Brain health is really basic to survival, yet brain dysfunctions and diseases are skyrocketing. Knowing this, you can feel helpless, turning into an alarmist who goes off the emotional deep end every time you forget something or have to search for a word.

Here's the short story on the latest research that can help you get back in the driver's seat with regard to your brain health, and likely it's not what you'd guess.

The short story is this: the state of your brain health is to a great degree determined by the state of your microbiome.

My what, you might ask? The word 'microbiome' refers to all the various microbes in your digestive system. Yes, it turns out that the health and balance vs. dysfunctions and imbalances of the microbes in your digestive tract have everything to do with the ability of your brain not only to function but also to maintain healthy functioning well into your old age.

Neurologist David Perlmutter, M.D., has seen the benefits of microbiome rebalancing via removing disease-causing microbes and increasing health-producing ones in his private practice as well as those of his colleagues. He reports that huge payoffs have been both clinically and scientifically demonstrated for the following brain conditions:

     ADHD
     Alzheimers
     Autism
     Anxiety
     Depression
     Memory problems
     Poor concentration
     Insomnia
     Tourette syndrome
     Obsessive-compulsive disorder
     Dementia
     Parkinson's disease
     Mood disorders
     'Leaky' brain
     Cognitive decline.

This above list includes only some of the conditions that can be positively impacted through the proper care and feeding of the microbiome.

However, there is a huge and growing list of other conditions that can benefit or be entirely eliminated - all of which might seem to be unrelated to each other. Since they each appear to be unique, this would lead to the conclusion that separate strategies would be used to address each one.

However, what has been discovered is that they are in fact intimately connected. That's because the microbiome has everything to do with managing inflammation, which is the common factor that connects diabetes with dementia, say, or carbohydrate craving with multiple sclerosis.

To summarize: inflammation is at the root of all these conditions, and gut bacteria play the central role in preventing, managing or allowing such inflammation to occur.

If this has you motivated to take care of your microbiome, you may wonder where to start. If so, here's your short answer: fermented foods. They are rich in the right kinds of healthy microbes that help feed and keep your microbiome balanced and working well. Happily, there is a wide variety from which to choose.

Fermented foods include yogurt (with live cultures and no sugar), kefir, kimchi, pickles, kombucha, sauerkraut, ricotta and all the various foods preserved in brine.

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For more information, you can check out Dr. Perlmutter's book: Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain- For Life.

Pamela Levin is an R.N. & Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst with 500+ post-graduate hours in clinical nutrition, herbology and applied kinesiology. Her private practice specializes in health improvement services. She shares her knowledge through her newsletter, BetterHealthBytes.

Pamela Levin, R.N.
August 22, 2016

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