Science says eating just one meal per day can improve your health. Learn more at https://highintensityhealth.com/OMAD ----- Welcome to episode #139. Brain health and cognitive optimization expert Max Lugavere shares his top brain health tips. ➢ Bread Head Movie: http://breadheadmovie.com ➢ Connect with Max: https://www.facebook.com/MaxLugavere ➢ Read the Interview Transcript: http://bit.ly/1Wpm3Pl ➢ Listen to the Audio in iTunes: http://apple.co/21YZ1yE ➢ Filmed & Edited Credit: http://www.kelseysmith.net -----------------------------------------Lets Connect-------------------------------------- ➢ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MikeMutzelMS ➢ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/metabolic_mike --------------------------------------Key Takeaways---------------------------------- 01:01 Grains and Brain Health: Being skinny does not mean that you are in perfect metabolic health. The absence of disease does not equal the presence of health. Many patients with Alzheimer’s are underweight. There could be metabolic dysfunction. Most of us over consume grains. Studies continue to show that one of the best ways to stay insulin sensitive is by eating low carb, high fiber, and high healthy fat. Over the past century, there has been a thousand-fold increase in omega 6 consumption. Our brains are downstream from many inflammatory processes. 04:39 Elevated Blood Sugar’s Impact upon the Brain: The amyloid hypothesis focuses on the plaque buildup in the brain as the cause of Alzheimer’s and this is the focus of pharmaceutical research for a cure. Decades of research is indicating that this is the wrong road. There is little correlation between amyloid load and cognitive ability. One of the earliest measureable features in the Alzheimer’s brain is impaired glucose metabolism. It is what characterizes type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance is the inability of cells to let glucose enter for use by the mitochondria for fuel. Research shows that young people, carriers of the APOE-ε4 allele, the gene most associated with risk (not determination) for Alzheimer’s disease; decades before symptoms appear there is impaired glucose usage in their brains. People who have Alzheimer’s disease, regardless of whether they have the APOE-ε4 allele, 100% of them have insulin resistance in their brains. Research shows that insulin resistance in the body predicts amyloid buildup in the brain. 08:28 Minimizing Risk for Diabetes and Alzheimer’s: Having type 2 diabetes doubles our risk for Alzheimer’s disease. The brain is fed blood by 400 miles of microvasculature. What is good for the heart and good for the metabolism is good for the brain. Changes begin decades before the first symptom, like many chronic diseases. 10:01 Diet and Minimizing Risk: The sugar, the refined carbohydrates, the chronic elevations of blood sugar, we are too sedentary and we are not eating enough vegetables. Carbohydrate consumption should be titrated according to our activities. Think of them as performance enhancing drugs. Have your carbohydrates after your workout. Recently published is a 6 month study of fish oil on executive function, where they measured insulin and total grey matter volume in the brain. Those who had lower levels of fasting insulin had greater volume of grey matter in their brains. Alzheimer’s is characterized by dramatic brain shrinkage. 13:12 Metabolic Flexibility: In the morning, we are at our most insulin sensitive and cortisol is high. Insulin is the storage hormone and cortisol liberates fuels for the body to use. We have evolved to use sugar or fat for fuel. When you become insulin resistant, you lose that flexibility. When you burn sugar, you cannot go very long between meals. A higher fat diet allows you to go longer without feeling hungry. Intermittent fasting is another means to induce a state of acute physiologic stress. It does many of the same things that exercise does. It boosts BDNF in the brain that are depleted in Alzheimer’s disease and depression. It has an epigenetic effect, turning on certain genes that are involved in reparative and protective mechanisms. We would need to be healthy enough to do this. It is not advisable for insulin dependent diabetics. It turns on autophagy, the ability to clean up senescent cells that are emitting pro-inflammatory cytokines 20:05 Olive Oil and the Brain: 34:32 Optimizing Brain Health and Brain Function: 38:05 The Oral Microbiome: 42:40 Dairy and Neurologic Issues: 45:26 Meditation and Cognition: 51:28 Max’s Morning Routine: