Boost Your Brain Power in 60 Seconds Read online

  60-SECOND BRAIN HEALTH TIP #3:

  Remove the Brain Toxin MSG

  Eliminate the food additive that excites brain and nerve cells until they die.

  MSG by any other name would still be as harmful. When most people hear the name monosodium glutamate, or MSG, they immediately think of Chinese food. And while the chemical is used in many Chinese food restaurants, this brain and nervous system toxin masquerades under many different guises and even within many food additives.

  Considering that MSG has been linked to many serious health conditions, including hormonal imbalances, weight gain, brain damage, obesity, headaches, and more, you may be shocked to learn how prevalent it is. MSG is almost always found in processed, prepared, and packaged foods. Even when there is no sign of it on the label, it is still frequently hidden in many prepared foods.

  What’s even more shocking is how MSG affects your brain. As you learned earlier, there is a protective mechanism in your brain known as the blood–brain barrier. Your brain depends on careful control of chemicals to operate smoothly. Even small fluctuations in the concentrations of these chemicals can cause drastic disruptions in brain function. When excitotoxins enter your brain, they literally excite brain cells until they die. MSG is added to foods as a taste enhancer, but it is well established in research as an excitotoxin.

  Additionally, some parts of your brain, such as the hypothalamus and the pineal gland, are not protected by the blood–brain barrier, yet these parts of your brain control many hormones in your body, as well as other bodily functions, including mood regulation.

  When MSG enters your brain, not only does it kill brain cells, but it also wreaks havoc on brain functions. Some research has even linked it to the progression of Parkinson’s disease.16 According to Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald, a homeopath and the author of The Detox Solution, “ingesting MSG over the years has also been linked with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.”17

  Many people react within 48 hours of ingesting even minute amounts of MSG, which can make it difficult to trace back to the food source that caused the reaction. The effects can include headaches, hives, canker sores, runny nose, insomnia, seizures, mood swings, panic attacks, heart palpitations and other heart irregularities, nausea, numbness, asthma attacks, and migraines. Many of my clients also report experiencing restless leg syndrome after accidental ingestion of MSG.

  Research shows that MSG enters the brain slowly, bypasses the blood–brain barrier, and reaches peak concentrations in the brain 3 hours after it’s ingested. Levels of MSG in the brain remain high for 24 hours after the initial ingestion of the contaminated food.18 MSG can be especially detrimental to people who have experienced some sort of brain injury or who have a genetic predisposition to brain disease. According to board-certified neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, MD, long-time MSG researcher and author of Excitotoxins, “There is some recent evidence that Parkinson’s patients have a defect in their metabolism that leads to increased metabolism. Such a defect would make them more vulnerable to the harmful effects of excitotoxins.” MSG is one of the most common excitotoxins to which we are frequently exposed due to its omnipresence in our processed food supply. The artificial sweetener aspartame is also one of the worst excitotoxins. See information about aspartame.

  According to Dr. Blaylock, there are many names for this harmful toxin that you should look for on food labels.19

  ADDITIVES THAT ALWAYS CONTAIN MSG:

  ■Monosodium glutamate (that’s the full name for MSG)

  ■Hydrolyzed vegetable protein

  ■Hydrolyzed protein

  ■Hydrolyzed plant protein

  ■Plant protein extract

  ■Sodium caseinate

  ■Calcium caseinate

  ■Yeast extract

  ■Textured protein

  ■Autolyzed yeast

  ■Hydrolyzed oat flour

  ADDITIVES THAT FREQUENTLY CONTAIN MSG:

  ■Malt extract

  ■Malt flavoring

  ■Bouillon

  ■Broth

  ■Stock

  ■Flavoring

  ■Natural flavoring

  ■Natural beef or chicken flavoring

  ■Seasoning

  ■Spices

  ADDITIVES THAT SOMETIMES CONTAIN MSG:

  ■Carrageenan

  ■Enzymes

  ■Soy protein concentrate

  ■Soy protein isolate

  ■Whey protein isolate

  How to Benefit

  Avoid prepared and packaged foods as much as possible. Also, try to avoid eating at fast-food restaurants, because they are notorious culprits when it comes to MSG usage. If you must buy packaged or prepared foods, be sure to take the above list with you so you can avoid harmful neurotoxins that could be affecting your health. If the product doesn’t come with an ingredients list, such as items made in-house at the bakery and deli department in your grocery store, you should assume it contains MSG, as these types of food items frequently do. Avoiding these types of foods will help you reduce your exposure to MSG, but there are also some lesser-known food sources of this harmful chemical. Some of the many culprits include:

  Baby food. Shocking as it is, baby food manufacturers often include glutamate, one of MSG’s many guises, as a flavor “enhancer.”

  Bottled sauces. Just gotta have your Thai, teriyaki, or Jamaican jerk sauce? Well, most bottled sauces contain MSG.

  Infant formula. As terrible as it sounds, most popular brands of infant formula actually contain MSG in one of its myriad disguises.

  Protein powder. Many of the protein powders used for weight loss or muscle building, even those sold in health food stores, contain MSG, usually as hydrolyzed protein or hydrolyzed soy protein.

  Croutons. Most croutons are flavored with bouillon, soup base, or “natural” or artificial flavors that contain MSG.

  Salad dressings. The salad dressing you choose could negate any of the health benefits of eating salad if you choose a bottled dressing that contains MSG. Bottled salad dressings may contain “natural flavor,” “spices,” or “seasoning,” all of which can legally contain MSG.

  Soups. Most soups, even most homemade soups, contain MSG (even if the cook swears they don’t). That’s because most soup bases, commercial stocks, and bouillon powder and cubes contain MSG. And few nutritionists and even fewer chefs are familiar with MSG’s many names.

  Soy “meat” products. Many vegetarian burgers, hot dogs, sausages, and other meat alternatives contain textured vegetable protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or hydrolyzed plant protein, all of which usually contain MSG.

  Spice mixtures. Love that Cajun seasoning, Tex-Mex rub, or other spice mixture? Most spice mixtures contain MSG—frequently as autolyzed yeast or yeast extract.

  Vaccines. Foods are not the only places you’re exposed to MSG. You’ll probably be surprised to learn that MSG is found in vaccines as a “stabilizer.” The chickenpox vaccine made by Merck pharmaceutical company is a primary example. Merck’s measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine also contains this harmful neurotoxin.

  Super Health Bonus

  Because MSG is linked with so many uncomfortable, or even downright dangerous, health symptoms, eliminating it from your diet typically results in fewer headaches, migraines, asthma attacks, and panic attacks. And any sufferer of these conditions knows that reducing them means a much greater quality of life.

  60-SECOND BRAIN HEALTH TIP #4:

  Replace Trans Fats with Brain-Healthy Choices

  Switch from fats that cause brain inflammation to ones that protect your brain from damage.

  Trans fats are harmful to every cell in your body, and especially to your brain. They do not occur naturally, but rather are made in laboratories and manufacturing plants in which these oils are heavily processed. This processing involves adding hydrogen atoms to a healthy fat to saturate the fat molecule, thereby turning unsaturated oil into saturated oil. The result is a hydrogenated fat, or trans fat—a type of fat
that your body was never intended to ingest or digest. These fats are industrial creations made to extend the shelf life of fats without regard for the effect on human health. Even a few generations ago our ancestors were never exposed to these brain toxins.

  Here’s why exposure to these fats, found in many of the foods you eat, are a threat to your brain: Trans fats are incorporated into cellular membranes, including brain and nerve cell membranes, by standing in for healthy fats. The result is impaired brain cells. Brain cell membranes need to be pliable to allow their fluid-like properties to function properly. Research shows that molecules of linoleic acid (one type of fat) are more than three times wider than the chemically altered trans fat form of linoleic acid. As a result, researchers speculate that the blood–brain barrier will leak if it is made up of trans fats, which could allow greater quantities of toxins to access your brain than if it were made of healthy fats.

  Stanford-trained research scientist J. Robert Hatherill, PhD, made an important discovery about trans fats: Ingesting them makes brain cell membranes excessively permeable. This poses a serious problem, because it means viruses and toxins can gain greater access to your brain, disrupt brain signals, and even cause brain cells to become dysfunctional. Over time, this serious threat to brain health can result in cognitive decline. He also found that brain cell membranes made up of trans fats may increase aluminum uptake into the brains of older individuals.

  And if that’s not bad enough, what’s worse is that people who are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids will absorb up to twice as many trans fats when they eat them, making their brains even more vulnerable to these fats. You’ll learn more about brain-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and why most people are deficient in these essential healers in 60-Second Brain Health Tips #22 and #23.

  If you think you’re not eating trans fats or hydrogenated fats, here’s just a sampling of the places they lurk: margarine, crackers, cookies, pies, vegetable shortening, snack foods, prepared and packaged salad dressings, doughnuts, and French fries, as well as most restaurant foods. For many years, margarine has been billed as a healthy alternative to butter, but many brands of margarine contain trans fats or rancid fats that are best left behind. Margarine is cheap to make, so many manufacturers have profited from the misleading marketing.

  And if you think, “Well, I read the packages of the foods I eat and they always say ‘0 grams trans fats,’ so this doesn’t apply to me,” you’re wrong. That’s because small amounts of trans fats are allowable in most foods, provided the foods contain less than 1 gram per serving. But when you add up these hidden trans fats, they still spell damage to your delicate brain cells.

  How to Benefit

  Switching from cookies, crackers, pies, French fries, and snack foods that contain trans fats to ones made with healthier oils will go a long way toward improving your brain and mental health. Better yet, reduce your consumption of these less-than-healthy foods. It’s easy to bake French fries that have been made with olive oil rather than eat trans fat–laden ones out of a package or at a fast-food restaurant. Try eating more homemade food without any margarine or other sources of trans fats. I provide an excellent recipe for Brain-Boosting Butter (and it is certainly better than margarine, too).

  Super Health Bonus

  Trans fats cause inflammation, which has been linked to many serious health conditions, including arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. If you make a conscious effort to avoid trans fats, your whole body will thank you in the form of a reduced likelihood of these severe conditions.

  60-SECOND BRAIN HEALTH TIP #5:

  Reduce Meat Consumption to Reduce Inflammation

  Simply reducing your intake of meat will help to reduce brain-damaging inflammation.

  The link between meat consumption and inflammation isn’t exactly news to most people, but it’s always great when research backs up our understanding: Eating more meat spells higher inflammation levels in your body.

  That’s the conclusion of scientists at the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Nutritional Epidemiology, at the University of Bonn in Germany. They examined 46 studies to assess markers of inflammation, focusing on a substance known as C-reactive protein. Other research has shown C-reactive protein to be a precursor to serious, chronic diseases such as heart disease.

  In the Bonn, Germany, study published in the journal Nutrition Reviews, scientists found higher levels of inflammation markers, especially C-reactive protein, in meat-based or “Western-like” diets, while plant-based diets high in fruits and vegetables tended to result in lower inflammation levels.20

  That’s good news for anyone striving to eat a plant-based diet focused on more fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are nutritional powerhouses, thanks to their macronutrient content, which includes amino acids, natural sugars for energy, and fatty acids, as well as their micronutrient content, which includes vitamins and minerals. But that’s not all. Fruits and vegetables are high in phytonutrients. (“Phyto” means “plant,” so “phytonutrients” simply means plant nutrients.) There are hundreds of different phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables, including anthocyanins, carotenoids, catechins, flavonoids, and polyphenols.

  Research has shown that phytonutrients help protect your memory, ward off the effects of aging, fight cancer, keep you fitter, and much more. So it’s no surprise that a diet high in phytonutrient-rich foods reduces inflammation in your body and brain.

  This is good news because inflammation is increasingly being linked to most forms of chronic disease, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and many others. Knowing that a simple switch to a plant-based diet high in fruits and vegetables can cause a significant drop in disease-producing inflammation means that you can empower yourself to take charge of your health and dramatically reduce your likelihood of experiencing serious illness. If you’re already experiencing one of these serious illnesses, then you can empower yourself to take charge of the illness in a natural way, free of side effects.

  How to Benefit

  It’s easy to eat more plant foods. If you’re worrying about getting enough protein, consider that the average American eats 248 pounds of meat every year, or about 40 percent of his or her total caloric intake. Most experts agree that no more than 10 percent of our total calories should be obtained from meat. But if you’re still concerned, here are some of the best vegan sources of protein.

  ■Avocado

  ■Coconut

  ■Dairy alternatives, including almond milk, coconut milk, hemp seed milk, and soy milk

  ■Legumes, such as kidney beans, black beans, navy beans, pinto beans, Romano beans, chickpeas, soybeans, and edamame (green soybeans)

  ■Nuts (preferably raw and unsalted), including almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts

  ■Quinoa

  ■Seeds, including chia seeds, flaxseeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds

  ■Soy products (organic only, since soy is heavily genetically modified), including tofu, miso, and tempeh

  You may notice that protein powders are not on the list. That’s because many are heavily processed, sugar-laden, or contain monosodium glutamate (MSG) in one of its many guises, particularly protein “isolates.” MSG is a well-documented nerve and brain cell toxin that actually stimulates brain cells to death. It’s a much better idea to use ground seeds to add protein to your smoothies than it is to use protein powders.

  Super Health Bonus

  There are many health benefits of eating less meat. The increase in fiber in your diet helps ward off colon cancer, and the ramped-up phytonutrient intake helps prevent heart disease, most types of cancer, and diabetes.

  60-SECOND BRAIN HEALTH TIP #6:

  Remove Heavy Metals from Your Life

  Discover the surprising everyday sources of brain-toxic heavy metals.

  When you think of metals, you might think of pots and pans, cars and trucks, or the structural beams
for your home, but the last thing you’d probably consider is metals in your brain. And when it comes to metals, the last place you want them is in your brain.

  Heavy metal is a serious threat to the health of your body and brain. I’m not referring to Ozzy Osbourne or Metallica here, although too much head-banging has probably damaged more than a few brain cells. I’m referring to the metals found in food, water, air, and many commercially available products. Here are some common metals and their surprising sources:

  Aluminum. Although not strictly a heavy metal, aluminum can pose a threat to health, particularly with excessive exposure. While the research is still controversial, aluminum has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. It is found in:

  ■Baby formulas

  ■Baked goods and processed foods

  ■Deodorants

  ■Over-the-counter and prescription antacids (see 60-Second Brain Health Tip #7)

  ■Other pharmaceutical drugs (as a binding agent)

  ■Aluminum pots and pans

  ■Shampoos

  ■Skin creams

  Cadmium. This has serious repercussions for your brain and inhibits your body’s ability to use nutrients such as iron, zinc, and calcium, leaving you more vulnerable to bone and immune system disorders. Cadmium is found in:

  ■Automobile seat covers

  ■Black rubber

  ■Burned motor oil

  ■Ceramics

  ■Cigarettes

  ■Evaporated milk

  ■Fertilizers

  ■Floor coverings

  ■Fungicides

  ■Furniture

  ■Refined wheat flour (white flour)

  ■Silver polish

  ■Soft drinks from vending machines with cadmium in the pipes

  Copper. While your body needs copper in small amounts to ensure bone growth, nerve function, and tissue formation, researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that copper may be involved in triggering the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. According to Rashid Deane, PhD, lead author of the study, excessive copper seems to prevent the brain from getting rid of a protein that forms plaque, which triggers the disease. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that copper can also cause the protective blood–brain barrier to break down in animals.21 There’s still controversy over copper’s role in brain diseases, particularly since some scientists find that it may have a protective role in the brain. Either way, it’s probably safe to say that most of us are getting sufficient copper from our water and diet and should not seek out supplements that contain the mineral. Copper is found in: