What to do and eat to improve your brain and balance your neurotransmitters

[Amandine]

 

We are what we eat, literally.

 

There are a lot of books out there dealing with "food and mood" which can be overwhelming but a couple of good books I've bought looking at food and its link to our neurotransmitters include:

 

1. Potatoes not Prozac by Kathleen DesMaisons

https://www.amazon.com/Potatoes-Not-Prozac-Solutions-Addiction/dp/1982106476/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3BZ2LU2IKO4W3&keywords=potatoes+not+prozac&qid=1582645326&s=books&sprefix=potatoes+not+%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C215&sr=1-1

This is another exerpt from her book (apart from the above Amazon "look inside" extract):

https://books.google.fr/books?id=VnWck7kOCWAC&pg=PT72&lpg=PT72&dq=potatoes+not+prozac+neurotransmitters&source=bl&ots=AQzw3lBGLx&sig=ACfU3U3J1CcIli73H0622sPgbVP0sV3mhg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiOidKe3-znAhUQyxoKHdMkDZ0Q6AEwCnoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=potatoes not prozac neurotransmitters&f=false

The author also has a website called https://radiantrecovery.com/ (where she basically covers everything that is in her books).

She and her forum are good at responding to individual queries. 

If you're an adult child of an alcoholic and/or sugar-addict, you will find that moving along what she calls the "carbohydrate continuum" will help. The "white" stuff is on one end of the continuum and the green/brown stuff on the other.

Eating three meals a day containing enough protein and complex carbohydrates, along with eating a potato before bed (alternatives are given), can help your body naturally self-regulate your moods and emotions. This is especially true for people who are caught on the roller coaster of sugar addiction, as potatoes can help break the sugar craving cycle by naturally boosting serotonin and dopamine, helping you better avoid temptation. Apart from stabilizing blood sugar, another neurotransmitter she deals with is beta endorphin.

She takes you step by step through the process of balancing your neurotransmitters.

For example:

1. First master eating breakfast with protein

2. Then when that's done, try journaling what you eat and how you feel

3. When you've got that down, now try to eat three meals a day with protein and a complex carb

4. Then take the recommended vitamins and have a potato before bed

5. Next shift from white foods to brown foods

6. Finally reduce or eliminate sugars

Nice gentle process so you don't spook yourself (or your brain lol) by going too fast. Cold turkey can be good too (you can do all those 6 steps together if you prefer), but this step-by-step approach may work better for some (certainly helps reduce the headaches and other sugar/refined carb withdrawal symptoms by going slower).

 

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2. Change your brain, change your life by Daniel Amen

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/110190464X/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

This is another exerpt from his book (apart from the above Amazon "look inside" extract):

https://books.google.fr/books?id=lY8LKt-hz2kC&pg=PT1&lpg=PT1&dq=Brain+do's+and+brain+dont's+daniel+amen&source=bl&ots=--f94zOMg9&sig=ACfU3U1LAwSJ_Fb9GJ_eGytmQx3kDayPAA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihkILjge3nAhUJLBoKHSa0AFYQ6AEwDHoECAwQAQ#v=onepage&q=Brain do's and brain dont's daniel amen&f=false

He has his own youtube channel

 

and here are some other videos:

 

In his book, according to your "complaint", he prescribes a diet of say higher protein/lower carbs, or the opposite higher carbs/lower protein, depending on the part of the brain and neurotransmitters in question. So like a keto diet would not necessarily suit everyone.

Take the case of ADD, there are 7 types of ADD and each type has its own prescription:

 https://www.verywellmind.com/understanding-dr-daniel-amens-6-types-of-add-20466

 

He talks a lot about the nutritional aspect in the blog on his website (as well as a host of other valuable information):

https://www.amenclinics.com/category/nutrition/

 

Basically, he's saying we're not stuck with the brains we're born with, we can make them better. Through the right nutrients you can heal your brain and therefore change your life to quell anxiety, depression, ANTs (automatic negative thoughts), anger, addictions, impulsiveness, Fear, PTSD, Procrastination, OCD, ADD, etc as well as prevent future neurological issues (eg. Alzheimer's). 

For every type of brain function or malfunction Dr. Amen prescribes remedies, exercises, and various foods that may help and things to avoid that harm the brain (alcohol, toxins, smoking, pesticides, etc). He also gives suggestions for how to improve memory, reverse or reduce symptoms of various illnesses, and describes the 12 principles to change your brain.

He recommends certain supplements (like gingko biloba, omega-3 fatty acids, a moss extract known as Huperzine A, etc) for better brain health that are easily accessible over-the-counter ones.

The book is easy to read and is geared for a non-medical reader, offering hope to those who think their struggles are moral, genetic or permanent failures, and practical, simple steps to improve anyone's brain health.

He's not without his critics, but what he says makes sense.

 

Here's his list of practical brain do's and dont's to optimize your own brain function and begin to break bad brain habits that hold you back from getting what you want in life.

 

Brain Dos: ? ? 

1. Wear a helmet in high-risk situations.

2. Drink lots of water (six to eight 8-ounce glasses daily) to stay well hydrated.

3. Eat healthfully, adjusting the proportion of protein and carbohydrate to your brain needs.

4. Take gingko biloba as necessary under your doctor's supervision.

5. Think positive, healthy thoughts.

6. Love, feed, and exercise your internal ant-eater to rid yourself of ANTs (automatic negative thoughts).

7. Every day, take time to focus on the things you are grateful for in your life.

8. Watch the Disney movie Pollyanna.

9. Spend time with positive, uplifting people.

10. Spend time with people you want to be like (you are more likely to become like them).

11. Work on your "people skills" to become more connected and to enhance limbic bonds.

12. Talk to others in loving, helpful ways.

13. Surround yourself with great smells.

14. Build a library of wonderful experiences.

15. Make a difference in the life of someone else.

16. Exercise.

17. Regularly connect with your loved ones.

18. Learn diaphragmatic breathing.

19. Learn and use self-hypnosis and meditation on a daily basis.

20. Remember the "18/40/60 Rule". (see note below)***

21. Effectively confront and deal with situations involving conflict.

22. Develop clear goals for your life (relationships, work, money, and self) and reaffirm them every day.

23. Focus on what you like a lot more than what you don't like.

24. Collect penguins (this one is personal to the author, he explains in the book about his penguin collection).

25. Have meaning, purpose, excitement, and stimulation in your life. (but no bungee jumping, haha, see below)

26. Establish eye contact with and smile frequently at others.

27. Consider brainwave biofeedback or audiovisual stimulation to optimize brain function.

28. Notice when you're stuck, distract yourself, and come back to the problem later.

29. Think through answers before automatically saying no. (I'd like to add, before automatically saying yes too)

30. Write out options and solutions when you feel stuck.

31. Seek the counsel of others when you feel stuck (often just talking about feeling stuck will open new options).

32. Memorize and recite the Serenity Prayer daily and whenever bothered by repetitive thoughts (God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference).

33. Take a break and come back later when you're unsuccessfully tried to convince someone who is stuck.

4. Use paradoxical requests in dealing with cingulate people.

35. Make naturally oppositional children mind you the first time (through a firm, kind, authoritative stance).

36. Learn something new every day.

37. Enhance your memory skills.

38. Sing and hum whenever you can.

39. Make beautiful music a part of your life.

40. Make beautiful smells a part of your life.

41. Touch others often (appropriately).

42. Make love with your partner.

43. Move in rhythms.

44. Use a skilled psychotherapist when needed.

45. Use an EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) therapist to deal with trauma.

46. Take head injuries seriously, even minor ones.

47. Take medications when needed, under your doctor's supervision.

48. Take herbal remedies when needed, under your doctor's supervision.

49. Consider underlying brain problems in substance abusers.

50. Do full brain evaluations for people who do terrible things.

 

Brain Dont's: ??

1. Isolate a developing baby.

2. Use alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or much caffeine when pregnant.

3. Ignore erratic behavior.

4. Lie around the house and never exercise.

5. Ignore concussions.

6. Smoke.

7. Drink much caffeine.

8. Drink much alcohol.

9. Do addictive drugs (NO heroin, crack, cocaine, methamphetamines (unless in prescribed doses for ADD)).

10. Eat without forethought about what foods are best for your brain.

11. Drive without wearing a seat belt.

12. Ride a motorcycle, bicycle, skateboard, in-line skates, snowboard, and so forth without a helmet.

13. Hit a soccer ball with your head.

14. Bang your head when you're frustrated (protect the head of children who are head bangers).

15. Bungee jump.

16. Hand out with people who do addictive drugs, fight, or are involved in other dangerous activities.

17. Allow your breathing to get out of control.

18. Think in black-or-white terms.

19. Think in words like always, never, every time, everyone.

20. Focus on the negative things in your life.

21. Predict the worst.

22. Think only with your feelings.

23. Try to read other people's minds.

24. Blame other people for your problems.

25. Label yourself or others with negative terms.

26. Beat up yourself or others with guilt (very ineffective).

27. Personalize situations that have little to do with you.

28. Feed your ANTs.

29. Use sex as a weapon with your partner.

30. Talk to others in a hateful way.

31. Push people away.

32. Be around toxic smells.

33. Be around toxic people.

34. Focus too much on what other people think of you (odds are they aren't thinking about you at all, see note below***).

35. Allow your life to just happen without you directing and planning it.

36. Take the "stimulant bait" from other people.

37. Be another person's stimulant.

38. Allow thoughts to go over and over in your head.

39. Automatically say no to others; think first if what they want fits with your goals.

40. Automatically say yes to others; think first if what they want fits with your goals.

41. Argue with someone who is stuck.

42. Isolate yourself when you feel worried, depressed, or panicky.

43. Allow naturally oppositional children to be oppositional.

44. Listen to toxic music.

45. Blame substance abusers as morally defective.

46. Refuse to take medications when needed.

47. Self-medicate; when you have problems, get help from professionals.

48. Deny you have problems.

49. Refuse to listen to the people you love who are trying to tell you to get help.

50. Withhold love, touch, and companionship from those you love as a way to express anger.

 

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*** the "18/40/60 Rule" (p.105)

When you're 18, you worry about what everybody is thinking of you

When you're 40, you don't give a damn about what anybody is thinking of you

When you're 60, you realize nobody's been thinking about you at all

Edited February 26, 2020 by Amandine