Mood and brain supplements / foods / fitness

[JohnQ]

Hi,

I am looking for a comprehensive program of supplements / foods / possibly exercises(?) to constantly keep up a good mood and to generally maintain and improve brain function. I want it all to be science based.

I haven't been able to find any good websites on the issue. I see individual nutrients recommended here and there, but haven't found a good comprehensive program.

Any suggestions appreciated.

[joelr]

Besides high sugar/fatty foods and drugs the only mood enhancer things I have seen used is vitamin B12 and St Johns Wart. My ex took those for bad pms moods and they helped.

Doing cardio and weightlifting does cause a release of endorphins/opiates but the effects last a few hours at best.

Meditation is great also but I find if I'm depressed the low seratonin will cause the negative feelings to return quickly after meditation.

[Brutha]

I want it all to be science based.

What do you mean with the term?

[ginkgo]

Go Phillies!

According to Gabriel Cousins M.D. take flaxseed oil, blue-green algae (like spirulna), bee pollen, raw cacao (chocolate) and coconut oil-- like a teaspoon a day. The first has omega-3 that President Bush took. The algae has DHA and EPA and that is where the fish get it from. Some diabetics swear by coconut oil.

Comprehensive? Do you have 15 minutes to read? Then read this about nutrition for all aspects of health. Nutrition for Optimum Health

[Mogget]

Fish oil is good for your brain, ginko biloba is good when used long term, and Bhramhi (Gotu Kola) is also good for mental alertness. Guarana is useful a a stimulant.

Herbs for mood elevation include St Johns Wort and Lemonbalm.

However you will get even more results in training your mind - try Paul Mckenna's Positivity series - has lots of great exercises (including how to get an endorphin hit on demand) and trance tracks.

Brain-gym exercises are great too, as are NLP New Code High Performance State games for general ability to cope/achievement/development of skills etc.

[JohnQ]

Originally Posted by Brutha

What do you mean with the term?

I mean that it would be good if there were scientific studies supporting what people write. In other words, it's not just claims.

[JohnQ]

Thanks joelr. ginkgo: great info. Your website (phifoundation.org) doesn't work, but I could read it through here: Nutrition for Optimum Health. Excellent and comprehensive info. Mogget thanks for pointing to the exercises.

[stanmrak]

You'll find that the "science" behind nutritional theories to be totally contradictory. What one study concludes is completely invalidated by another study. And you're not going to get enough information about all the parameters of any study to tell the good ones from the bad ones. So don't worry about the science too much - you'll go crazy.

Antioxidant Research: Making Sense Out of the Contradictions

If you read something that makes sense, try it! You can't do much harm really.

I highly suggest meditiation with a brain-entrainment program.
Here's one source; you'll find that they use what is called "binaural beat" technology. There are other providers, but don't get any other kind of meditation CD.

Immrama Institute - Awaken your mind's infinite potential

[koneall]

The Brain Trust Program by McCleary, a Neurologist is entirely science-based. If you like to read--975 pages!--The Owner's Manual for the Brain by Pierce Howard, PhD, also science-based.

[Scipio]

nootropics - Google Search

dual n back - Google Search

[JohnQ]

Scipio: thanks for the dual n back suggestion. I've downloaded the brain workshop and started playing it. It's awsome!

koneall: McCleary's book looks very promising. Thanks. One issue for me is that he seems to be recommending a low-carb diet. It's a controversial topic. I'm a veg*n. Fuhrman recommends a high-carb plant-based diet. I'm not saying that McCleary is wrong (what do I know?). It's just... conflicting information...

[Gazi]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

Go Phillies!

According to Gabriel Cousins M.D. take flaxseed oil, blue-green algae (like spirulna), bee pollen, raw cacao (chocolate) and coconut oil-- like a teaspoon a day. The first has omega-3 that President Bush took. The algae has DHA and EPA and that is where the fish get it from. Some diabetics swear by coconut oil.

Comprehensive? Do you have 15 minutes to read? Then read this about nutrition for all aspects of health. Nutrition for Optimum Health

How can you promote any thing which is associated with President Bush?

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by Gazi

How can you promote any thing which is associated with President Bush?

I never voted for Bush, did you?

[koneall]

Originally Posted by JohnQ

Scipio: thanks for the dual n back suggestion. I've downloaded the brain workshop and started playing it. It's awsome!

koneall: McCleary's book looks very promising. Thanks. One issue for me is that he seems to be recommending a low-carb diet. It's a controversial topic. I'm a veg*n. Fuhrman recommends a high-carb plant-based diet. I'm not saying that McCleary is wrong (what do I know?). It's just... conflicting information...

McCleary says the brain works best on fatty acids, i..e. fish oil but cocoanut oil is just as good. The brain works well on sugars too but for some it leads to problems. One proven example is some kinds of epilepsy get better on a ketotic diet. A ketotic diet is possible without meat but would be harder to stick to.

"High-carb plant-based diet" is practically an oxymoron. The carbs inside veggies are bound up with fiber. In essense, a vegetarian diet is a low-carb diet. I eat a mainly vegetarian diet but not exclusively. We haven't evolved beyond needing meat, but not a lot of meat, and certainly not a 100% meat diet like Atkins.

Just my opinion.

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by JohnQ

Thanks joelr. ginkgo: great info. Your website (phifoundation.org) doesn't work, but I could read it through here: Nutrition for Optimum Health. Excellent and comprehensive info. Mogget thanks for pointing to the exercises.

Could you explain what the above means. When you say that it does not work, do you mean that there are problems with the server? I just tried the link and it works. I always copy the link from the site now. Sometimes I go to Twitter and one minute their server will be down and then the next minute it is up. Sometimes the server will be over-loaded. Is that what happened?

[ginkgo]

Originally Posted by stanmrak

You'll find that the "science" behind nutritional theories to be totally contradictory. What one study concludes is completely invalidated by another study. And you're not going to get enough information about all the parameters of any study to tell the good ones from the bad ones. So don't worry about the science too much - you'll go crazy.

Antioxidant Research: Making Sense Out of the Contradictions

Actually I think that this article is kind of stupid. It is as contradictory as this. The FDA limits a supplement to 99 mg of potassium. A doctor will never give you more than 200 mg of potassium at one time since you may need to be rushed to the hospital.

This is not a theory but from observations. But you can eat 2 bananas right now with 800 mg of potassium or eat 2 avocados with 2,400mg and that is fine. So is it a contradiction that 2,400 mg is OK but 200 mg is too much?

Not at all. It is explained in the link I left about superior nutrition. 200 mg of potassium is not a whole food. A banana is a whole food. Modern medicine can play dumb and say that the above is an unknown mystery of God.

But many NDs know that there is a big difference between a chemical isolate (they are extracted with chemical reactions) [I used to be a chemist] and a whole food. The keyword here is synergy. Synergy is where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. So which is better the front half of a dissected car or the back half? Neither of them can be driven. But a whole car can be driven.

The conclusion of the article is simple, not contradictory. Eat foods high in anti-oxidants that were created by God or nature, but do not take chemical isolates like anti-oxidants that were created by man. There is a difference!

That article hints about the above. It says "Furthermore, antioxidants don't work their magic in isolation — they work together as a team. The principal benefits of antioxidants seems to come from the consumption of a wide array of them; so, if you are supplementing your diet with antioxidants, it's best to eat antioxidant-rich foods with the supplements."

[Scipio]

Originally Posted by JohnQ

Scipio: thanks for the dual n back suggestion. I've downloaded the brain workshop and started playing it. It's awsome!

If you are interested in other aids to your intelligence and memory, please look up:

SRS:
Spaced Repetition Systems
Spaced repetition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anki - friendly, intelligent flashcards

Techniques:
Imaginative Memory
Method of loci - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This whole site:
Formula for Human Genius and Creativity

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I don't like to get into the topic of diet and supplementation because I think it doesn't help much (provided your are healthy) compared to those other systems. However, I do recommend you supplement with fish oil because of the countless studies showing how it can help the brain in people who are deficient in DHA. In my opinion, fish oil really isn't a supplement--I'd rather look at it like most people are deficient in an essential nutrient.

[stanmrak]

Originally Posted by Scipio

I don't like to get into the topic of diet and supplementation because I think it doesn't help much (provided your are healthy) compared to those other systems. However, I do recommend you supplement with fish oil because of the countless studies showing how it can help the brain in people who are deficient in DHA. In my opinion, fish oil really isn't a supplement--I'd rather look at it like most people are deficient in an essential nutrient.

Your logic on supplements escapes me. Are vitamin D capsules not a supplement either, since most people are deficient in it? How about vitamin E and vitamin C? Studies show these are very common deficiencies as well. I suspect that almost everyone is deficient in one vitamin or another - how do you know?

The science on treating health problems with vitamin supplements is well established. The benefits of vitamin E supplements have been documented as far back as 1933, when Wilfred and Evan Shute, two cardiologists from Ontario, Canada, began using it to treat heart conditions. In their 1972 book, the Shutes reported having treated more than 30,000 patients with overwhelming positive results.

[Scipio]

Originally Posted by stanmrak

Your logic on supplements escapes me. Are vitamin D capsules not a supplement either, since most people are deficient in it?

Getting adequate vitamin D when you are deficient is necessary to fill a deficiency.

How about vitamin E and vitamin C? Studies show these are very common deficiencies as well. I suspect that almost everyone is deficient in one vitamin or another - how do you know?

I would say that they are filling a deficiency if they are deficient in vitamin E and C and then begin taking them.

The science on treating health problems with vitamin supplements is well established. The benefits of vitamin E supplements have been documented as far back as 1933, when Wilfred and Evan Shute, two cardiologists from Ontario, Canada, began using it to treat heart conditions. In their 1972 book, the Shutes reported having treated more than 30,000 patients with overwhelming positive results.

Wow! Thanks man, you're really smart. Cool!

Anyway, there is no recommended daily minimum or deficiency standards set for DHA and EPA. When people take fish oil, they usually improve a lot of low-grade chronic problems. I was saying that we should regard these people as correcting a deficiency, even though current regulatory standards do not consider 0mg of fish oil per day as deficient.

[JohnQ]

ginkgo,

I get the following error: "DNS error - cannot find server".

[liamona]

Originally Posted by koneall

"High-carb plant-based diet" is practically an oxymoron. The carbs inside veggies are bound up with fiber. In essense, a vegetarian diet is a low-carb diet.

Optimally, that is true. But I have yet to meet a vegetarian whose diet is comprised mainly of veggies.

The ones I know tend to eat a lot of grains and starch, so that's not low-carb at all. And it tends to be reflected in their waistline size, doubly so if they eat starch with a lot of dairy.

[Brutha]

I mean that it would be good if there were scientific studies supporting what people write. In other words, it's not just claims.

There a problem that you can't test things that require a significant amount of will power with good placebo controlled trials.
Most things that have a high payout however require a lot of will power.

[stanmrak]

Originally Posted by Scipio

Anyway, there is no recommended daily minimum or deficiency standards set for DHA and EPA... I was saying that we should regard these people as correcting a deficiency, even though current regulatory standards do not consider 0mg of fish oil per day as deficient.

"Regulatory Standards" are a joke. IMO, the people who set them are 30 years behind the curve when it comes to nutritional science. They're set by the same people who insist that only a drug can cure disease.

[Gazi]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

I never voted for Bush, did you?

I am in India Dear . . But if Indians ever get chance to take part in American Presidential Elections then I would definitely like to vote for Obama

Coming back to our topic of health . . can you decode the secret of Obama's super energy?

[koneall]

Originally Posted by liamona

Optimally, that is true. But I have yet to meet a vegetarian whose diet is comprised mainly of veggies.

The ones I know tend to eat a lot of grains and starch, so that's not low-carb at all. And it tends to be reflected in their waistline size, doubly so if they eat starch with a lot of dairy.

Yes I agree completely. If you know any overweight vegetatians they most likely eat a lot of wheat-based foods: Bread, pasta, etc. Or sugar. Biochemically bread and sugar are treated the same by the body. I try to avoid all of these.