Fix A Broken Brain with Dr. Hyman (Part 1)

How do you fix a broken brain?

Dr. Mark Hyman is a 10-time New York Times bestselling author and head of functional medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. 1.1 billion people worldwide are affected by conditions like dementia, Alzheimer’s, and brain fog. But there are ways you can fight them — many of which Dr. Hyman discusses in his brand-new free docuseries, available here.

While there is a mind-body connection, there’s also a body-mind connection. Oftentimes, your brain issues might actually stem from your body — and you need to treat the whole system to get better. Most of us do things that damage our brain every day, but the good news is that our brain is very resilient and recovers dramatically if you put in the right information. The basic formula is to take out the bad stuff and put in the good stuff. This is an exclusive training Dr. Hyman did for my clients. In Part 1, we’ll discuss what to put in your body. Stay tuned for Part 2, and learn more about Dr. Hyman’s docuseries here.

‍Disclaimer: The content of this episode is for informational purposes only. For medical questions, please seek advice from a qualified healthcare practitioner.

What to Add to Fix Your Brain

Eat the right foods

• You can change your biology with food because food isn’t just calories; it’s information and instructions that upgrade or downgrade your biological software.
• Leave the food that man made. Eat the food that God made.
• By volume, most of your vegetables should be plant-based.
• Eat vegetables and fruit.
• By calories, most of your diet should be fat.
• Eat good fats like avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, coconut butter and oil, and omega-3 fats.
• DHA, found in fish, is one of the most powerful brain-healing compounds.
• Many memory and mood issues are connected to deficiencies in omega-3 fats.
• MCT oil is a powerful upregulator of brain function because it increases mitochondrial function, which are the energy factories you need to produce energy.

Make sure you have good protein for muscle synthesis

• Have the right nutrients in your diet.
• Consider a multivitamin, fish oil, and vitamin D.
• You may also want to take some methylating support and probiotics.

Balance your hormones

• Get out the sugar and eat more fat to reduce insulin resistance.
• The bigger your belly, the smaller your brain.
• Balance your thyroid, your adrenals, and your sex hormones. Your hormones are related to what your diet is.

Optimize your gut function

• Look at the major triggers of inflammation (gluten and dairy) and see if they might be driving brain fog and brain dysfunction.

Optimize your mitochondria

• Nutrients you can use include Coq10, niacinamide, nicotinamid ribocide, lipoic acid, and B vitamins.

Exercise

• Your diet is important, but you also need to keep your muscle mass high with high-intensity interval training.

Sleep

• Sleep is essential for your brain.
• For more on this topic, review my episodes with sleep experts Shawn Stevenson and Dr. Michael Breus.

Meditate

• Meditation can help you create better brain function as well as be more connected, compassionate, and loving.

Use accelerated learning techniques

• The techniques I teach will work better on a brain that’s working.
• Fixing your body will make fixing your brain so much easier.

Remember: your brain is an organ – and by fixing your body, you can fix your brain.

What did you learn from this episode?

Share your takeaways on social media with me (@jimkwik) and Dr. Hyman (@markhymanmd)!