neurologists.  We use techniques that retrain the brain every day.  We use these techniques to help people with a wide variety of conditions ranging from anxiety to muscular imbalances and pain.

Traditionally, patients with tinnitus are told the problem stems from damaged hair cells inside of the ear.  They are told it is these hair cells that are sending the wrong signals into the brain which interprets them as noise. Turns out, this is not true.

Because each hair cell is tuned to a different frequency, damaged or lost cells leave a gap in hearing, typically a specific frequency and anything higher in pitch.  It is this gap which causes problems for the brain.

Chiropractic neurologists have been saying for a very long time that ringing in the ears is actually brain based.  This new research supports this assertion. Below is information from coauthor of the recent study Shaowen Bao, adjunct assistant professor in the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at UC Berkeley

Experiments in the past few years have shown that the ringing doesn’t originate in the inner ear, though, but rather in regions of the brain — including the auditory cortex — that receives input from the ear.

Bao’s experiments in rats with induced hearing loss explain why the neurons in the auditory cortex generate these phantom perceptions. They showed that neurons that have lost sensory input from the ear become more excitable and fire spontaneously, primarily because these nerves have “homeostatic” mechanisms to keep their overall firing rate constant no matter what.

“With the loss of hearing, you have phantom sounds,” said Bao, who himself has tinnitus. In this respect, tinnitus resembles phantom limb pain experienced by many amputees. (From sciencedaily.com)

The neurons that have lost sensory input in the brain are the neurons that are responsible for the perceived noise that people hear.  These neurons have undergone a process called transneural degeneration.  To stabilize these neurons they need more input.  But because they cannot receive it from the hair cells in the ear that are damaged, other areas of the auditory cortex must take over.  This retraining of the brain takes time, but if performed diligently, the results can be phenomenal.

We know this is a possibility because the brain is plastic.  That is, it changes in response to the stress and environmental input it receives. When a finger is amputated, for example, the region of the brain receiving input from that finger may start handling input from neighboring fingers.

Drug therapy is aimed at increasing the levels of the neurotransmitter GABA in the brain.  GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter.  In order to slow down the firing rate of these over excited cells, we must increase the levels of this inhibitory neurotransmitter.  The good news is there are lots of natural therapies that work to raise GABA levels or drive GABA receptors in the brain.

One way is to use the amino acid taurine.  I use it frequently.  Another is a product called phenibut (Phen-i-bute).  It is a natural GABA derivative that crosses the blood brain barrier and binds to GABA receptors.  I also use this frequently in my practice. These supplements, however, I believe are temporary solutions.  The permanent solution is to retrain the brain.

Tinnitus is a complicated and elusive condition, but we appear to be headed in the right direction in terms of research.  Always remember, the brain holds the key!