A fave part of my job, after coaching itself, is being ever on the hunt the latest and greatest in body-mind-spirit healthy news for you, my dear readers. I was at a really interesting talk last week by Dr. Erin Wiley about brain health. She was sharing the latest information about chronic inflammation and mood disorders like depression and anxiety on behalf of Orthomolecular Medicine.
Inflammation is the body’s response to injury or infection. The reaction is really powerful and helpful when it’s defending us from outer threats. But there’s growing evidence that stress (and the way we deal with it) is linked to a low-grade inflammatory response. That response starts to overload the body as if it was constantly fighting an infection. There’s also good evidence that chronic inflammation contributes to heart disease, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and other diseases. We start to notice chronic inflammation with things like allergies, skin conditions, aches and pains and the like.
The damage of inflammation comes from a process called oxidative stress. This is the havoc that free radicals cause to our cells by degrading the structural proteins, fat and DNA. One way to think about it is how oxygen changes iron to rust when it’s left outside in the weather. Dr. Wiley had a lot of suggestions to manage inflammation through lifestyle and diet changes:
What to eat
- Use coconut oil for cooking and olive oil for taste. Don’t skimp on healthy fats because your brain (like your butt) is made of fat. They both become big and beautiful when you treat them with good fats.
- Low carb diets reduce inflammation. A couple of better known are the paleo diet or the ketogenic diet.
- Vegetables and fruits. Your plate should be half full of green and colorful veggies. And broccoli for the win.
What not to eat
- Refined sugar. Plain and simple. Refined sugar is inflammatory, which is the opposite of what you want.
- Foods you are sensitive to. The most common ones are gluten, dairy, soy, eggs and sugar. They make you bloated, foggy, achey, and older. I’ve written more about how to find them here.
- Carb-y meals followed by carb-y treats, and chased with carb-y drinks. Your daily recommended dose is 3 – 6 servings per day.
Here’s how you soothe your inner 4 year old – the one who’s lower lip is quivering at the thought of giving up her favorite carbs. Make them good ones! Be a connoisseur of carbs. Spend time making yourself your most favorite carbs and really, really enjoy them when you have them. (In technical terms, that’s called mindful eating!)
How to exercise
Walking half an hour a day will do a lot to manage inflammation in your body. Dr. Wiley suggested watching 23 ½ Hours by Dr. Mike Evans if you’re still not sure about this.
- Bonus points for walking in a forest. They are full of organic chemicals that are antimicrobial and generally good for you. (It’s called forest bathing in Japan – that’s a fun thought)
Just move your body: yoga, pilates, running, dancing, trampoline, whatever you like.
- Strength training is really, really good for you if you can fit it into your exercise routine.
How to live with modern products
One of the first tipoff’s that our brains and bodies are inflamed is that we start to react badly to chemicals in our environment. You’ll notice it with wine, coffee, perfume, fragrances, and cleaning chemicals. But the damage has been done over the years of exposure to pesticides, solvents, BPAs and phthalates.
Cut down on the allergens that make you feel crummy, in order of least important to most important to you. Maybe you can stop before you get to your favorite allergen (ahem . . . wine).
How to relax
Your brain needs to relax, too. Try mindfulness (yes!) and any meditative activities to soothe your stress. Yoga, tai chi, qi gong are all good for the inveterate multi-taskers. Prayer is superb.
How to supplement your diet
Dr. Wiley had two unreserved recommendations to combat inflammation – fish oil and probiotics. They have unblemished safety profiles, even at these therapeutic doses.
- Fish oil of 1000 – 2000 mg/day of EPA. You are going to have to hunt around for this because most commercial blends are much lower. The ratio of EPA:DPA should be 6:1 because we get enough DPA in our diet.
- A probiotic containing lactobacillus Rhamnosus daily.
How to repair the damage
Now this is where the talk started getting even more interesting.
There are a few different ways we can help our bodies turn on our healing response and clean up the damage that free radicals cause to our cells. You need to work with a naturopath to follow these so they can make sure that you’re dosing properly and using good quality products.
- Turn on your genes. There’s a molecule called an nrf2 activator that will actually turn on your genes to stimulate your body to make glutathione, a powerful anti-oxidant that protects your cells against oxidation. Nrf2 activators are found in low levels in common foods – green tea, coffee, turmeric, broccoli, and red wine.
- Supplement with glutathione. Glutathione is the body’s superstar anti-oxidant, so it makes sense to supplement with it. The problem is that it breaks down in your stomach and becomes ineffective. So save your cash and don’t buy oral supplements or protein powders with glutathione added. You can find vitamin/glutathione IV therapy through some NDs.
- Supplement with glutathione precursors. There are two precursors of glutathione — alpha lipoic acid and n-acetyl cysteine. Dr. Wiley said there was evidence that supplementing with these two can make sure you have enough raw materials to make glutathione on its own. Work with a naturopathic doctor on this one.
Image: Brainstorm. Licensed under iStockphoto.