A Holistic Approach To Brain Health

A Holistic Approach To Brain Health

Brain Makeover

By Martha Howard

Posted on 2025/07/25

There is no "magic pill" for your brain. It is part of a whole ecosystem that includes your body and all your surroundings—that means the artificial flavors, dyes and additives in your favorite junk food and the chemicals in the hair spray you just inhaled.

There is no “magic pill” for your brain. It is part of a whole ecosystem that includes your body and all your surroundings—that means the artificial flavors, dyes and additives in your favorite junk food and the chemicals in the hair spray you just inhaled. Your brain is only 2 percent of your bodyweight, yet consumes 20 percent of the body’s glucose. How to feed and care for it? Try these tips:

Avoid chemicals as much as possible. The more your house and office are “clean and green” the better your brain will work. Watch out for house rehab paint strippers, paints, varnishes and the fumes from new carpets and furniture. Avoid using plug-in or spray deodorizers. Use natural citrus sprays instead. (Lime Mate Mist is a good one.) Use body products that have natural ingredients instead of chemicals—a lifetime of breathing hairspray can really lower those IQ points.

Get organic foods whenever you can. If organic foods are not available, wash all foods with a good fruit and vegetable wash. Be aware of the “dirty dozen”—the list of fruits and vegetables that, if not organic, are likely to have the highest pesticide content. (They are: peaches, strawberries, apples, domestic blueberries, nectarines, cherries, imported grapes, celery, sweet bell peppers, spinach, kale and collard greens).

Drink water. Energy drinks and sports drinks with all their sugar and dyes don’t count. Dehydration actually causes brain damage. Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses a day.

Take Fish Oil Deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids has been shown to lower intellectual performance and is linked with dementia. Fish oil’s “active ingredients” are the essential fatty acids DHA and EPA—30 percent of the content of your brain is these very fatty acids. No fatty acids, no brain. It’s tough to eat enough fish to get the right amount of fatty acids, so take a good supplement. Do your best to get at least 600 milligrams of combined DHA/EPA per day.

Eat fresh fruits and vegetables. The best ones, according to the US Department of Agriculture, have the highest antioxidant value: blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, strawberries, spinach, raspberries, brussels sprouts, plums, broccoli, beets, avocados, oranges, red grapes, red bell peppers, cherries and kiwis. Five servings a day of fruits and vegetables is recommended (each serving is a half-cup).

Drink green tea. Green tea (and to a lesser extent, black tea) slows the build-up of plaque in brains from amyloid deposits and also prevents strokes. Drinking tea also helps mental alertness.

Eat eggs. Eggs are rich in choline, a fat-like B vitamin. Studies have shown that it increases memory and chases away fatigue.

Get exercise. Greater blood circulation means more oxygen to the brain and more production of mood-enhancing endorphins.

Meditate. Meditation changes brain frequency and function. The frequencies of deep meditation allow a “brain rest” you cannot get anywhere else. Meditation also enhances connection and symmetry between the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

Try the three top supplements. These are:

• Alpha Lipoic Acid (aLa). This supplement is a powerful antioxidant and is both fat and water soluble. It can actually get into the brain easily and can pass through to all areas of the cells to “mop up” free radicals and stop their damage. A former NIH researcher, Dr. Bruce Ames did “rat maze” studies on Alpha Lipoic Acid and the next supplement in the list, Acetyl-L —Carnitine, and showed that the combination of these two caused aging rats, who had been confused in the mazes prior to taking the supplements, to make dramatic changes within a month—to be able to perform in the mazes like young rats.
• Acetyl-L-Carnitine. This is the other half of the “A-team for the brain.” It is a primary contributor to the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is required for mental function. Double-blind clinical trials suggest acteyl-L-carnitine helps the performance of people with Alzheimer’s and delays the progression of the disease.
• Phosphatidyl Serine. This supplement actually stimulates brain cells to make new dendrites and axons. People who take it remember more names, faces, phone numbers and written information.

If a holistic approach is a radical departure from your current lifestyle choices, pick just one or two to adopt and progress from there.

Martha Howard

• Source

ChicagoHealers.com Practitioner Martha Howard, MD is a board member of the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine and a former board member of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. She is the author of The Power of Suggestion CD series, a set of hypnosis/guided imagery CDs for health and improved states of mind. Trained in traditional Chinese medicine,as well as in hypnosis, she has more than 25 years of experience practicing integrative medicine in a variety of settings, including the Public Health Service. She is the first woman physician to have had hospital privileges to practice acupuncture in the Chicago area (1985). Chicago Healers (www.chicagohealers.com) is the nation's pioneer prescreened integrative health care network, offering a comprehensive understanding of each practitioner's services, approach and philosophy. Their holistic health experts teach and advocate natural and empowered health and life choices through their practices, the media, educational events and website.

Lifestyle Factors and Healing

Lifestyle Factors and Healing

By Marin Campbell

Posted on May 13, 2025

How Does Sleep Impact My Healing?

When you sleep, your body repairs and restores itself. Studies have shown that poor or interrupted sleep slows down healing and has a negative effect on body systems.

How can I improve my sleep quality?

• Slow down: create a routine for winding down at the end of your day. This might include sipping herbal tea, doing a calming meditation or breathing exercise, stretching gently, or curling up in bed with a book.

• Turn off: power down your electronic devices at least an hour before bed. The blue light from your screens can suppress the melatonin secretion that signals to your body that it’s time to sleep.

• Create routine: starting your bedtime ritual and going to bed around the same time every night can strengthen your circadian rhythm and improve sleep quality.

• Move your body: regular movement can help you sleep better and longer—as little as 10 minutes can make a difference!

How Does Nutrition Impact My Healing?

When your body is recovering from an injury, surgery, or illness, your nutritional needs increase—you require more energy and nutrients to heal your tissue. Certain compounds like vitamins A, C, and D; amino acids arginine, glutamine, and methionine; and micronutrients like zinc can support your body’s healing response.

How can I improve my nutrition?

• Eat more plants: brightly colored vegetables and fruits contain antioxidants, which your body uses to protect itself from damage, and phytochemicals, which can decrease the risk of everything from cancer to diabetes to neurological disorders. If eating more plants seems daunting, consider adding just one new fruit or veggie per week. The more deeply colored, the higher in helpful nutrients!

• Drink more water: dehydration can make it harder to concentrate and solve problems and may also impair mood. Your body needs to be properly hydrated to perform its regular functions, including tissue repair.

• Look for clean proteins & fats: grass-fed beef and free range eggs & poultry pack a healthier punch than their counterparts. Plant-based fats like avocado and olive oil are full of monounsaturated fat which may help reduce inflammation.

How Does Stress Impact My Healing?

Stress has a negative effect on virtually all of your body’s systems. It can slow your healing by disrupting the hormones that coordinate the healing response and can wreak havoc on your digestion, interrupting your ability to absorb nutrients that your body needs to mend itself.

How can I improve my ability to manage stress?

• Start meditating: self-compassion (aka metta or lovingkindness) meditation is an effective tool for reducing stress and promoting mindfulness. Even 5 minutes of meditation can be significant, and bonus—you can go for a guided meditation if the thought of silently sitting by yourself makes your heart pound!

• Breathe deeply: breath work has become the go-to for cultivating calm if meditation doesn’t appeal to you. Just 1 to 3 minutes can be enough to diminish your fight or flight response by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for slowing heart and breathing rates after a stressful situation.

• Move your body: exercise, even a short walk around the block, helps you sleep better, releases endorphins, and helps regulate hormone and neurotransmitter levels.

• http://thriveptandmyofascialrelease.com/

The Physics of Motivating Yourself

The Physics of Motivating Yourself

By Leo Babauta

Posted on February 22, 2025

Most people have only a hazy idea of how to motivate themselves. Getting ourselves to do something we know we want to do — a big project, exercise, etc. — can be really hard.

But actually, the way motivation works is pretty straightforward physics. We’re talking about things like force and inertia, not quantum mechanics.

Let’s take a look at how motivation works, so we can understand how to put it into effect.

Inertia vs. Energy

The first thing to understand is that there’s always an initial hurdle to overcome when you want to get started (or restarted) with something. If you are starting a new project or habit, there’s Inertia to overcome.

Even if you’re just trying to get started with your focus block for the day, you’ll face Inertia.

It’s important to simply recognize that there’s Inertia when we’re starting, and to recognize that it takes some Energy to overcome that.

If you’re low on Energy for any reason … that makes it harder to overcome the Inertia. Maybe you haven’t gotten good sleep, maybe you’ve been sick or taking care of someone, maybe you’ve been traveling, maybe you have a lot going on at work or in your personal life that’s draining your Energy. Whatever the reason, recognize that the Energy you have to overcome the Initial inertia is lower.

With all of that in mind, lower the bar to getting started — make it super easy. You just need to put your shoes on, you don’t need to run 3 miles. You just need to open your document, you don’t have to write 1000 words.

And find a way to get your Energy up, to overcome the Inertia. Make a promise to someone, do it with others, play some music, move your body, get some inspiration. Then direct the Energy to the smallest possible first step.

Fear vs. Possibility: Opposing Motivating Forces

Sometimes we’re motivated by Fear — the need to do something so we don’t let others down or get punished. But often Fear has a demotivating effect: we don’t want to fail or embarrass ourselves, so we procrastinate.

Fear is inevitable, if we allow ourselves to think of Possibility. Anyting that would be amazing — if I exercise I can get super healthy and fit, if I work on this project it could make a meaningful impact, if I pursue this goal it will change my life. This is Possibility.

We need Possibility to be motivated for the long-term — otherwise, we’re just pushing ourselves to do something we think we should do. That’s not very motivating. What’s the Possibility that lights up your heart?

When we let ourselves feel a big Possibility, we immediately feel an equal amount of Fear. They coexist equally. Most people then shut down the Possiiblity so they don’t have to feel the Fear. But that’s a life unfulfilled.

The way to work with this is to set aside the Fear and let ourselves get present to the Possibility that lights us up. Then to commit ourselves to it, and work with the Fear. Get present to the Fear as well, letting ourselves breathe deeply and soothing our nervous system. Then take the smallest next step.

A Structure & Community as Multipliers

If we have Possibility and Energy, we can mutiply them with two things:

• Structure: Energy dissipates if we don’t have Structure. Even if we’re able to increase our Energy and Possibility, without strong Structure it just spills out in all directions. We need to direct all of this with Structure — daily focus sessions, weekly planning and accountability sessions, monthly reviews. It can be fairly minimal, but we need to be committed to the Structure.
• Community: It’s hard to do things on our own. Having some kind of Community to be with you on the journey, to understand you and support you, is a multiplier of Possibility and Energy.

Don’t neglect these two elements if you want to stay motivated over the long term. We can get excited and inspired and be motivated for a day or three. But anything worthwhile will probably take longer, and for that, we need Structure and Community.

Fearless Mastery: What I’ve Created to Help

It can be confusing to find your way through all of these elements of motivation, even if they’re somewhat straightforward. To help, I’ve created Fearless Mastery 2025, my small group coaching and mastermind program.

Here’s how it helps with these elements of motivation:

1. We create Structure — weekly check-ins, weekly group calls, accountability partners, coaching sessions, a Demo Day each month for your project, and more.
2. It’s a Community — it’s a small group of fewer than 20 people, all working together for 8 months (starting March 4, 2025) to support each other’s meaningful projects.
3. Learn to work with Fear — a big part of the program is learning how to regulate your emotions so you can work masterfully with Fear when it shows up (and it will!).
4. Tactical steps — we help you find the tactical ideas needed to overcome Inertia and get started, every week and every day. That might take coaching along the way, as it’s hard to see on our own where we’re going wrong.

Leo Babauta

Zen Habits

• https://zenhabits.net/