This month Dr. Julie answers questions on:

Stress and emotional upset impact on brain functioning in several ways.  Firstly, they deplete neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that send information around the brain.  Stress also keeps the body in a sympathetic state; the body is on alert.  All of the body’s senses are ready and the digestion of nutrients is compromised.  As the body tires and is depleted of nutrients brain function decreases, which is often noticed as an inability to retain information.  Finally stress leads to a build –up of damaging agents called free radicals.  Free radicals have been associated with the degeneration of nervous system, including brain cells.  Decrease your stress level with enjoyable activities and seek guidance if stress is overwhelming your ability to cope.  Consider supplementation with vitamins and supplements that support the body during stress like B vitamins,  licorice and adrenal glandular.

Poor diet hampers the functioning of the brain because it is an extremely vital area that has high metabolic requirements.  The brain uses only the sugar, glucose, for energy.  Unlike other body cells, it cannot use protein or fat if sugar is unavailable.  Everyone has felt the foggy feeling in your head when your brain is lacking sugar.  And then, after consuming a sugary snack or drink, the temporary increase in alertness you feel.  Fluctuating blood sugar is not conducive to optimal brain functioning.  Eat  fibre (whole grains, fruits and vegetables) and protein (animal and vegetable source), as it helps to stabilize blood sugar.  The B vitamin niacin, B3, and the trace mineral chromium, are supplements that help to stabilize blood sugar.

Fats, amino acids and vitamins must also be in abundant supply for optimal brain function.  The brain and nerve sheaths are made of fats that are deficient in the standard North American diet.  This results in compromised nerve conduction and brain cell communication that can lead to poor concentration and memory.  Essential fatty acids stabilize the nerve sheath.  Flax, pumpkin and sunflower seed oils should be a daily addition to the diet.  Fish oil also contains an essential fatty acid called DHA, which has been shown to improve brain functioning.  Saturated fats from animal sources, margarine and shortening interfere with the use of essential fatty acids and should be avoided.   Amino acids are obtained in the diet from protein and make up neurotransmitters.  Neurotransmitters are nervous system hormones that coordinate brain cell functions.  Make sure that you are easting adequate amounts of protein, from both animal and vegetable sources.  Several vitamins, especially B vitamins, and lecithin are important for the production of neurotransmitters and the efficiency of nerve transmissions.  Consider supplementation with a multiple B complex.  The choline that lecithin contains can cross the blood-brain barrier to produce brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that aid in memory - in particular acetylcholine.  The protective coating of the brain and nerve cells are also composed of choline. In this respect lecithin helps to make the sheath (myelin) that surrounds the nerves that conduct messages around the brain.

Picture your brain as a firm jelly.  In order to keep this jelly moist the body uses cerebrospinal fluid, which is primarily composed of water.  Adequate water intake is important.  Depending on your age and activity level 1.5-2.0L of water or clear fluid is a favourable daily fluid intake.      

Regular exercise and deep breathing are two activities that increase circulation to the brain.  There are many supplements that also increase brain circulation and have been shown to improve memory including gingko biloba and gotu kola.

As they say, “if you don’t use it you will lose it.”   Keeping mentally busy and learning new things has been found to sustain brain functioning.  This is probably the most important thing you can do to keep your memory sharp. 

High cholesterol, called hypercholesterolemia, occurs in several different forms depending on the type of cholesterol molecule that is out of balance.  Ultimately high cholesterol is hazardous to your health because it leads to the deposition of fatty plaques the inside of the arteries.  This leads to a decrease in the flexibility and elasticity of the walls. 

Looking for natural treatments for cholesterol reduction is well worth the effort for several reasons. Conventional treatment of high cholesterol with lipid lowering drugs makes only small improvements to your chance of developing heart disease.  Plus these drugs have many side effects.  The most troublesome is the increased risk of depression and suicide amongst medicated individuals.  The drugs also deplete vital nutrients for heart health such as coenzyme Q10.  Aspirin or other blood thinning medication may also be prescribed to decrease the risk of developing blood clots.  Stomach ulcers and abnormal bleeding are side effects of some of these medications.

Natural therapies that correct cholesterol imbalances are widely available but let us first discuss dietary and lifestyle factors that contribute to high cholesterol. 

Traditional Asian medicine identifies emotions as a contributing agent in many disease processes.  The liver is responsible for processing and excreting cholesterol from the body and is affected by anger.  Anger reduction techniques, like biofeedback, or activities, such as yoga, can improve liver functioning and cholesterol levels. 

Dietary changes for lowering cholesterol involve maintaining adequate fiber intake and lowering the fat and cholesterol content of your foods.  Drink lots of clear fluids and eat raw fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  Include green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, vegetable protein like soybeans and unrefined oils like olive, flax and sunflower in your daily diet.  Foods that you should avoid are junk foods, fried foods, processed foods, fast foods, white flour products, white sugar products, red meat, egg yolks, ice cream, salt, coffee, colas and other caffeine sources.   Also, eliminate alcohol, recreational drugs and tobacco from your diet, and minimize your use of pharmaceutical drugs.

Your liver is responsible for both cholesterol metabolism and detoxification.  Congestion of the liver, from poor diet, environmental toxins and pharmaceutical drugs hampers the body’s ability to maintain proper cholesterol levels.  Under appropriate supervision, detoxify your liver, using herbal supplements like artichoke, dandelion root and milk thistle.  Green food supplements include many nutrients for the detoxification of the liver including B complex vitamins and chlorophyll.  Lipotropic factors, like lecithin, help to cleanse fats from the liver and protect it from fatty build up.  Consider drinking a simple glass of warm lemon water each morning to stimulate a gentle liver flush.    

Before you start a supplement program seek the advice of a natural health practitioner.

Garlic has many benefits for cardiovascular health.  Garlic intake is shown to decrease levels of LDL cholesterol, the cholesterol responsible for cholesterol plaques and the storage of fat, and triglycerides.  Garlic also increases levels of HDL cholesterol, which is responsible for moving stored fat to the liver for processing and excretion from the body.  HDL cholesterol protects against plaque formation.  

Guggulipid extracts work most effectively on types of high cholesterol where there is too much of the harmful cholesterol, called LDL, VLDL and triglycerides.  They do not raise levels of beneficial, HDL, cholesterol.  The mechanism by which guggulipids alter cholesterol is four-fold.  Firstly they block the production of cholesterol by the liver.  Secondly they increase the excretion of cholesterol through the bile.  Thirdly they increase the uptake of LDL by the liver. Lastly they increase thyroid activity, thus stimulating the metabolism of LDL cholesterol.  Guggul extracts have been shown to decrease the severity and formation of cholesterol plaques. 

The active ingredients in red yeast rice are HMG Co-A reductase inhibitors, the same substances that are used in the cholesterol lowering medications that bear the same name.  HMG Co-A reductase is an enzyme that blocks the synthesis of cholesterol in the liver. Thus red yeast rice inhibits the formation of harmful LDL cholesterol, reduces total cholesterol and increases HDL cholesterol.  High cholesterol, heart disease and heart attack risk are lowered when one uses red yeast rice.

Echinacea is one of the top selling natural health products because of its ability to increase the functioning of the immune system, the system of the body that is responsible for protecting us from infection.  Echinacea it stimulates white blood cells that scavenge for bacteria and cellular waste. 

Echinacea is one of the top selling natural health products because of its ability to increase the functioning of the immune system, the system of the body that is responsible for protecting us from infection.  Echinacea it stimulates white blood cells that scavenge for bacteria and cellular waste.  It also stimulates helper T cells, which mobilizes other immune cells to fight infection. 

Many scientific trials attest to the efficacy of echinacea for the treatment of acute colds, flus and infections.  However, prolonged use of echinacea is not recommended because the body appears to become resistant to its immunostimulating properties. If you are using echinacea for an acute infection it is most effective during the first two weeks.  If you are using echinacea to prevent infection it is best cycle three weeks of echinacea with one week without taking it.  This rest period gives the body a chance to rid the body of the echinacea and allows the re-stimulation of the immune system.

Echinacea is in the same plant family as ragweed therefore individuals with ragweed allergies should not use echinacea.    Due to echinacea’s immunostimulating action those on immunosuppressive or immunoglobulin therapies, such as transplant recipients, should not use it.  Those with renal disease should not use echinacea because it may lead to electrolyte imbalances.