Tag Archive for: Janet Rich Pittman

Brain Healthy Christmas Cookies to Spread the Joy

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Holidays and special events…we all overeat, especially at Christmas.  It is so hard to turn away and not indulge during the celebrations. Every specialty food is loaded with preservatives, additives and yes…sugar.  But I have found a Christmas Cookie which gives the perfect ingredients for the proper, nutritious feeding of our head brains and our gut brains without excess sugar.

These cookies date back to the middle ages when the advent of celebrating the birth of Christ began to replace traditional European solstice rituals.  Around this same time, commerce instigated gastronomic changes into the world of cooking, particularly introducing foreign spices.

Nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper, along with other spices, were just starting to become widely used with dried exotic fruits like citron, apricots and dates adding sweetness and texture to desserts.

These ingredients, along with sugar were not always readily available and quite expensive.  Combined with lard or butter, gastronomic treats hosting these ingredients would have been prized as expensive delicacies.  Only on the most important holiday could families afford treats like these which led to a baking bonanza to prepare for Christmas.

And unlike pies or cakes, cookies could be easily shared and given to friends and neighbors. Christmas cookies date back to these medieval gifts.

For example peppery Papparkakor from Sweden, lemony Krumkake from Norway, almond flavored Letterbanket from Holland and/or spicy Lebkuchen from Germany are traditional Christmas delicacies.

Granted, however similar, ingredients today are not the same ingredients of the middle ages.  So in translating traditional ingredients for modern day ingredients, we have two basic ‘good head brain and gut brain’ problems…flour, specifically gluten, and sugar.  In analyzing these historic Christmas cookie recipes for healthy brain ingredients, Lebkuchen from Germany, holds the best promise as it calls for no flour, you can make it low sugar and it has a high ratio of nuts.  Honestly:  this recipe is a bit involved but the taste without the guilt is so worth the effort.  Treat you and yours.  Merry Christmas.

Thanks go to economist David D. Friedman for his medieval German cookbook research and Kimberly Killebrew, her website, The Daring Gourmet, for the inspiration for making this dish brain food accessible.

 

German Lebkuchen

Ingredients

  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups honey
  • 1 teaspoon quality pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups almond meal
  • 2 cups hazelnut meal ^
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 teaspoons Lebkuchengewürz, homemade preferred(see **below for the recipes)
  • 4 ounces candied lemon peel, homemade preferred, **
  • 4 ounces candied orange peel, homemade preferred, **
  • Blanched whole almonds cut in half lengthwise +

^I did not have any hazelnut meal in the pantry so I used 4 cups of almond meal and cookies were superb!

+just buy sliced Almonds at grocery

For the Chocolate Glaze:

  • 3 ounces quality dark chocolate powder
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil – do not use butter

Directions: Place chocolate and oil in a small bowl and slowly heat, stirring occasionally, until melted. If glaze becomes firm, reheat.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Pulse candied lemon and orange peel in a food processor until finely minced. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Add the sugar, honey and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
4. Add the ground almonds and hazelnuts, salt, baking powder, Lebkuchengewürz, and candied lemon and orange peels and stir vigorously until thoroughly combined. (You can use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat for about 2 minutes). The mixture will be wet but if it is too thin to scoop add some more almond or hazelnut meal.
5. Scoop blobs of the mixture onto a greazed or parchment paper lined cookie sheet and press down with the bottom of a glass to make flat. Dip glass in bit coconut oil if dough sticks.
6. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25-28 minutes. Remove the cookie sheet and allow to cool completely.
7. Once cooled, place a wire rack over a cookie sheet (to catch the drippings). Dip half the Lebkuchen in the chocolate glaze letting the excess drip back into the bowl and then place the Lebkuchen on the wire rack. Arrange 3 almonds on each Lebkuchen while the glaze is still wet and leave out to hardened.
8. Keep stored in an airtight container or in refrigerator to keep chocolate solid if you have hot Christmas weather. They will keep for several weeks and the flavor improves with time.
9. Makes about 35

 

Authentic Lebkuchengewürz (German Holiday Spice Blend)**

THE essential ingredient to authentic tasting Lebkuchen, absolutely NOTHING compares to the bold and vibrant flavors of homemade Lebkuchengewürz!
Servings: 4 tablespoons

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground green cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground star anise
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground mace
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions–Combine the spices together and store in an airtight jar in a cool, dark place for up to one year.

 

How to Make non sugary Candied Lemon and Orange Peels**

Store bought candied citrus peels coated in crystallized sugar loaded with preservatives and additives is NOT what we want. Honey is the answer.  Plus the taste is so much nicer.  (These homemade citrus peels are the 2nd key to good tasting Lebkuchen.)

 

Ingredients

  • Peels from 3 oranges and 4 lemons (Can also use grapefruits, Meyer lemons, limes as long as washed and scrubed as citrus is highly sprayed. Use organic if possible.)
  • 2 cups water
  • ¾ cup honey

 

Instructions:

  1. Slice both ends of the citrus fruits and remove peel. You can remove a little of the white pith but not necessary.  (I just keep all my citrus peels and store in freezer and pull out when needed.) Slice the peels into ¼ inch wide strips.
  2. Cover peels in water and boil for 15 minutes, pour in a colander to drain and rinse twice.
  3. Boil 2 cups fresh water and honey to blend honey. Bring peels to a boil then simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally or until peels become translucent.
  4. Use splotted spoon to remove peels to a wire rack to drip dry. Save excess syrup and add to your smoothie or hot tea.
  5. You can wait to cool to immediately use in Lebkuchen or keep drying for one or two days. Can store in airtight container in refrigerator for few months.

 

Lefties have Better Brains

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Your dominant hand, whether  left or right, is determined by the functions of your brain and is part of your cognition.  And lefties have better, healthier brains, better in the sense in that their brains are ‘fatter’, they have more brain cells.

Your dominant hand is determined

by the functions of your brain and

is part of your cognition.

New brain cells make you smarter, quicker, giving you instant recall and allowing for proper snap decision making.  We all need new brain cells, so how did lefties gain the advantage?

 

Let’s travel back to 8th grade science, where we learned that our right hand is controlled by the left side of our brain and the actions of our left hand are controlled by the right side of our brain.  But we need to make sure we realize that both sides of our brain DO NOT mirror each other.[i] Each side is responsible for certain actions and we have a bundle of nerves called the corpus calosum[ii] that link the two hemispheres which are in part, responsible for inter-hemispheric communication (in other words, both sides communicating for proper brain function).

 

Lefties use these corpus calosum nerves  when challenged with right hand actions.  Their thoughts, dominant on the right side of their brain are forced to communicate with the left side of their brain.  This forced communication creates new brain cells.[iii]  Consequently, lefties have a larger bundle of these corpus calosum nerves linking our two brain hemispheres than do righties.

Left handed individuals

have more of the corpus calosum nerve fibers

than right handed individuals.

 

 

When  we humans learn something new and process new facts, we create new connecting brain cells or synapse[iv].  These are cells that string neurons together and continue your train of thought.

 

Lefties are constantly learning and processing new information.   And it is because… we live in a right handed world.

 

Lefties are constantly

 learning and processing

new information.

Reading is backwards, for lefties, to them we should read right to left.  Writing is backwards too.   In our school years, desks were all for right handers.  Scissors and string instruments played havoc, maybe still do, as well.  And through life:

  • Numbers and the ‘enter’ key are on the wrong side of computer keyboards,
  • Phone and mouse are on wrong side of a desk,
  • Major tools are right hand equipped,
  • Door handles and locks are opposite what the inclination is,
  • Everyone greets with the wrong hand as well as
  • Bumps elbows while eating with groups.
  • Credit card swipes are on the right and
  • Even the direction for driving our cars is in favor of right handed folks.

The list goes on and on.

 

So it’s quite understandable how lefties’ brains develop more cells, they are constantly processing a new way to accomplish a task, a task that is counter to their inclination to reach with their left hand, a task that we righties have already established a routine for.  Voluntary muscles and the nervous system is in automatic gear for righties.  With everything made for the right hand, there is no need for righties to ponder or think of another, new way.

 

A challenge for righties, especially on national left hander’s day August 13 every year, is to grow more brain cells, create more synapse by using your left hand.

 

If on your computer, right now, move your mouse to the left side of your keyboard.  If you still have a box phone, change sides too.  If you only use a cell, keep it always on your left.

 

Turn off the light switch, which is on the right side of the door usually, and grab then use the TV remote with your left hand.  Put your keys in your left pocket, swing your purse over your left shoulder.  Tonight, brush your teeth with your left hand.  Be more observant and whenever you reach your right hand, stop and accomplish the task with your left hand.

 

Yea, it’s hard.  You really have to stop and process your actions.  This awkwardness, this difficulty is the evidence that in fact, you are creating more brain cells.

 

The awkwardness, the difficulty in using your left hand

for various everyday tasks

is evidence you are creating more brain cells.

If you are truly serious about creating more synapse, building up your brain cell synapse foundation to truly have good brain health then  enacting on these ‘left handed ‘ actions cannot be just for today.  You have to do this for the rest of your life.

 

If you are truly serious about building up your brain,

 to have good brain health,

use your left hand for the rest of your life.

Your new goal?  To become ambidextrous.  Yep, righties, change everything you do, from this point forward, except for writing, and do it with your left hand.  You will know you have accomplished this new goal of creating a thicker area of corpus calosum nerves, of fattening up your brain, when it feels more odd to accomplish a task with your right hand than with your left.

 

At that time, try working on writing with your left hand.  And never stop creating more brain cells.

 

I’ve been ‘left handing it’ for a number of years and still have trouble styling my hair with my left hand.  I don’t yet write with my left but I sign my name and initial with my left hand and prefer to use my left hand for many tasks now.  Again, it is a continuous life goal to become ambidextrous!

 

To progress in life and age successfully, we need as many brain cells as we can keep functioning.  Strive for a fatter brain.  Righties, take a play from the lefty play book and always try and use your left hand for your dominant hand.

 

Wishing for you good brain health, giving you pointers, tools and tips for the best in brain health,

 

 

[i] http://www.rightleftrightwrong.com/brain.html

http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/545/Right-Brain-Hemisphere.html

[ii] http://science.sciencemag.org/content/229/4714/665.long

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4023705

[iii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18612086

[iv] Whitlock JR, Heynen AJ, Shuler MG and Bear MF. Learning induces long-term potentiation in the hippocampus. Science. 25 August 2006, 313(5790): 1093-1097

 

 

The purpose of this information is to convey knowledge. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure your condition or to be a substitute for advice from your main healthcare professional. Sincerely, I wish you and yours the very best in brain health.

 

www.JanetRichPittman.com
Janet Rich Pittman
SCALA, CDP, Brain Health Specialist, Dementia Prevention Specialist,
Dementia Administrator, Dementia Practitioner

 

For more ways to power up your brain, read my ebooklet, 9 Signs You’re Experiencing Brian Drain with Ways to Keep Your Brain Fully Charged.  The electronic version is free or $7.99 for a printed version, shipping included.

Making it Through the 4th, Secrets to Eating Right

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You’re following my emails, blog posts and FaceBook posts giving hints and facts of eating to make you ‘brain smart’ and age ‘successfully’ and healthy. You’re feeling great. But now it’s time to go out to or host the BBQ gathering for the 4th.

Complete with BBQ pork ribs or pulled pork laden with sauce loaded with high fructose corn syrup, HFCS, and other preservative chemicals, a typical 4th of July food table will most probably abundantly host store made potato salad and cole slaw, potato chips, jarred spinach dip, corn chips, hamburgers and hot dogs for the kids, complete with water melon, maybe a box cake with red, white and blue icing and/or ‘gourmet’ cookies size of mini Frisbees.

And that is just the food.

What about ice chest full of sodas, red and blue dye sugar drinks, did you read my article We Are Dying Our Brains? get it here, various beers and low and behold pina coladas and daiquiri’s from bottled premix.

Of course this table and all its accoutrements is the center piece of any July 4th outing. Except for the watermelon and drowned cabbage in the slaw, the table serves no brain foods.

Okay, so what do you serve?

Here is a list of typical 4th of July foods, why they are brain bad for you complete with suggested substitutions.

Store Potato Salad
Why Bad: White potato is one of 5 White Brain Damaging foods. For the others check out the article I wrote here. Plus, what is that white stuff? Dairy? Oil? What type of oil?
Replacement Suggestion: If you have time to make homemade mayo and make your own pickles (some store bought are okay, read the ingredients!!!!) power to you and could you please come to my house? Like me, many of us are still trying to figure out if we invited everyone and who did we leave out along with what is the total to feed going to be and where is the grocery list again? much less cook all day for this event. So, tonight when you go to bed toss in the oven a couple of medium sweet potatoes cut into chunks with skin on and doused in olive oil, bake for about 30-40 minutes because you want them chewy smooth, not mush. Keep in the fridge or if ready to make the salad, add slices of apples (be sure to coat, maybe soak a bit first in real lemon juice so they will not turn brown), raisins and throw in some nuts, roasted walnuts or pecans and salt and pepper to taste. Viola! Great potato salad. (Yea, I always keep sweet potatoes in my refrige for quick go to side dish.)

Store Cole Slaw
Why Bad: Again, what’s the white stuff? Oil? Preservatives? Your brains don’t know how to digest all the hydrogenated oils and it is true torture to our brain cells. (Stay tuned for the how and why, that is my next big article.)
Replacement Suggestion: Buy your own cut up cabbage and add your own homemade mayo, recipe given below except add extra garlic or hot sauce or both. OR you could make a quick balsamic dressing with balsamic vinegar and EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). Not for the kids? What about ranch? Search the internet and make your own ranch dressing, yes there is a way, bit involved but taste is all natural and NOT commercial, so good for the kids!!! You’ll love it too!

Chips
Why Bad: Again, white potato problem, it’s a White Brain Damaging food. Why? How? Check out 5 White ‘Brain Damaging’ Foods article I wrote here. Plus it is cooked in hydrogenated omega 6 rich bad fat. Over time, omega 6 oils really do a number on your brain. (Again, that article is coming.)
Replacement Suggestion: if using for a base for a dip try sliced cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash as crackers. For a snack,concentrate on serving good dips.  Keep reading, recipes coming.

Jarred Spinach Dip:
Why Bad: It’s a time issue, I get it. But there is nothing natural in that jar of spinach pulled off the rack by the potato chips. I mean really? Again, what is that white stuff.  To be honest, I am afraid to even read the ingredients.
Replacement Suggestion: Make your own spinach dip with homemade mayo, recipe below, and drained and thawed from frozen spinach from the grocery. Throw in few sprinkles of Cajun seasoning, be adventurous and add chopped water chestnuts, jalapeno peppers, cherry tomatoes or red bell pepper. No homemade mayo? When you make a batch once a week, there is no going back. Still no time, go to the gourmet deli cooler in the grocery, pick up spinach dip container and read the ingredients.
How to eat it? Celery hunks are GREAT for scooping, say NO to corn chips!

What about adding some of these following suggested items to your 4th of July table?

Homemade Hummus
How to make it easy: Once a month I soak, then boil up a bag of garbonzo beans, drain, cool, divide up and load one cup into a zip lock bag and freeze. When time to cook, I thaw out a bag night before and get up few minutes early and make the dip when I finish making breakfast. See another easy recipe below. Of course you have not done this for this forth gathering, but maybe next time or next event. For now, buy a can of garbanzo or chick peas at the store. Check the ingredients.
Replacement Suggestion: store bought hummus in the deli cooler, read the ingredients.
Dip with celery hunks, sliced cucumbers, zucchini and/or yellow squash.

Homemade Guacamole
How to make it easy: Easy is an understatement. Making fresh guac is time consuming. Actually peeling and seeding the avocados is the heavy time consuming part. So, next time, divide it up. Buy your avocados say week before needed. For the ripe avocados, peel and pull out the seed the night before you have to whip it up and serve the dip.  For storage, make sure you seal well so flesh will not brown. Then toss all ingredients together and poof, great guac at hand. I do have a great guac recipe but I do not have it ready at this article publication date. Stay tuned.
Replacement Suggestion: You can find all natural store made guac but I have not found one that is fantastic. If you have, tell us from what store and let’s try it out!

 

The 4th of July, it’s a fun event. I get it and it only happens once a year. But instead of grabbing or serving a box cake and Frisbee size cookies, celebrate the summer with blackberry almond/coconut flour cobbler or simple watermelon slices along with all your other foods you have made substitutions for.

If time is not on your side, just serve your best. Hopefully this article will plant a seed, giving other ways of eating healthy for both your brains.

Want more suggestions for everyday substitutions? Check out my three page white paper 5 Secrets to Getting Your Gut-in-Gear, click here for the link.

Maybe you could make spinach dip and hummus your ‘go to’ quick and easy chip and dip food. Over time you will be able to snap them up and get good at improvising, adding different ingredients for additional flavors.

Concerned the kids or other family will not like it? They probably won’t, now. But if you keep serving all natural foods and making suggestions such as these given, they will have no other choice but to starve. Of course they are not going to starve, I don’t mean to be harsh, just making the point. Eventually they will come around, I promise! You are, you are coming around, right? Don’t give in, we all benefit from tough love.

Over time, your family and friends will want no one else’s _____________ (you fill in the blank) but yours.

Happy 4th of July and thank you God for giving us the freedom to make choices and substitutions.

Helping us Get our Gut-in-Gear so to keep our memory, have good brain health and age successfully.

Mayo Recipe
1 egg yolk
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice (got to be fresh or else taste is way off)
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup REGULAR olive oil (extra virgin is tooooo strong)
With an emulsion hand held stir blender, blend first five ingredients. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while blending. It will get very thick. If you want it a bit thinner, add little bit egg white back in. (Yes it is raw but the lemon juice and salt ‘cook’ the egg!) (What to do with extra egg white?  Throw it in your next smoothie!)

Hummus
1 can (15oz give or take) drained garbanzo beans, sometimes called chick peas (really try and boil your own because can brine is taste displeaser)
3-4 Tablespoons lemon juice (juice from one large lemon, got to be real!)
1 large clove garlic
½ cup tahini (this is sunflower seed paste concoction found in many Mediterranean dishes, can get it at the store, check the ingredients, get as all natural as possible with no additives, some processors add soy and other preservatives, again read the ingredients!)
salt and 5 or so rounds of cracked pepper
¼ teaspoon cumin
2 Tablespoons water (you could use left over egg white if making mayo)
3 Tablespoons olive oil (can be EVOO, depends on your taste)

With hand help emulsion blender or in a lid covered blender, add all ingredients except oil. After you get a paste consistency, trickle in oil to emulsify. Next time instead of cumin, add z’atar seasoning or Cajun seasoning, or sundried tomatoes and basil or add a red bell pepper or loaded it up with just garlic.

PS—these are my tried and true recipes.  Hope you enjoy! Get my 5 Secrets to Getting Your Gut-in-Gear.  You’ll get a laugh and learn too!

The purpose of this information is to convey knowledge. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure your condition or to be a substitute for advice from your main healthcare professional. Sincerely, I wish you and yours the very best in brain health.

www.JanetRichPittman.com

5 White, ‘Brain Damaging’ Foods

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They kill your brain cells, point blank. Over time, brain fog, lack of memory, and additional cognitive impairment leading to Alzheimer’s and other dementias pursues.

 

What are “they”?  The 5 white brain damaging foods.  These include:

1) white wheat flour

2) white rice

3) white corn (yes it is white when processed, when the skin is removed)

4) white potato and

5) white sugar

 

All of the above damage, stop or even kill the neurotransmitter communication between your gut brain (the gastrointestinal tract or GI tract) and your head brain (the Central Nervous System).   With no communication, the cells in both brains die.

 

Here’s how the killing spree begins:

 

It starts with gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

 

Some perspective. Did you know that we humans have nearly 23,000 genes in our bodies? Guess how many wheat gluten has? The answer: around 150,000.

 

So, in a nutshell, we can’t digest gluten, which essentially eats us, not the reverse.

According to Alessio Fasano, M.D., the father of ‘no gluten’, Harvard scientist and author of book, Gluten Freedom, whether you are a celiac disease victim or not, gluten dissolves the lining of every consumer’s small intestine allowing partially digested foods to seep out of the intestine into gut tissues, eventually ending up in your blood.  Your immune system is called in to attack these invading, partially digested food particles.

 

Think of it this way, your immune system is constantly in attack mode whenever you eat:

 

  • cereal for breakfast
  • a donut for morning snack
  • a  sandwich for lunch, along with crackers and pretzels for an afternoon snack
  • a roll with dinner or
  • a cookie for a midnight snack

 

Do this every day, 365 days a year, for all of your life (but hopefully not beyond this reading) …and your immune system never rests.  It just sort of goes mad, crazy.

As your immune system eats up all the invading chemicals, it eats up the good healthy cells too.  This is called chronic inflammation or hyper inflammation.

 

Gluten eventually gets into your blood, eats the lining of the blood vessels and breaks the blood head brain barrier where these undigested particles seep out into your brain, depositing toxins and other invading chemicals.

 

The head brain’s own separate immune system (the glyphatic system) is then called into action to flush out these foreign invaders.  BUT, it too goes mad, resulting in hyper inflammation and killing more head brain cells, the good and the bad.

 

Additionally, the blood bowel barrier is also broken where foreign invaders run rampant and hyper inflammation ensues (no one ever talks about that—hello IBS, hemorrhoids, constant diarrhea or other elimination troubles!)

 

The solution and the near instant reversal of such problems?

 

Give up the gluten!

 

AND say bye bye to white foods that turn into sugar, like white potatoes, rice and corn — all simple carbohydrates which turn immediately into sugar.

 

Did you now that consumption of excess sugar creates insulin resistance? Let’s take a look at this.

 

Insulin is needed to get nutrients into our cells. It’s also a major switching station for many processes in the body. We all know the pancreas produces insulin.  Well, our head brain also produces insulin and head brain insulin is specifically used to get nutrients into our head brain cells.

 

The more sugar we eat, the more insulin is needed to get the nutrients up in the head brain cells, until finally our brain just gets worn out and quits producing insulin, and becomes insulin resistant.

 

And really, can you blame it?  It is over worked with trying to get rid of the sugar plus it has better things to do like ensure the heart keeps beating and the lungs get enough oxygen.

Kim and Feldman from the neurology department at the University of Michigan published a study reviewing insulin resistance at the core of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Interestingly, another name for some types of dementia and varying stages of Alzheimer’s is “Diabetes III”.

Here, the insulin resistant brain cells are starving, our head brain immune system then goes mad, and all this results in hyper inflammation…all due to our MAD diet (Modern American Diet).

 

Yes, we are doing this to ourselves. The top caloric intake foods in the United States as per the US Dietary Guideline Advisory Committee: grains/dessert breads, breaded chicken, soda, pizza, alcoholic beverages and pasta.  Look at how the 5 White Damaging Brain Foods make up the top of the MAD diet and perhaps the daily diet for many of us.

 

To make sure we keep our memory and full cognizance as well as overall good health, we’ve got to treat and feed both our head brain and our gut brain with all natural, no processed foods, specifically staying away from the 5 White Brain Damaging Foods…I’ll say it again….white wheat flour, white rice, white corn, white potatoes and white sugar.

 

What you eat, affects your brain. Eat to better your brain, not damage it.

 

Helping get and keep your Gut-in-Gear so you can keep your memory, have good brain health and age successfully,

 

 

 

 

Sources:

Alessio Fasano, M.D.

https://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/doctor.aspx?id=19184

Info on no gluten:

His book, Gluten Freedom

And video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=0rTAhlJ9PMM

Kim and Feldman from the neurology department at the University of Michigan published a study reviewing insulin resistance is at the core of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

https://www.nature.com/articles/emm20153

 

 

Special thanks to Healthy Meals Supreme, reprinted from their blog https://healthymealssupreme.com/5-white-brain-damaging-foods/

 

 

The purpose of this information is to convey knowledge. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure your condition or to be a substitute for advice from your main healthcare professional. Sincerely, I wish you and yours the very best in brain health.

www.JanetRichPittman.com

 

Janet is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and former Dementia Healthcare Administrator.  After years of being at the bedside, holding your mother’s hand trying to caress the dementia way, Janet immersed herself in brain research.  Now Janet is on a mission to power up people’s brains to prevent Alzheimer’s and other dementias, even reverse cognitive impairment.  Learn more about Janet here.

 

Greek Yogurt and Kefir—Are They ‘Brain’ Safe to Eat?

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No, and here are four quick reasons, but…

The four reasons:

Casein

Lactose

IGF-1

Gut Intolerance

 

Casein is a protein that envelopes nutrients and will not allow their absorption.  So when you put fruit on your cereal and coat it with milk, it is a waste, you just pass all the nutrients.

IGF-1, or insulin growth factor1, is a hormone our bodies naturally create and which dairy consumption increases.  We need IGF-1 to develop and grow our bodies from infancy onward but after our late 20s, when our brain has fully developed, we don’t produce as much or need as much, a balance must be established.  When we don’t have enough IGF-1 our brain function suffers, when we have too much, damage ensures due to overabundance, damage like cancer progression.  Just let your body makes its own IGF-1, and you do that by eating clean, go moderate on meat proteins and by-pass the milk.

Lactose is a type of sugar that requires a special enzyme to digest it.  Many folks don’t produce this enzyme or call it up to digest the lactose in milk.  Consequently, bloating, pain, cramps, diarrhea, gas, nausea and possibly vomiting –just general all out stomach torture–is a result of not being able to digest the lactose. Is this you?  If not, intolerance has been known to occur suddenly so be watchful, just bypass the milk.

Even if you seem to digest milk okay, it still messes up your gut flora; it keeps your microbiome off kilter.  Gut imbalance leads to difficulty digesting foods, inflammation and overall problems with immunity.

Yet with everything, there is an exception….kefir and Greek yogurt.  Again, your microbiome must be in balance, the good and the bad bacteria equaling out. Your microbiome needs just a bit of fermented food to keep the good bacteria stirring and working.  Fermented products such as kefir and Greek yogurt can give the gut needed bacteria and help it stay in balance.  But, understanding the intolerance, just omit it from your diet. Eat kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi and miso; these are other fermented foods that will certainly do the gut bacteria balance trick.

If Greek yogurt and or kefir are all you have and if you can tolerate it, consume it with the knowledge of IGF-1 and casein. To get around casein, eat your Greek yogurt or kefir first thing in the morning with no additives and at least 30 minutes to an hour prior to consuming with other foods. In other words, no blueberries with the yogurt and wait an hour before you sip on your morning bone broth.  To ease with the IGF-1 production and prevent an overload, go easy on other animal proteins same day.

Basically know, only baby cows are to drink cow’s milk. Omit it from your diet to ensure the best brain health.

So how do you get rid of dairy?  If you are used to it every day, i.e. nightly ice cream, yogurt or cream in your coffee, check out my 5 Secrets to Getting Your Gut in Gear, found here.

Here’s to your good brain health,

 

 

Janet Rich Pittman, SCALA, CDP

Brain Health Specialist

 

The purpose of this information is to convey knowledge. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure your condition or to be a substitute for advice from your main healthcare professional. Sincerely, I wish you and yours the very best in brain health.

www.JanetRichPittman.com

Again, if you are used to it every day, i.e. nightly ice cream, yogurt or cream in your coffee, how do you get rid of dairy?  Check out my 5 Secrets to Getting Your Gut in Gear, found here.

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3698444/

https://academic.oup.com/endo/article/149/12/5958/2455262

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/18/11/2441/htm

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/lactose-intolerance

http://naturalsociety.com/dairy-antioxidants-nearly-useless/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17213230

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Antioxidant+activity+of+blueberry+fruit+is+impaired+by+association+with+milk

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24939339

Good Brain Health Makes You Happy

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True happiness isn’t weight loss, having a nice car or a lot of money. Sure they are nice but what happens when you can’t enjoy them or even know you have them?  Ultimately, true happiness is having your brain in balance and at peak performance.

When you are tired all the time, no spring in your step, you’re sluggish, falling asleep at your desk 2pm every day, forgetting names and events…you’re brain is telling you something, it’s not happy, therefore you probably aren’t either.

At times like these, deep down inside, we all know our brain is not functioning on all cylinders.  But why?  And how do we get it functioning at its peak?  Here we go over a couple of signs or causes we are having brain drain coupled with ways to get our brain energized and pumped up.

Get Happy with J podcast with your host Jittuan Woods.  Enjoy this fun 26 minutes to get your brain powered up!

 

 

 

Doctor’s Warning Against Food Additives

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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is cautioning parents and pediatricians to avoid exposing children to eight chemicals found in food and in plastic packaging. But it’s not a warning that should be advised just for kids because of their small size, it should be advised for everyone! Everyone has a developing and maturing brain.

In the electronic magazine On The Brain, my article titled We’re Dying Our Brains tells about color in foods damaging our brains, young and old alike. This recent study from AAP shows us the damage plastics, found inside foods (yes, inside) and in housing foods, do not only to our brains but to our overall health.

8 Major FOOD Chemicals to Avoid

The eight chemicals they studied are:

-Nitrates (preservative in meats)
-Nitrites (preservative in meats)
-Bisphenol A or BPA (lining inside metal cans)
-Phthalates (inserted to make plastics stronger and more flexible)
-Perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) (used to keep food from sticking)
– Perchlorate (controls static electricity in food packaging)
-Polybrominated diphenyl (PBDEs) (flame retardant put in plastic packaging)
– Artificial food colorings (This study did not specifically cover individual coloring agents. See my article We’re Dying Our Brains for coloring damage details.

The damage to the brain and the body…

The chemicals nitrates and nitrites, as well as bisphenol A, or BPA, have been linked to cancer, obesity and cardiovascular disease (SN: 10/3/15, p. 12). Phthalates and perfluoroalkyl have been associated with endocrine disruption, obesity and insulin resistance, which is when cells don’t respond properly to insulin (SN Online: 2/9/12) leading to starvation of brain cells. Percholorate is known to disrupt the thyroid hormone function and polybrominated diphenyl ethers are found to be association with hypothyroidism in toddlers. Some of these chemicals may also have neurocognitive (head brain) effects, such as increased hyperactivity in children, says study coauthor Sheela Sathyanarayana, a physician and epidemiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Because scientists are unable to test the effects of these chemicals directly in humans, evidence shows only that there is correlation, not causation, between exposure and disease.

To avoid these chemicals, the report suggests that parents, but I say all who buy, should buy fresh or frozen produce and skip processed meats packaged in plastic or food in metal cans, which can be lined with BPA. (Plastic is a major head brain disruptor, read more about it in my free booklet 9 Signs You’re Experiencing Brain Drain and How to Keep Your Brain Fully Charged.) Certainly, everyone should avoid storing foods in plastic, not allowing cooked foods to touch plastic. Also never put plastic containers in the dishwasher or microwave, as the report states heat can draw these chemicals out of plastic.

The researchers say that they hope the report prompts more strict regulation of these additives.

Bottom line, all of us who buy and cook foods for ourselves as well as for our children should know to stay away from heavily packaged and processed foods and eat as all natural as possible.  (How to get started doing that? check out my 5 Secrets to Getting Your Gut in Gear found here.)

Wishing you and all, the very best in good brain health,

 

The purpose of this information is to convey knowledge. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure your condition or to be a substitute for advice from your main healthcare professional. Sincerely, I wish you and yours the very best in brain health.

www.JanetRichPittman.com

 

AAP study:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2018/07/19/peds.2018-1408

 

Science News

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/pediatricians-warn-against-chemical-additives-food-kids?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=latest-newsletter-v2

Why Our Parents and Grandparents are Coming Down with Alzheimer’s (and other dementias too) Will We Be NEXT?

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(8 minute read)

At social events, from church to ballgames to cocktail time, stories of our children and parents seem to bubble up in every conversation. Oftentimes, the brain condition of our parents weasels its way into those discusses. And understandably so, since 1 in 9 human beings age 65 and older suffers from some form of dementia. The statistics are even grimmer for those 85 and older, a whopping 1 in 2.5 are drowning in it!

As a society, we are now facing our third generation of Alzheimer’s and other dementia with no cure.  We are seemingly helplessly watching it vacuum away the minds and lives of our loved ones. Many of us have buried grandparents who were scourged by the disease, and several see our parents slipping away. When we experience the brain fog, poor balance, and exhaustion of those senior moments, we worry that we might succumb to it too.

By studying global populations for an answer, we encounter the healthy Blue Zones around the world.

Dan Buettner, in an article he authored in National Geographic Magazine, revealed certain areas in which the elderly live to be 80, 90, or even older than 100, with strong minds and bodies, then finally die of old age. How do they do it, while our own parents and grandparents in a supposedly well-nourished nation cannot remember our names or whether or not they took their medication this morning? We can glean–learn a lot from the unifying characteristics of the people who live the longest in those Blue Zones:

  • They eat no processed, packaged foods.
  • A large time between meals is  part of their routine, their daily experience.  Mostly they go 12-16 hours a day NOT eating.
  • Sitting still is not part of their daily routine either; they are constantly active, exercising their bodies and minds.
  • Along with getting plenty of sleep, stress is not in their lives.
  • They enjoy a sense of community and are committed to their families, friends, and a life purpose. This, in turn, helps them remain active and plays a vital role.

Closer to home, some folks exhibit these same characteristics, albeit not the nutrition aspect, yet they slowly sink into the abyss of Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia. What, then, is the problem?

In search of the root cause of why some succumb while others do not, nearly 200,000 published studies, representing years and years of scientific research, have been conducted on Alzheimer’s.[1] These studies indicate that dementia is not a normal part of aging. On the contrary, it is an actual disease, and it can be stopped and even reversed in most cases. The only way to stop disease is to discover and halt the root cause, so we must begin with a basic understanding.

 

What is dementia?

Simply put, dementia is the death of a significant number of brain cells, specifically neurons and their connecting cells, the synapse, which leads to cognitive impairment. Other supporting cells, the glia, die as well. The fatality of these cells causes the brain to malfunction, and we experience cognitive impairment. Ultimately, because the brain cannot function as intended, it cannot communicate properly with the organs, thus the body begins to shut down and we face total body death.  In a  nut shell:  brain cells die causing our cognition and bodies to become weak, impaired and ultimately non functioning.

 

What is cognition?

Cognition is defined as our ability to think, feel, and act upon new information (“oh I love your new hair cut”), to process thoughts and take or make physical actions based upon those thoughts (“curb coming lift leg”).  That is voluntary cognition.  Breathing, heart beating, digestion are involuntary cognition.  (For a list of the 8 main voluntary cognitive skills which are the first to subside when dementia percolates in our brain, click here.)

What causes dementia?

Dr. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon, neuro-research coordinator, health practitioner, and lecturer, was one of the first to put the pieces together. When it  comes to the root cause of brain cell death, he cites three main culprits:

  1. cell starvation, when nutrients and hormones cannot be delivered to or absorbed by the head brain;
  2. immunoexcitotoxicity, or super-hyper inflammation and
  3. a combination of both of the above.

There are several triggers to this starvation and super-hyper inflammation, I’ve grouped them into seven based on the findings of Drs. Blaylock and Dale Bredesen.  Dr. Bredesen was the first physician to publish a solution for the reversal of cognitive impairment. This knowledge, combined with studies and theories of other doctors (Drs. Edward Group, Datis Kharrazian, Thomas Lewis, Charles Gant, Alessio Fasano, Sidney MacDonald, Tom O’Bryan, Tom Suit, Raphael Kellman, David Perlmutter, Mark Hyman, Elizabeth Boham, Frank Lipman, Drew Ramsey, Ann Hathaway, and many others) can lead us to some long-sought answers about dementia.

The following are these seven triggers, experienced separately on occasion but mostly in combination; they are the leading causes of brain starvation and super-hyper inflammation in the brain:

 

The 7 Triggers to Alzheimer’s and Other Types of Dementia

  1. toxins collected and stored in the brain
  2. lack of nutrients
  3. serious and long-term infections
  4. trauma, high ACE score, stress, depression
  5. historical, consistent lack of sleep
  6. no cellular energy
  7. giving up on the challenge to age healthfully

 

Considering the wide array of causes, it is no wonder that there is not one magic pill or miracle cure to rid the world of dementia. That said, just as there are multiple causes, there are multiple, and combined, methods to reverse Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Cross-referencing these triggers with key lifestyle factors in the Blue Zones, where dementia does not seem to be a problem, we begin to understand why our parents and grandparents are afflicted with the disease. Not only that, but we can also determine where we are in terms of probability.

For ways to discover your susceptibility to these triggers and advice on fighting them, even reversing their effects, which are the early symptoms of dementia, let’s talk.  You can enjoy, long-term, good brain health as you age and NOT fall into dementia, Alzheimer’s.

As a former Dementia Healthcare Administrator having managed three dementia lock down facilities, my help was to no avail.  I hit the research books trying to answer the all encompassing dementia question of why…why do some live to 100 with a sharp mind, why are the symptoms of dementia patients so varied, why are there no cures?  With years of continuous neurodegeneration research and much schooling I am a Dementia Practitioner as well as a Master Certified Health and Wellness Coach specializing in dementia prevention and REVERSAL.  My education pride is my official training from Dr. Dale Bredesen, the first MD who, under scientific study and clinical trials, reversed cognitive impairment of 109 of 110 individuals, YES reversed Alzheimer’s.

Following Dr. Bredesen’s protocol, I provide individualized, personal plans of action so you or a loved one can restore precious memories, regain brain energy and have good brain health. Actually, it is not just a plan but an individualized, detailed protocol system.  We follow 9 steps, a ‘map’ if you will. Click here to view the map.

Click here to schedule a FREE 15-minute telephone appointment.  There is no cost to you.  We’ll talk for 15 or so minutes, you give me your story, or the situation of your loved one, along with the symptoms, and together we can see how to get the brain in gear and make sure NOT to fall into dementia/Alzheimer’s.

Right now?  It may not be the right time. But let’s stay in touch; know I am available if you ever need me.  To help you though, take advantage of free membership to my Brain Health Revolution.  As a member, you will receive a few times each month some quick facts, tidbits, checklists and notes of interest on how to enjoy a healthy, strong brain and how to prevent dementia. You can also receive more detailed information on the triggers listed above, including my ebooklet 9 Signs You Are Experiencing Brain Drain and How to Keep Your Brain Fully Charged to Ward Off Dementia. Get the booklet and join The Brain Health Revolution here. 

Helping you keep your memory, enjoy good brain health, and age successfully, I look forward to communicating with you again!


The purpose of this information is to convey knowledge. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure your condition or to be a substitute for advice from your main healthcare professional. Sincerely, I wish you and yours the very best in brain health.        www.JanetRichPittman.com

 

 

 

[1] Pubmed.com, National Library of Medicine Database

 

 

How to Keep Our Brains Young

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(9.5 minute read) Think of your head brain[1] like a house, any kind of house. Just as you upkeep your house, you must consider maintenance and renewal for your brains[1].

While we grow and mature, the brain creates the strongest cognitive foundation possible for full function. Then we add a good education, strong upbringing, and high values and morals to sweeten the cognition pot, thus strengthening brain function all the more.

Many houses have strong foundations. Mine, built in 1908, has survived a flood and a Category 5 hurricane, as well as a medley of other typhoons of varying degrees, an indication that my home has strong bones. However, in spite of its sturdy foundation, I cannot just leave it alone as it seemingly rots and deteriorates before my very eyes.

A responsible homeowner stays on top of maintenance and routine repairs, and they catch problems early, so they do not turn into financial disasters. Ultimately, wise home ownership is an investment of attention, time, and effort to keep the house sturdy and standing proud, functioning at its best, for as long as possible. It is the same with the brain; it does us little good to let it sit atop our shoulders and become brittle and old, left to rot away.

Like deterioration in a home, deterioration in the brain begins slowly. “When people start to have loss of focus and concentration, motivation, and depression; when they have difficulty sleeping, [experience] inefficiency in the work they do, and have problems with completing tasks; and timelining…remembering projects, those are all serious red flags,” explains Dr. Datis Kharrazian.

At first, we may not pay much attention to forgetting words or names or losing our grasp on instant recall. We dismiss the fact that we feel tired all the time and struggle to get eight hours of sleep nightly. Our joints and muscles ache, yet we just slap the air and tell ourselves, “It’s hell getting old.”

Dr. Datis Kharrazian is a Harvard Medical School research scholar, associate clinical professor of preventative medicine, fellow of the American College of Nutrition, and author of Why Isn’t My Brain Working? He says this overlooking, the idea of waiting for more serious signs, is the biggest mistake his patients make.

Without proper maintenance and no minor repair work, the supportive cells that keep our neurons in check get mad, go crazy, and eat each other up. Once this hyperinflammation becomes a problem, it isn’t too long before dementia sets in. The neurons that carry our thoughts and memories begin to shrivel and pull away, and we no longer create proper, healthy, sufficient neurotransmitters. These messages of action and renewal travel to and from the brain neurons to the gut neurons and, ultimately, to and from various body organs, to instigate proper thought and action: Doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I need to get up early to get my power walk in. I need to get list of medicines and supplements ready. Wait. What is that nurse’s name again? Is there gas in the car?

Instead of creating new, healthy, energetic cells that would efficiently spur our thoughts and keep the body rolling along, we can only muster weak, limp cells. In other words, cell renewal in the brain and body is no longer strong and vibrant. Consequently, the brain and body slowly rots away. Some people nonchalantly write this off as aging, but what is really happening is deterioration.

The good news is that you can renew your cells to be stronger and more vibrant. Over time, you can grow stronger and younger, as stated by authors Dr. Henry “Harry” Lodge and his patient Chris Crowley in their national bestseller, Younger Next Year.

Of course our hair will turn gray, and our skin will sag and wrinkle with the passing of time, but we can strengthen the muscles, heart, and brain. In fact, Dr. Lodge and Crowley contend that these can be even better, even younger, than before!

At 79, Harriet Anderson is the oldest woman to finish an ironman.

Montserrat Mecho boasts outstanding achievements and athletic prowess as an 80-year-old skydiver, windsurfer, skier, diver, and swimmer. Jack Weil has found success in another arena; at 107 years old, he is the CEO of a Western clothing company.

How did these awe-inspiring people do it? It doesn’t always require going back to business school or hiring an athletic trainer to accomplish these amazing feats. They first improved their brains.

And they did that in 4 ways, ways you can employ to keep your brain young.

  1. They grew strong, vibrant brain cells by aerobically exercising 5 to 6 days a week.
  2. They created energetic, vivacious supporting cells for their brain neurons by accomplishing new tasks many times every day. These mental accomplishments varied from a new way to drive home to new way to foam roll an aching muscle to understanding a new charge on their credit card statement.
  3. They created beefy, spirited neurotransmitters to communicate with the stomach and other organs in their body. This communication is called health.  The majority of our neurotransmitters are created in our gut brain, not in our head brain.  To create the correct neurotransmitters, you have to eat clean whole foods.  You have to get your Gut in Gear.  How do you do that?  To get started, get my  5 Secrets to Getting Your Gut in Gear, found here also.                                                                                                                                                                                                             And you might want to grab 9 Signs You’re Experiencing Brain Drain (1) 
  4. They continually repaired their brain through a healthy lifestyle, complete with purpose and responsibility.

What about you? You can carry your brain to better health.  You can get back to that confident place where you rely on your instant recall and memory, where you always find your words and continuously know what is going on around you.  Where you can snap a rebuttal and quickly close a deal.

For the continual brain fog and when something is ‘just not right’,  I give a service of  12 weeks to get your Gut in Gear.  Yea, your gut because beginning cognitive impairment, leading to Alzheimer’s and other dementias, is first a gut disease.

For those who are really slipping, my 12 month service, Brain in Gear, is a complete cognitive turn around, my Alzheimer’s/dementia REVERSAL program.

Yet, when these are not appropriate. I offer a counseling service, So It Will  Not Happen To Me, where I will point you in the right direction to a healthier brain and help you keep it healthy. It’s just two calls and after our agreement to work together and you receive my NDA (non disclosure) agreement and HIPPA agreement (this is no one’s business but yours and mine, this is serious), you give me your story and concerns and we’ll get you on a path to good brain health!

The bottom line is that you must maintain your brain health much like the way you maintain your home or anything else that is valuable and dear to you.

If neither service is right for you, let’s stay in touch.  You never know what the future may bring.  If you are not already, be a member of my Brain Health Revolution where I will email you about two to three times a month tips, tid bits, guides and articles on how to have a healthy brain.  You can join here.

You’re on your way to good brain health! I look forward to communicating with you soon.

 

 

www.JanetRichPittman.com

[1] The terms “head brain” and “your brains” are not typographical errors! We all have two brains, the head brain, which sits atop our shoulders, and the gut brain. The gut brain harbors more neurotransmitters than the head brain, and damage to the gut brain is a major factor in most diseases. For more information, read my article “We Are Starving Our Brains and Don’t Even Realize It.”

Have you read my ebooklet: 9 Signs You Are Experiencing Brain Drain and How to Keep Your Brain Fully Charged to Ward Off Dementia? Get it here.

For a link to my brain quiz, click here.

For my guide to food substitutions, click here.

 

 

 

 

 The purpose of this information is to convey knowledge. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any condition or to be a substitute for advice from your healthcare professional. Sincerely, I wish you and yours the very best in brain health.                                                                                                                                   www.JanetRichPittman.com