How a tennis ball made me question brain health. 

Not long ago, my family and I were caring for an uncle who no longer recognized us, nor did he remember how to speak. As devastating as it was for us to mentally lose this core member of our family, I cherish a distinct moment of joy during this hard period. My uncle was an avid tennis player and member of many tennis clubs in his prime, so when I saw a fresh pack of tennis balls at Walmart I figured it would be a good gift to bring him. As soon as I gave my uncle the gift, he instantly formed an electric smile and began to shake one of the tennis balls a few inches from his ear, listening intently. As a non-tennis player myself, I learned that this seemingly strange action was him checking to see if the ball was flat, as a flat tennis ball makes a distinct sound for the experienced ear. I was shocked! At this point in his decline my uncle couldn’t put together basic functions such as eating or brushing his teeth, yet he habitually knew to check to see if this tennis ball gift was flat? Thus began my journey into the wonderfully weird mysteries of aging brain health.  

While there’s still so much we don’t know about the brain, for this article, I want to rely on the science we do have to address how to increase brain longevity — tips for creating a stronger brain based on the fundamental building blocks of the brain. While normal body cells die and are replaced anywhere from within a few days to a few years, brain cells are uniquely unable to replicate. When neurons and glial cells are damaged, the sad reality is that they are often never repaired, leaving permanent damage to cells responsible for brain function and cognition. 

In an effort to lay out how to create a stronger brain and give our brain cells the best chance at long term survival, I’m utilizing two sources: an October 2021 podcast by Dr. Andrew Huberman and the research notes from one of my previous articles “8 ways to boost your brain health.” Dr Huberman is a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine, and in his podcast “Huberman Lab: Nutrients for Brain Performance” he discusses how to create brain longevity by providing it with the nutrients it needs as we age. The video for “8 ways to boost your brain health” was one of my earliest videos and is honestly not the best quality. However, looking back now the information inside there is still relevant and came up in Dr. Andrew Huberman’s research as well. 

This latest article is my attempt to update 8 ways to boost your brain health and go further in depth about why these foods are so critical for brain health, while including information from Dr. Andrew Huberman’s in-depth explanation on why the nutrients I championed continue to be so important. 

Brain Modulators and Brain Mediators

One of the key points in Dr Andrew Huberman’s podcast is the difference between brain “modulators” and brain “mediators.”

Brain modulators are behaviors or patterns that we subscribe to in order to keep our brain healthy (or not healthy). Examples of these modulators would include sleep, social interactions, and factors that reduce of exacerbate our personal levels of depression/anxiety/stress.

Two of the biggest factors that modulate brain health are:

1. Enough sleep and regular sleep: poor sleep leads to dementia.

2. Exercise: 150-180 min/week to support cardiovascular heart health. The brain uses a TON of oxygen.

Brain mediators, on the other hand, are the actual building blocks for your brain and brain cells. These are what physically make up the brain and what fuels the brain.

One of the biggest mediators of our brain is healthy fat. Fat helps our brain cells form a double-layered membrane around itself, which serves as a boundary structure. Fat also insulates and protects our brain cells from the outside environment, while still allowing critical messages to be received. However, not all fat is created equal.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids (EPA+DHA) — fatty fish (mackerel, sardines, salmon), caviar, chia seeds, walnuts, soy beans, and krill

Beneficial fat sources for the brain are omega 3 Essential fatty acids and phospholipids. EPA and DHA are the two main beneficial components found in omega 3 fatty acids. Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids include fatty fish — like salmon, sardines, and mackerel — caviar, chia seeds, walnuts, soy beans, and krill. Dr. Huberman specifically touches on the importance of EPA which can battle depression and enhance mood — effects on overall wellbeing that can be on par with the effects of antidepressants. In some cases, patients have found that they’re able to lessen their antidepressant dose prescriptions when supplementing in EPA. Omega 3s also support cardiovascular health and the heart. This is extremely important for our brains because the brain uses a lot (~40%) of our energy and oxygen. The recommended amount of EPA supplementation per day 1-3 grams. 

-What do I do? 

To be real, I don’t enjoy a lot of the foods on the omega 3 food list, or they don’t agree with my stomach. While I try my best to regularly eat fish and chia seeds, I feel as though I am missing out on my suggested EPA threshold of 1-3 grams. To ensure I reach that threshold I do a daily supplementation of EPA and DHA with Thorne Super EPA.  

Phosphatidylserine - meats and cabbage soy, white beans, egg yolks, & organ meats (chicken liver, and beef liver)

Dr. Huberman goes over another type of important healthy fat called Phosphatidylserine. 

Phosphatidylserine is a type of fatty substance which contributes to what’s called the phospholipid bilayer. It covers and protects the cells in your brain and carries messages between them. Phosphatidylserine plays an important role in keeping your mind and memory sharp. Animal studies suggest that the level of this substance in the brain decreases with age. Phosphatidylserine is found in meats and cabbage soy (the main source), white beans, egg yolks, & organ meats (chicken liver, and beef liver). The recommended amount of daily phosphatidylserine consumption is 300mg per day. 

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/phosphatidylserine-uses-and-risks

-What do I do?

This is honestly the first time I have heard of phosphatidylserine but if you look at 8 ways to boost your brain health I unknowingly included food sources for phosphatidylserine. Inside that list I suggested organ meats, eggs and leafy greens as being great brain food sources for other things such as Vitamin C, Copper, Choline, Vitamin D, and all of your B vitamins. It turns out all of those food sources also contain phosphatidylserine. Go science! 

Choline (Acetylcholine) - egg yolk, potatoes, nuts, seeds, grains, and fruit

Next Dr. Huberman touched on how beneficial choline is for brain longevity. Choline is the precursor to acetylcholine, which is a neuromodulator that enhances neurons involved with focus and alertness. Acetylcholine allows your neurons to focus. We can think of acetylcholine as a neuron “highlighter.” As we age there is less acetylcholine available for neurons to uptake. Alzheirmers drugs work to enhance the amount of acetylcholine available to neurons. Choline can be found in egg and in particular egg yolk, potatoes, nuts, seeds, grains, and fruit. It is recommended that you consume 500mg to 1g of choline per day.  

What do I do?

I do not supplement with choline because I easily get enough from my diet. I’m a frequent egg consumer as I find it not only filling but easy and quick to make. I also am sure to not shy away from the yolk as it contains so much goodness in addition to choline, including vitamins including B12, B2, A, and folate. I am also a frequent consumer of potatoes, grains, and fruit so I personally don’t feel obligated to consume an additional supplement for choline or acetylcholine. 

Creatine - Red meat and fish

One thing that caught me off guard that Dr. Huberman brought up for brain health is creatine. Many of us may be familiar with creatine as a workout supplement. Indeed creatine can increase workload as it helps bring water into muscles and other tissue thereby enhancing their function. The surprising part is that creatine is used to battle depression, enhance mood regulation and motivation. Not to mention creatine can serve as a fuel source for the brain. Creatine is widely available in meat sources and supplementation can help for those who choose not to consume meat. I am a meat eater but still find value in supplementing with creatine. The recommended amount of consumption for creatine is 5g per day minimum. There are a lot of loading and unloading techniques for the heavy creatine consumers, but a 5g minimum is a good general threshold to maintain. A word of caution for creatine use is that it can cause hair loss by increasing Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) if you are genetically prone to hair loss. As an avid user I can't say creatine is making me lose my hair, but I definitely can’t say it’s helping my hair either.

What do I do?

In addition to consuming meat I will take one scoop of creatine powder. This puts me over the 5g minimum threshold as the scoop itself contains 5 grams of creatine. I continue to supplement with creatine because I notice big differences in energy and work capacity when I compare taking creatine to not taking creatine. 

Anthocyanins - Dark Berries

Next we move into dark berries: blueberries or blackberries. It is well known that berries are good for your brain, but what is it about the berries? In addition to the antioxidants which help remove free radicals in our body, berries contain a compound called anthocyanins which support brain health. Anthocyanins reduce DNA damage and reduce brain decline in elderly people 65+. Supplemented 400-600mg anthocyanins daily associated with verbal learning and memory. This equates to about 60-100g or 1 cup a day of fresh blueberries.

What do I do?

I will be the first to admit I am slipping on my anthocyanin supplementation or berry consumption. It is quite easy to add a few frozen berries to your favorite smoothie to reach that 60g/day threshold and moving forward I plan to do just that.

Glutamine -  cottage cheese, beef, chicken, fish, eggs, beans, cabbage, spinach, parsley, BONE BROTH. 

I love glutamine as a way to improve gut health, and now I love it even more knowing what it can do for your brain. I’m not surprised to hear glutamine mentioned by Dr. Huberman as being beneficial for your brain. Not only does our gut have neurons, but the gut and the brain communicate via the gut-brain axis. Glutamine helps neurons in our gut monitor fat, sugar and proteins in our gut and send signals to our brain about what we need. Glutamine can positively impact signals of satiation and diminish sugar cravings. 

Glutamine can also help improve the immune system. Interestingly, glutamine can offset oxygen deprivation from altitude and apnea. Glutamine is found in cottage cheese, beef, chicken, fish, eggs, beans, cabbage, spinach, parsley and you guessed it, BONE BROTH! The recommended daily intake of glutamine is 1g-10g per day supplementation.  

What do I do?

In addition to consuming bone broth, I add a big scoop of glutamine to my collagen powder/athletic greens/probiotic powder mixture in the morning. 

Conclusion

The research of brain health is a novel field with ever-emerging data. The hope for this article was to not only update “8 ways to boost your brain health” but to also provide some data about why these foods are important for brain longevity. Stay tuned because I’ll continue to do research and provide updates on this topic. Our brains are one of the most important resources we have in life, so let’s take care of them!